Moses ben Joshua
Encyclopedia
Moses ben Joshua, also known as Moses of Narbonne, Maestro Vidal Blasom, and Moses Narboni, was a medieval Catalonian philosopher and physician
. He was born at Perpignan
at the end of the thirteenth century and died sometime after 1362. He began studying philosophy with his father when he was thirteen and then studied with Moses and Abraham Caslari. He studied medicine and eventually became a successful physician, and was well versed in Biblical and rabbinical literature.
Eventually he traveled to Spain, where he is known to have lived and studied in Toledo
, Soria
, and Valencia. During the outbreak of the Black Death
when persecution of Jews was widespread, ben Joshua was forced to flee Cervera
when an angry mob attacked the Jewish community there.
Moses was an admirer of Averroes
; he devoted a great deal of study to his works and wrote commentaries on a number of them. Perhaps ben Joshua's best know work is his Treatise on the Perfection of the Soul.
He believed that Judaism was a guide to the highest degree of theoretical and moral truth. In common with others of his era he believed that the Torah
had both a simple, direct meaning accessible to the average reader as well as a deeper, metaphysical meaning accessible to thinkers. He rejected the belief in miracle
s, instead believing they could be explained, and defended man's free will
by philosophical arguments.
He died at an advanced age as he was returning to his native land from Soria.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. He was born at Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
at the end of the thirteenth century and died sometime after 1362. He began studying philosophy with his father when he was thirteen and then studied with Moses and Abraham Caslari. He studied medicine and eventually became a successful physician, and was well versed in Biblical and rabbinical literature.
Eventually he traveled to Spain, where he is known to have lived and studied in Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Soria
Soria
Soria is a city in north-central Spain, the capital of the province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile and León. , the municipality has a population of c. 39,500 inhabitants, nearly 40% of the population of the province...
, and Valencia. During the outbreak of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
when persecution of Jews was widespread, ben Joshua was forced to flee Cervera
Cervera
Cervera is the capital of the comarca of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. The title Compte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Felipe, Prince of Asturias....
when an angry mob attacked the Jewish community there.
Moses was an admirer of 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,...
; he devoted a great deal of study to his works and wrote commentaries on a number of them. Perhaps ben Joshua's best know work is his Treatise on the Perfection of the Soul.
He believed that Judaism was a guide to the highest degree of theoretical and moral truth. In common with others of his era he believed that the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
had both a simple, direct meaning accessible to the average reader as well as a deeper, metaphysical meaning accessible to thinkers. He rejected the belief in miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s, instead believing they could be explained, and defended man's free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
by philosophical arguments.
He died at an advanced age as he was returning to his native land from Soria.
Known writings
- "Perush mi-Millot ha-Higgayon," on the terminology of MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses 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...
' "Guide for the PerplexedGuide for the PerplexedThe Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...
" - a commentary on the "Guide for the Perplexed"
- "Ma'amar Alexander be-Sekel," supercommentary on Averroes' commentary on Alexander of AphrodisiasAlexander of AphrodisiasAlexander of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria, and lived and taught in Athens at the beginning of the 3rd century, where he held a position as head of the...
' work on the intellect - a commentary on Averroes' "middle" commentary on AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's "Physics" - a commentary on Averroes' paraphrase of the "Organon"
- a commentary on the fourth part of AvicennaAvicennaAbū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
's "Canon" - a commentary on Ghazali's "Maḳaṣid al-Falasifah"
- "Iggeret 'Al-Shi'ur Ḳomah," a mystical letter on the "Shi'ur Komah," attributed to the TannaTannaimThe Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
, Rabbi Yishmael - a commentary on the Book of LamentationsBook of LamentationsThe Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
- a commentary on Averroes' treatise on the hylic intellect and the possibility of conjunction
- "Shelemut ha-Nefesh," a collection of AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's and Averroes' writings on the soul - a commentary on Averroes' dissertation on physics and on the treatise "De Substantia Orbis"
- "Ketab Ḥai ben Yaḳẓan," commentary on the philosophical novel of Ibn ṬufailIbn TufailIbn Tufail was an Andalusian Muslim polymath: an Arabic writer, novelist, Islamic philosopher, Islamic theologian, physician, vizier,...
- "Oraḥ Ḥayyim," a treatise on medicine
- "Ma'amar bi-Beḥirah," a treatise on free willFree will"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
written in refutation of Abner of BurgosAbner of BurgosAbner of Burgos was a Jewish philosopher, a convert to Christianity and polemical writer against his former religion. Known after his conversion as Alfonso of Valladolid.-Life:... - a commentary on Averroes' commentary on the "De Cœlo et Mundo"
- a treatise on metaphysicsMetaphysicsMetaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
- "Pirḳe Mosheh," philosophical aphorismAphorismAn aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s - "Iggeret Meyuḥedet," on Ibn EzraIbn EzraIbn Ezra was a prominent Jewish family from Spain spanning many centuries.The name ibn Ezra may refer to:* Abraham ibn Ezra , a Rabbi who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries...
's commentary on Genesis 11:2