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Quote by Maimonides

“Transient bodies are only subject to destruction through their substance and not through their form, nor can the essence of their form be destroyed; in this respect they are permanent.”

Quote by Maimonides

Book:Guide for the perplexed

Work

Guide for the perplexed

Written by Moses Maimonides, this seminal work delves into metaphysics, ethics, and the nature of God, offering insights into the complexities of human thought and the quest for wisdom. more

Author

Maimonides, born on March 30, 1135 and died on December 12, 1204, was a Jewish philosopher, physician, and legal scholar. He is renowned for his contributions to philosophy, medicine, and Jewish law. more

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“I push every day against forces that say you have to go faster, be more effective, be more productive, you have to constantly outdo yourself, you have to constantly outdo your neighbor - all of the stuff that creates an incredibly productive society, but also a very neurotic one.”

Force Stuff Neighbor Faster Productive Neurotic

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“No form remains permanently in a substance; a constant change takes place, one form is taken off and another is put on.”

Form Taken Remains Constant Substance

Book:Guide for the perplexed

Source: Guide for the perplexed

“The corporeal element in man is a large screen and partition that prevents him from perfectly perceiving abstract ideals; this would be the case even if the corporeal element were as pure and superior as the substance of the spheres ; how much more must this be the case with our dark and opaque body. However great the exertion of our mind may be to comprehend the Divine Being or any of the ideals, we find a screen and partition between God and us.”

Ifs Men Mind May Body Would Be Dark Cases Divine Pure Elements Ideals Screens Superiors Substance Abstract Spheres Exertion Partition Opaque

Book:The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: The Guide for the Perplexed

“The Mutakallemim... apply the term non-existence only to absolute non-existence, and not to absence of properties. A property and the absence of that property are considered by them as two opposites, they treat, e.g. , blindness and sight, death and life, in the same way as heat and cold. Therefore they say, without any qualification, non-existence does not require any agent, an agent is required when something is produced.”

Way Doe Two Term Existence Cold Opposites Treats Sight Absolutes Property Absence Agents Heat Life And Death Blindness Qualifications Non Existence Two Opposites Heat And Cold

Book:Guide for the perplexed

Source: Guide for the perplexed

“The so-called evils are evils only in relation to a certain thing, and that which is evil in relation to a certain existing thing, either includes the non-existence of that thing or the non-existence of some of its good conditions.”

Certain Evil Existence Conditions Relation Non Existence

Book:The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: The Guide for the Perplexed

“The true work of God is all good, since it is existence.”

Book:The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: The Guide for the Perplexed

“The first kind of evil is that which is caused to man by the circumstance that he is subject to genesis and destruction, or that he possesses a body.”

Men Firsts Kind Body Evil Subjects Circumstances Destruction Genesis

Book:The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: The Guide for the Perplexed

“In accordance with the divine wisdom, genesis can only take place through destruction, and without destruction of the individual members of the species the species themselves would not exist permanently. Thus the true kindness, and beneficence, and goodness of God is clear.”

Individual Kindness Clear Divine Members Goodness Destruction Species Genesis Goodness Of God Beneficence Divine Wisdom

Book:The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: The Guide for the Perplexed

“He who thinks he can have flesh and bones without being subject to any external influence, or any accidents of matter, unconsciously wishes to reconcile two opposites, viz., to be at the same time subject and not subject to change. If man were never subject to change there could be no generation; there would be one single being, but no individuals forming a species.”

Ifs Thinking Men Two Matter Would Be Individual Wish Generations Influence Subjects Opposites Species Bones Accidents Flesh Reconcile Two Opposites External Influences

Book:The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: The Guide for the Perplexed

“Galen , in the third section of his book, "The Use of the Limbs," says correctly that it would be in vain to expect to see living beings formed of the blood of menstruous women and the semen virile, who will not die, will never feel pain, or will move perpetually, or shine like the sun. This dictum of Galen is part of the following more general proposition: Whatever is formed of matter receives the most perfect form possible in that species of matter; in each individual case the defects are in accordance with that individual matter.”

Feels Book Matter Use Would Be Pain Moving Form Dies Individual Perfect Cases Sun Blood Thirds Shining Species Following Vain Sections Propositions Defects Limbs Galen

Book:The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: The Guide for the Perplexed