Harry Austryn Wolfson
Encyclopedia
Harry Austryn Wolfson was a scholar, philosopher, and historian at Harvard University
, the first chairman of a Judaic Studies Center in the United States
. He is best known for his seminal work on the Jewish philosopher Philo
, but was the author of an astonishing variety and quantity of other works on Crescas
, Maimonides
, Averroes
, Spinoza, the Kalam
, the Church Fathers
, and the foundations of Western religion
. His greatest contribution may therefore have been in collapsing all the artificial barriers that isolated the study of Christian philosophy
from Islamic philosophy
from Jewish philosophy
. Being the first Judaica scholar to progress through an entire career at a top-tier university , in Wolfson is also represented the fulfillment of the goals of the 19th-century Wissenschaft des Judentums
movement.
, and in his youth he studied at the Slabodka Yeshiva
under Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein
. In September 1908, he arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts
and earned his bachelors degree and Ph.D. from Harvard University
, where he remained (excepting the years 1912–1914) for the rest of his career. R.D. Crouse, the scholar of early medieval theology, was among his students.
Wolfson was a professor at Harvard University
for approximately half a century, and was a student and friend both of George Santayana
and George Foot Moore
. He received honorary degrees from 10 different universities , and was a founding member and president of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on September 20, 1974. His brother Nathan survived him by 27 years, living to age 101 until 2001.
, transposed into a modern university setting, studying day and night, resisting presumptive attractions and distractions, honors and chores, with a tenacity which sometimes seemed awkward and antisocial." He spent vast amounts of time secluded in the Widener Library
pursuing his research. writes that even in his retirement, Wolfson was "still the first person to enter Widener library in the morning and the last to leave it at night."
Wolfson wrote works including a translation and commentary on Hasdai Crescas
' Or Adonai, the philosophy of the church fathers, the repercussions of the Kalam
on Judaism
, and works on Spinoza, Philo
, and Averroes
. The best-known of these works are listed below, their publication in several instances—among them the work on Philo—having been considered scholarly events of the first magnitude.
A complete bibliography of Wolfson's work can be found in . He was known principally, as mentioned above, for crossing all artificial boundaries of scholarship, as best revealed by the titles of some of his papers:
Wolfson was additionally known as a "daring" scholar, one who was not afraid to put forward a bold hypothesis with limited evidential support. In his work Wolfson therefore often chooses bold conjecture over safe, but boring, analyses .
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, the first chairman of a Judaic Studies Center in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is best known for his seminal work on the Jewish philosopher Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
, but was the author of an astonishing variety and quantity of other works on Crescas
Hasdai Crescas
Hasdai ben Judah Crescas was a Jewish philosopher and a renowned halakhist...
, Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
, Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
, Spinoza, the Kalam
Kalam
ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
, the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
, and the foundations of Western religion
Western religion
The term Western religion refers to religions that originated within Western culture, and are thus which historically, culturally, and theologically distinct from the Eastern religions...
. His greatest contribution may therefore have been in collapsing all the artificial barriers that isolated the study of Christian philosophy
Christian philosophy
Christian philosophy may refer to any development in philosophy that is characterised by coming from a Christian tradition.- Origins of Christian philosophy :...
from Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies. It is the continuous search for Hekma in the light of Islamic view of life, universe, ethics, society, and so on...
from Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
. Being the first Judaica scholar to progress through an entire career at a top-tier university , in Wolfson is also represented the fulfillment of the goals of the 19th-century Wissenschaft des Judentums
Wissenschaft des Judentums
Wissenschaft des Judentums , refers to a nineteenth-century movement premised on the critical investigation of Jewish literature and culture, including rabbinic literature, using scientific methods to analyze the origins of Jewish traditions.-The Verein für Cultur und Wissenschaft der Juden:The ...
movement.
Biography
Wolfson was born in Astryna, (Yiddish: Ostrin), BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, and in his youth he studied at the Slabodka Yeshiva
Slabodka yeshiva
Hebron Yeshiva, also known as Yeshivas Hevron, or Knesses Yisroel, and originally as Slabodka Yeshiva, is known colloquially as the "mother of yeshivas" and was devoted to high=level study of the Talmud. The yeshiva was located in the Lithuanian town of Slabodka, adjacent to Kovno , now...
under Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein
Moshe Mordechai Epstein was Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century.-Childhood:...
