Simone Luzzatto’s Scepticism in the Context of Early Modern Thought (Maimonides Library for Philosophy and Religion, 7)

Much of the most recent research on Jewish scepticism was inspired by the work of the early modern Venetian rabbi Simone Luzzatto, the first thinker in the history of Jewish thought to declare himself a sceptic and a follower of the New Academy. This collected volume shines new light on the intimate relationship between Luzzatto’s sceptical thinking and an era marked by paradoxes and contrasts between religious devotion and scientific rationalism, as well as between the rabbinic-biblical Jewish tradition and the open tendency towards engagement with non-Jewish philosophical, literary, scientific, and theological cultures. It plots out an original path along which to understand Luzzatto’s scepticism by pointing to the various facets of being a Jewish sceptic in seventeenth-century Italy. ‎Contents ‎Notes on Contributors ‎Introduction ‎Part 1. The Relationship to Ancient Scepticism ‎What Kind of (Sceptical) Work is Simone Luzzatto’s Socrates? (Stern) ‎Sextus Empiricus’s Works as Guideline for Simone Luzzatto’s Socratic Ignorance (Torbidoni) ‎Part 2. Apologia and Apologetics ‎Apologetic Strategies, Scepticism, and Empiricism in Simone Luzzatto’s Works (Veltri) ‎Simone Luzzatto’s Scepticism in Light of Medieval Jewish Apologetics (Lelli) ‎Part 3. Wisdom and Jewish Tradition ‎“Everyone is Free to Decide to Investigate Every Kind of Discourse” (Lissa) ‎The Image of King Solomon in Simone Luzzatto’s Writings (Zev Harvey) ‎Part 4. Political and Economic Views ‎Simone Luzzatto’s Political Thought: Between Reason of State, Scepticism, and Jewish Political Tradition (Bartolucci) ‎Simone Luzzatto’s View on Jewish Ritual and Its Social Functions: A Consideration of His Sceptical Thought in the Intellectual Context of His Age (Lee) ‎Simone Luzzatto’s Appraisal of Prudence (Veltri and Lissa) ‎Varieties of Mercantilism: Simone Luzzatto and the Economic Role of the Jews in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (Andreoni) ‎“Seek the Peace of the City to which I have exiled you” in Simone Luzzatto and Menasseh ben Israel, with Azariah de’ Rossi behind the Scenes (Silvera) ‎Index of Names and Subjects Rabbi Simone Luzzatto was the first thinker of the early modern period to put forth new political and philosophical ideas under the banner of scepticism, helping to make the Jews an integral part of society.