Is Matter Alive? Ibn Gabirol and Divine Desire

Quick Overview

The discussion between the speakers centers on the Jewish Neoplatonist philosopher Ibn Gabirol, highlighting his radical reformulation of matter as something desiring form and an immediate expression of God's loving nature, contrasting sharply with classical Platonic views where matter is inert and evil. The conversation also delves into the scholarly debate surrounding the legitimacy of the term "Jewish philosophy," proposing a distinction between philosophers engaging Greek categories (like Maimonides) and those engaging through Jewish hermeneutical categories (like Drush).

Key Points: Ibn Gabirol fundamentally reformulated the concept of matter, shifting it from a classically negative state (Plato's 'locust of evil') to something that 'longs for form' and is an 'immediate expression of God's loving to love loving nature.' The speakers published this second video publicly due to its emergent, powerful, and highly pertinent content regarding divine desire and matter. A key point of discussion is whether 'Jewish philosophy' is a legitimate term, with Zev proposing a distinction between Jewish philosophers using Greco-Roman categories (Koker) and those using Jewish hermeneutical categories (Drush/Daran). Ibn Gabirol's philosophical work, such as 'The Fountain of Life,' is characterized as using Greco-Roman categories, leading to his historical erasure from Jewish history until 1846, while his poetry is 'heavily Jewish' through its relationship to Jewish textuality. The speakers agree on a working definition of philosophy as 'a religious orientation to the cultivation of wisdom upon which second order thinking can be brought to bear,' which applies cross-culturally. The speakers emphasize that genuine relationship (logos/philia) requires showing up with one's particularity, rejecting modernity's attempt to achieve universalism by 'eradicating distinctions' in Jewish identity. The Jewishness of Gabirol's philosophy is rooted in his emphasis on divine desire ('aliada') and agency, which contrasts with Spinoza's conception of God, aligning more with the Bashtov's relational God who 'one can pray to.'