Maimon, Solomon

From New World Encyclopedia
m (Remove parent categories)
 
(6 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Paid}}{{Approved}}{{Images OK}}{{Submitted}}{{Contracted}}
+
{{Paid}}{{Approved}}{{Images OK}}{{Submitted}}{{Copyedited}}
 
{{epname|Maimon, Solomon}}
 
{{epname|Maimon, Solomon}}
'''Salomon ben Josua Maimon''' (1754, Sukowiborg/Niasviž, near Mirz, Polish [[Lithuania]] – November 22, 1800, Nieder-Siegersdorf, Niederschlesien) was a [[Germany|German]] [[philosopher]] born of [[Jew]]ish parentage in [[Belarus]].  Born Shlomo ben Joshua, he acquired great respect for the twelfth century Jewish philosopher [[Maimonides]], and adopted the surname “Maimon.” Educated as a rabbi, Maimon studied German [[philosophy]] and raised important objections to the transcendental idealism of [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]].  Kant remarked that Maimon alone of his all critics had mastered the true meaning of his philosophy. Arguing that cognition requires absolute unity of the subject and object, Maimon criticized Kant’s dualism, pointing out that Kant's "thing in itself" is incomprehensible. Maimon modernized the ideas of Maimonides and proposed the concept of the human mind as an imperfect expression of the infinite divine mind. Maimon believed that through scientific progress, human minds would become more adequate expressions of the divine mind. His monistic perspective opened new possibilities for German idealism and influenced [[Schelling]], [[Fichte]] and [[Hegel]].
 
  
 +
'''Salomon ben Josua Maimon''' (1754, Sukowiborg/Niasviž, near Mirz, Polish [[Lithuania]] – November 22, 1800, Nieder-Siegersdorf, Niederschlesien) was a [[Germany|German]] [[philosopher]] born of [[Jew]]ish parentage in [[Belarus]]. Born Shlomo ben Joshua, he acquired great respect for the twelfth–century Jewish philosopher [[Maimonides]], and adopted the surname “Maimon.” Educated as a rabbi, Maimon studied German [[philosophy]] and raised important objections to the transcendental [[idealism]] of [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]. Kant remarked that Maimon alone of his all critics had mastered the true meaning of his philosophy. Arguing that cognition requires absolute unity of the subject and object, Maimon criticized Kant’s dualism, pointing out that Kant's "thing in itself" is incomprehensible. Maimon modernized the ideas of Maimonides and proposed the concept of the human mind as an imperfect expression of the infinite divine mind. Maimon believed that through scientific progress, human minds would become more adequate expressions of the divine mind. His monistic perspective opened new possibilities for German idealism and influenced [[Schelling]], [[Fichte]] and [[Hegel]].
 +
{{toc}}
 
==Life==
 
==Life==
Although there are some disputes about the year of Maimon’s birth (around 1754), Salomon Maimon (real name Heimann (Cheiman)) was born and grew up in Mir, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now in [[Belarus]]). He was born Shlomo ben Joshua, finished Jewish school in Mir, and learned the Talmud pefectly by the age of nine. He was only twelve when he was married to a girl from Nesvizh, and at the age of fourteen he was already a father and was making a living by teaching Talmud. As a mark of his great respect for the twelfth century Jewish philosopher [[Maimonides]], he adopted the surname “Maimon.” Later he learned some [[German]] from books and walked all the way to Slutsk, where he met a rabbi who had studied in [[Germany]] and who loaned him German books on physics, optics and medicine which made him determine to study further.
+
Although there are some disputes about the year of Maimon’s birth (around 1754), Salomon Maimon (real name Heimann (Cheiman)) was born and grew up in Mir, in the Grand Duchy of [[Lithuania]] (now in [[Belarus]]). He was born Shlomo ben Joshua, finished [[Jew]]ish school in Mir, and learned the [[Talmud]] pefectly by the age of nine. He was only 12 when he was married to a girl from Nesvizh, and at the age of 14 he was already a father and was making a living by teaching [[Talmud]]. As a mark of his great respect for the twelfth–century Jewish philosopher [[Maimonides]], he adopted the surname “Maimon.” Later, he learned some [[German language|German]] from books and walked all the way to Slutsk, where he met a rabbi who had studied in [[Germany]] and who loaned him German books on [[physics]], optics and medicine which made him determine to study further.
  
