Ibn Gabirol and Judah ha-Levi's Usage of Dialogue: The Role of the Disciple in Fons Vitae and that of the King in Kitāb al-Khazarī

The literary framework of Solomon Ibn Gabirol's Fons Vitae is a conversation between a master and a disciple. In this article, the nature of the disciple's questions will be analyzed in order to explain the advantages of the dialogical process in Ibn Gabirol's thought. The literary fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions
Main Author: Ravitsky, Aviram (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: MDPI [2019]
In: Religions
Further subjects:B Judah Ha-Levi
B Dialogue
B Fons Vitae
B Solomon Ibn Gabirol
B Kalām
B Kuzari
B Neoplatonism
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Summary:The literary framework of Solomon Ibn Gabirol's Fons Vitae is a conversation between a master and a disciple. In this article, the nature of the disciple's questions will be analyzed in order to explain the advantages of the dialogical process in Ibn Gabirol's thought. The literary framework of Judah ha-Levi's Kitāb al-Khazarī is similar to that of Fons Vitae. Ha-Levi's composition is built as a conversation that allegedly took place between the king of the Khazars and a Jewish scholar (ḥaver). Analysis of the king's responses to the ḥaver shows that the king did not fully understand the ḥaver's lessons, in which the deep meaning of Judaism is taught. In this article, the king's responses will be analyzed and, likewise, the question of Judah ha-Levi's intention in using this literary sophistication. As is shown in this article both famous Andalusian poets and thinkers, R. Judah ha-Levi and R. Solomon Ibn Gabirol, masters of linguistic phrasing and style, used the dialogical form not only as an opportunity to present their world views, but also as a method by which to critique their own philosophies.
ISSN:2077-1444
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel10100549