Qohelet's Epistemology
The question of the validity and scope of human knowledge is at the center of Qohelet's concerns. In addressing this question, Qohelet reveals his ideas and assumptions about the nature of knowledge and presents a clear, though inchoate, epistemology. Qohelet's epistemology is essentially...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1988
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 1987, Volume: 58, Pages: 137-155 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The question of the validity and scope of human knowledge is at the center of Qohelet's concerns. In addressing this question, Qohelet reveals his ideas and assumptions about the nature of knowledge and presents a clear, though inchoate, epistemology. Qohelet's epistemology is essentially (though not consistently) empirical. His procedure is to deliberately seek experience as his primary source of knowledge and to use experiential argumentation in testifying for his claims and validating them. He conceives of knowledge as created by thought and dependent on it (rather than as having independent existence, as in other Wisdom Literature). Qohelet's epistemology as a whole has no parallel in other ancient Near Eastern Wisdom Literature, which, contrary to a widespread view, is not empirical. His divergence from Wisdom epistemology does not, however, constitute a polemic against Wisdom Literature, but rather an expansion of its claims. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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