. In September 1908, he arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
and earned his bachelors degree and Ph.D. from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he remained (excepting the years 1912–1914) for the rest of his career. R.D. Crouse, the scholar of early medieval theology, was among his students.
Wolfson was a professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
for approximately half a century, and was a student and friend both of George Santayana
George Santayana
George Santayana was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. A lifelong Spanish citizen, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States and identified himself as an American. He wrote in English and is generally considered an American man of letters...
and George Foot Moore
George Foot Moore
George Foot Moore He graduated from Yale University in 1872, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He was awarded the highest theological qualifiction – the D.D....
. He received honorary degrees from 10 different universities , and was a founding member and president of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
on September 20, 1974. His brother Nathan survived him by 27 years, living to age 101 until 2001.
Works
Wolfson was a tireless scholar. About him writes, "He was reminiscent of an old-fashioned gaonGaon (Hebrew)
Gaon originally referred in Ancient Hebrew to arrogance and haughty pride . Later became known as pride in general: whether good or bad . Today it may refer to:...
, transposed into a modern university setting, studying day and night, resisting presumptive attractions and distractions, honors and chores, with a tenacity which sometimes seemed awkward and antisocial." He spent vast amounts of time secluded in the Widener Library
Widener Library
The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, commonly known as Widener Library, is the primary building of the library system of Harvard University. Located on the south side of Harvard Yard directly across from Memorial Church, Widener serves as the centerpiece of the 15.6 million-volume Harvard...
pursuing his research. writes that even in his retirement, Wolfson was "still the first person to enter Widener library in the morning and the last to leave it at night."
Wolfson wrote works including a translation and commentary on Hasdai Crescas
Hasdai Crescas
Hasdai ben Judah Crescas was a Jewish philosopher and a renowned halakhist...
' Or Adonai, the philosophy of the church fathers, the repercussions of the Kalam
Kalam
ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
on Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and works on Spinoza, Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
, and Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
. The best-known of these works are listed below, their publication in several instances—among them the work on Philo—having been considered scholarly events of the first magnitude.
- Crescas' Critique of Aristotle: Problems of Aristotle's Physics in Jewish and Arabic philosophy (1929)
- The Philosophy of Spinoza: Unfolding the Latent Processes of His Reasoning, Harvard University Press (1934/1962)
- Philo: Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Harvard University Press (1947)
- The Philosophy of the Church Fathers: Volume I Faith Trinity, Incarnation, Harvard University Press (1956)
- The Philosophy of the Kalam, Harvard University Press (1976)
- Repercussions of the Kalam in Jewish philosophy, Harvard University Press (1979)
A complete bibliography of Wolfson's work can be found in . He was known principally, as mentioned above, for crossing all artificial boundaries of scholarship, as best revealed by the titles of some of his papers:
- The meaning of "Ex Nihilo" in the Church Fathers, Arabic and Hebrew philosophy, and St. Thomas (1948)
- The internal senses in Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew philosophical texts (1935)
- The amphibolous terms in Aristotle, Arabic philosophy, and Maimonides (1938)
- Solomon Pappenheim on time and space and his relation to Locke and Kant, pp. 426–440 in Jewish studies in memory of Israel Abrahams, Press of the Jewish Institute of Religion (1927)
Wolfson was additionally known as a "daring" scholar, one who was not afraid to put forward a bold hypothesis with limited evidential support. In his work Wolfson therefore often chooses bold conjecture over safe, but boring, analyses .
See also
- Alexander AltmannAlexander AltmannAlexander Altmann was an Orthodox Jewish scholar and rabbi born in Kassa, Austria-Hungary, today Košice, Slovakia. He emigrated to England in 1938 and later settled in the United States, working productively for a decade and a half as a professor within the Philosophy Department at Brandeis...
- Gershom ScholemGershom ScholemGerhard Scholem who, after his immigration from Germany to Palestine, changed his name to Gershom Scholem , was a German-born Israeli Jewish philosopher and historian, born and raised in Germany...
- Isadore TwerskyIsadore TwerskyIsadore Twersky was an Orthodox rabbi and the Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, a chair previously held by Harry Austryn Wolfson. Twersky was an internationally recognized authority on Rabbinic literature and Jewish philosophy...