At the age of twenty-five, he left for Germany and studied medicine in [[Berlin]]. In 1770 he severed his connection with his [[Judaism|orthodox]] co-religionists over his critical commentary on the ''Moreh Nebukhim'' (''Guide of the Perplexed'') of Maimonides, and devoted himself to the study of [[philosophy]] as it was presented by Wolff and [[Moses Mendelssohn]]. After many vicissitudes he found a peaceful residence in the house of Count Kalkreuth at Nieder-Siegersdorf in 1790. During the ensuing ten years he published the works which have made his reputation as a critical philosopher. Until 1790 his life was a struggle against difficulties of all kinds. From his autobiography, it is clear that his keen critical faculty was developed in great measure by the slender means of culture at his disposal. It was not until 1788 that he made the acquaintance of the [[Kant]]ian philosophy, which was to form the basis of his lifework, and as early as 1790 he published the ''Versuch uber die Transcendentalphilosophie'', in which he formulated his objections to the system.
+
At the age of 25, he left for Germany and studied medicine in [[Berlin]]. In 1770, he severed his connection with his [[Judaism|orthodox]] co-religionists over his critical commentary on the ''Moreh Nebukhim'' ''(Guide of the Perplexed)'' of Maimonides, and devoted himself to the study of [[philosophy]] as it was presented by Wolff and [[Moses Mendelssohn]]. After many vicissitudes he found a peaceful residence in the house of Count Kalkreuth at Nieder-Siegersdorf in 1790. During the ensuing 10 years he published the works which have made his reputation as a critical philosopher. Until 1790, his life was a struggle against difficulties of all kinds. From his autobiography, it is clear that his keen critical faculty was developed in great measure by the slender means of culture at his disposal. It was not until 1788 that he made the acquaintance of the [[Kant]]ian philosophy, which was to form the basis of his lifework, and as early as 1790 he published the ''Versuch uber die Transcendentalphilosophie'', in which he formulated his objections to the system.
  
 
==Thought and Works==
 
==Thought and Works==
=== Critique of Kant’s “Thing-in-Itself“===
+
=== Critique of Kant’s “Thing-in-Itself“===
[[Immanuel Kant]] remarked that Maimon alone of his all critics had mastered the true meaning of his philosophy. In 1791, Maimon wrote in a letter to Kant that while he found the skeptical part of the ''Critique of Pure Reason'' wholly convincing, he harbored doubts about the more dogmatic aspects of Kant's system. Maimon’s criticisms involved what he regarded as an internal problem in Kant’s [[Immanuel Kant|transcendental idealism]]. Kant accounted for the content of [[cognition]] by proposing that the actual object of cognition (the "thing-in-itself") was outside the realm of possible human experience, but caused the sensations through which its content was perceived. Maimon criticized Kant’s dualism, pointing out that there could not be a separate, external material object and an internal, mental form; or a distinction between the mental faculty of understanding and the faculty of sensibility. Maimon argued that cognition required absolute unity of the subject and object. Kant’s cognitive dualism, which began with distinct faculties of sensibility and understanding, failed to explain how the various elements of cognition could come together to realize an experience. Maimon held that the object of cognition (the “thing-in-itself”) was simply an object of inquiry or the limiting concept, not an independent reality. Maimon agreed with Kant that since human beings are finite beings, restricted by time and space, there were aspects of reality which the human mind could not grasp intuitively, but this did not imply that, ''in principle'', these things could never be an object of cognition. Maimon regarded Kant’s transcendental arguments as “castles in the air” which might be valid, but did not provide the “fact of experience” to prove that they were sound.  
+
[[Immanuel Kant]] remarked that Maimon alone of his all critics had mastered the true meaning of his philosophy. In 1791, Maimon wrote in a letter to Kant that while he found the skeptical part of the ''Critique of Pure Reason'' wholly convincing, he harbored doubts about the more dogmatic aspects of Kant's system. Maimon’s criticisms involved what he regarded as an internal problem in Kant’s transcendental [[idealism]]. Kant accounted for the content of [[cognition]] by proposing that the actual object of cognition (the "thing-in-itself") was outside the realm of possible human experience, but caused the sensations through which its content was perceived. Maimon criticized Kant’s dualism, pointing out that there could not be a separate, external material object and an internal, mental form; or a distinction between the mental faculty of understanding and the faculty of sensibility. Maimon argued that cognition required absolute unity of the subject and object. Kant’s cognitive [[dualism]], which began with distinct faculties of sensibility and understanding, failed to explain how the various elements of cognition could come together to realize an experience. Maimon held that the object of cognition (the “thing-in-itself”) was simply an object of inquiry or the limiting concept, not an independent reality. Maimon agreed with Kant that since [[human being]]s are finite beings, restricted by time and space, there were aspects of reality which the human mind could not grasp intuitively, but this did not imply that, ''in principle'', these things could never be an object of cognition. Maimon regarded Kant’s transcendental arguments as “castles in the air” which might be valid, but did not provide the “fact of experience” to prove that they were sound.  
  
