Reviews for Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe

The average rating for Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-02-27 00:00:00 Michael Wolf This is a very scholarly set of essays that focuses on Jewish attitudes towards science in 16th-18th century Europe- that is, between the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment. By and large, Jewish thinkers valued science, but (as they do today) drew "boundaries between the domains of scientific activity and religious faith so that the two could live peacefully and harmoniously with each other." Jewish scholars, like Christian ones, tended to emphasize the limits of what was scientifically knowable, and to use religious tradition to understand what was beyond those limits. Because science, unlike philosophy, could easily be sealed off from religion, scientific inquiry was less controversial than secular philosophy. Unlike in more recent centuries, Jews were not major participants in science, primarily because the Church was affluent enough to support universities and monasteries where men could focus on the life of the mind, while Jews were pretty much on their own. Jews were often not admitted to universities (except a few medical schools) - and even when they were, they were not subsidized by Church or State.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-01-01 00:00:00 James M. Keane Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe by David B. Ruderman