 
===Infinite Mind===
 
===Infinite Mind===
Maimon modernized the ideas of [[Maimonides]] (1186 – 1237) with his doctrine of the infinite mind. Our finite, human minds are imperfect expressions of the infinite, divine mind that is the source of both the form and the matter of knowledge. An object (the thing-in-itself) would be cognized in its completeness by the infinite mind, in which matter and understanding are not comprehended separately. The human, finite mind would experience the object to the fullest extent possible using sensory data, understanding and the knowledge accumulated about that object through scientific research. Maimon believed that through scientific progress, human minds would become more adequate expressions of the divine mind, able to comprehend reality ever more completely. Perfect science, or complete comprehension equal to that of the infinite mind, was an ideal for which mankind must strive but could never reach. This ideal encompassed the role of [[empiricism]] in constantly broadening the human experience. Ultimately, Maimon proposed that [[Kant]] could not refute [[Hume]]’s skepticism until the ideal of perfect science was reached and all was completely understood. This [[monism|monistic]] concept of the human mind as an imperfect expression of the infinite divine mind opened new possibilities for German idealism and influenced [[Schelling]], [[Fichte]] and [[Hegel]].
+
Maimon modernized the ideas of [[Maimonides]] (1186 – 1237) with his doctrine of the infinite mind. Our finite, human minds are imperfect expressions of the infinite, divine mind that is the source of both the form and the matter of knowledge. An object (the thing-in-itself) would be cognized in its completeness by the infinite mind, in which matter and understanding are not comprehended separately. The human, finite mind would experience the object to the fullest extent possible using sensory data, understanding and the knowledge accumulated about that object through scientific research. Maimon believed that through scientific progress, human minds would become more adequate expressions of the divine mind, able to comprehend reality ever more completely. Perfect science, or complete comprehension equal to that of the infinite mind, was an ideal for which mankind must strive but could never reach. This ideal encompassed the role of [[empiricism]] in constantly broadening the human experience. Ultimately, Maimon proposed that [[Kant]] could not refute [[Hume]]’s [[skepticism]] until the ideal of perfect science was reached and all was completely understood. This [[monism|monistic]] concept of the human mind as an imperfect expression of the infinite divine mind opened new possibilities for German idealism and influenced [[Schelling]], [[Fichte]], and [[Hegel]].
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
  
 
*Atlas, Samuel. ''From Critical to Speculative Idealism: The Philosophy of Solomon Maimon''. Martinus Nijhoff, 1964.
 
*Atlas, Samuel. ''From Critical to Speculative Idealism: The Philosophy of Solomon Maimon''. Martinus Nijhoff, 1964.
*Bansen, Jan. ''The Antinomy of Thought''. Springer, 2003. ISBN 978-0792313830
+
*Bansen, Jan. ''The Antinomy of Thought''. Springer, 2003. ISBN 9780792313830
 
*Bergmann, Samuel Hugo. ''The Autobiography of Salomon Maimon with an Essay on Maimon's Philosophy''. London: The East and West Library, 1954.
 
*Bergmann, Samuel Hugo. ''The Autobiography of Salomon Maimon with an Essay on Maimon's Philosophy''. London: The East and West Library, 1954.
*Bergmann, Samuel , Hugo. ''The Philosophy of Salomon Maimon''. Translated from the Hebrew by Noah J. Jacobs. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1967.
+
*Bergmann, Samuel Hugo. ''The Philosophy of Salomon Maimon''. translated by Noah J. Jacobs. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1967.
*Maimon, Solomon. ''Gesammelte Werke''. Volumes 1-7. Edited by V. Verra. Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1970.
+
*Maimon, Solomon. ''Gesammelte Werke''. Volumes 1-7. edited by V. Verra. Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1970.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved February 3, 2023.
 
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimon/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry]
 
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimon/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry]
 
===General Philosophy Sources===
 
===General Philosophy Sources===
 
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
 
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
 
*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/ The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
 
*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/ The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
*[http://www.epistemelinks.com/  Philosophy Sources on Internet EpistemeLinks]
 
*[http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/gpi/index.htm Guide to Philosophy on the Internet]
 
 
*[http://www.bu.edu/wcp/PaidArch.html Paideia Project Online]
 
*[http://www.bu.edu/wcp/PaidArch.html Paideia Project Online]
 
*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]  
 
*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg]  
Line 35: Line 35:
  
 
[[Category:philosophers]]
 
[[Category:philosophers]]
 +
[[Category:Biography]]
  
 
{{credit|92208806}}
 
{{credit|92208806}}
 
{{1911}}
 
{{1911}}

Latest revision as of 01:01, 4 February 2023

Salomon ben Josua Maimon (1754, Sukowiborg/Niasviž, near Mirz, Polish Lithuania – November 22, 1800, Nieder-Siegersdorf, Niederschlesien) was a German philosopher born of Jewish parentage in Belarus. Born Shlomo ben Joshua, he acquired great respect for the twelfth–century Jewish philosopher Maimonides, and adopted the surname “Maimon.” Educated as a rabbi, Maimon studied German philosophy and raised important objections to the transcendental idealism of Kant. Kant remarked that Maimon alone of his all critics had mastered the true meaning of his philosophy. Arguing that cognition requires absolute unity of the subject and object, Maimon criticized Kant’s dualism, pointing out that Kant's "thing in itself" is incomprehensible. Maimon modernized the ideas of Maimonides and proposed the concept of the human mind as an imperfect expression of the infinite divine mind. Maimon believed that through scientific progress, human minds would become more adequate expressions of the divine mind. His monistic perspective opened new possibilities for German idealism and influenced Schelling, Fichte and Hegel.

Life

Although there are some disputes about the year of Maimon’s birth (around 1754), Salomon Maimon (real name Heimann (Cheiman)) was born and grew up in Mir, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now in Belarus). He was born Shlomo ben Joshua, finished Jewish school in Mir, and learned the Talmud pefectly by the age of nine. He was only 12 when he was married to a girl from Nesvizh, and at the age of 14 he was already a father and was making a living by teaching Talmud. As a mark of his great respect for the twelfth–century Jewish philosopher Maimonides, he adopted the surname “Maimon.” Later, he learned some German from books and walked all the way to Slutsk, where he met a rabbi who had studied in Germany and who loaned him German books on physics, optics and medicine which made him determine to study further.

At the age of 25, he left for Germany and studied medicine in Berlin. In 1770, he severed his connection with his orthodox co-religionists over his critical commentary on the Moreh Nebukhim (Guide of the Perplexed) of Maimonides, and devoted himself to the study of philosophy as it was presented by Wolff and Moses Mendelssohn. After many vicissitudes he found a peaceful residence in the house of Count Kalkreuth at Nieder-Siegersdorf in 1790. During the ensuing 10 years he published the works which have made his reputation as a critical philosopher. Until 1790, his life was a struggle against difficulties of all kinds. From his autobiography, it is clear that his keen critical faculty was developed in great measure by the slender means of culture at his disposal. It was not until 1788 that he made the acquaintance of the Kantian philosophy, which was to form the basis of his lifework, and as early as 1790 he published the Versuch uber die Transcendentalphilosophie, in which he formulated his objections to the system.

Thought and Works

Critique of Kant’s “Thing-in-Itself“

Immanuel Kant remarked that Maimon alone of his all critics had mastered the true meaning of his philosophy. In 1791, Maimon wrote in a letter to Kant that while he found the skeptical part of the Critique of Pure Reason wholly convincing, he harbored doubts about the more dogmatic aspects of Kant's system. Maimon’s criticisms involved what he regarded as an internal problem in Kant’s transcendental idealism. Kant accounted for the content of cognition by proposing that the actual object of cognition (the "thing-in-itself") was outside the realm of possible human experience, but caused the sensations through which its content was perceived. Maimon criticized Kant’s dualism, pointing out that there could not be a separate, external material object and an internal, mental form; or a distinction between the mental faculty of understanding and the faculty of sensibility. Maimon argued that cognition required absolute unity of the subject and object. Kant’s cognitive dualism, which began with distinct faculties of sensibility and understanding, failed to explain how the various elements of cognition could come together to realize an experience. Maimon held that the object of cognition (the “thing-in-itself”) was simply an object of inquiry or the limiting concept, not an independent reality. Maimon agreed with Kant that since human beings are finite beings, restricted by time and space, there were aspects of reality which the human mind could not grasp intuitively, but this did not imply that, in principle, these things could never be an object of cognition. Maimon regarded Kant’s transcendental arguments as “castles in the air” which might be valid, but did not provide the “fact of experience” to prove that they were sound.

Infinite Mind

Maimon modernized the ideas of Maimonides (1186 – 1237) with his doctrine of the infinite mind. Our finite, human minds are imperfect expressions of the infinite, divine mind that is the source of both the form and the matter of knowledge. An object (the thing-in-itself) would be cognized in its completeness by the infinite mind, in which matter and understanding are not comprehended separately. The human, finite mind would experience the object to the fullest extent possible using sensory data, understanding and the knowledge accumulated about that object through scientific research. Maimon believed that through scientific progress, human minds would become more adequate expressions of the divine mind, able to comprehend reality ever more completely. Perfect science, or complete comprehension equal to that of the infinite mind, was an ideal for which mankind must strive but could never reach. This ideal encompassed the role of empiricism in constantly broadening the human experience. Ultimately, Maimon proposed that Kant could not refute Hume’s skepticism until the ideal of perfect science was reached and all was completely understood. This monistic concept of the human mind as an imperfect expression of the infinite divine mind opened new possibilities for German idealism and influenced Schelling, Fichte, and Hegel.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Atlas, Samuel. From Critical to Speculative Idealism: The Philosophy of Solomon Maimon. Martinus Nijhoff, 1964.
  • Bansen, Jan. The Antinomy of Thought. Springer, 2003. ISBN 9780792313830
  • Bergmann, Samuel Hugo. The Autobiography of Salomon Maimon with an Essay on Maimon's Philosophy. London: The East and West Library, 1954.
  • Bergmann, Samuel Hugo. The Philosophy of Salomon Maimon. translated by Noah J. Jacobs. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1967.
  • Maimon, Solomon. Gesammelte Werke. Volumes 1-7. edited by V. Verra. Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1970.

External links

All links retrieved February 3, 2023.

General Philosophy Sources

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.