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Many pagan, Jewish, Christian and Muslim philosophers from Antiquity to the Enlightenment made no meaningful distinction between philosophy and religion. Instead they advocated a philosophical religion, arguing that God is Reason and that the historical forms of a religious tradition serve as philosophy's handmaid to promote the life of reason among non-philosophers. Carlos Fraenkel provides the first account of this concept and traces its history back to Plato. He shows how Jews and Christians appropriated it in Antiquity, follows it through the Middle Ages in both Islamic and Jewish forms and argues that it underlies Spinoza's interpretation of Christianity. The main challenge to a philosophical religion comes from the modern view that all human beings are equally able to order their lives rationally and hence need no guidance from religion. Fraenkel's wide-ranging book will appeal to anyone interested in how philosophy has interacted with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious traditions.
- Sales Rank: #1313742 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Cambridge University Press
- Published on: 2013-01-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.98" h x .94" w x 5.98" l, 1.46 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 358 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Review
"In this brilliant and original book, Carlos Fraenkel introduces us to a new strand in the history of both religious and philosophical thought: the idea of a philosophical religion, where reason and religion coincide. Fraenkel leads the reader through the history of philosophical religion, from Plato, through late ancient Judaism and Christianity, through Islam to Spinoza and beyond, transforming our conception of both religion and philosophy."
Daniel Garber, Princeton University
"This book is a must-read (and re-read) for anyone interested in the contemporary politics of toleration or the uneasy history of the relations between Faith and Reason. With a remarkable breadth of learning and a keen eye Professor Fraenkel charts the efforts by thinkers from Plato through Hegel to integrate sacred texts and practices into larger philosophical and political world-views. This is both first-rate History of Philosophy and for enthusiasts and sceptics alike an eye-opener about the pre-conditions of secular democracy."
Calvin Normore, University of California, Los Angeles
"Fraenkel's brilliant book succeeds in changing the traditional paradigm for which Spinoza brings to a close the long tradition of philosophical reflection on religion, from Philo to the great late ancient and medieval Christian, Muslim, and Jewish theologians and philosophers. For Spinoza, Fraenkel argues, as for his predecessors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is also that of the philosophers, in radical opposition to the claim of his contemporary Pascal. Fraenkel's new view of the history of a central conception of religion in Western intellectual history is nothing less than a tour de force that should have a significant impact on scholarship."
Guy Stroumsa, University of Oxford and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"... a bold and exciting new book ... this study is to be commended for both the breadth and depth of its learning and should inspire a rich scholarly dialogue going forward ..."
Journal of Religious Studies
"... I very much enjoyed reading this book and Carlos Fraenkel is to be congratulated for having produced a provocative and always intelligent argument. Like many good books it raises more questions than it settles, and is a constantly rewarding read."
H-Judaic
"... Fraenkel's monograph is very stimulating and thought-provoking ... The arguments kept ruminating in my mind for some time, which I think is a hallmark of an intellectually intriguing work."
Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"A remarkable and important book ... It is one of the great merits of Fraenkel's extraordinary book that he helps us to see beyond the Straussian caricature of medieval philosophy ... [The book] ranges not only across a broad span of history from the Greeks to the eighteenth century, but also across religious traditions that today's more passionate apologists would prefer to hold apart ... [T]he most surprising argument of the book ... [is] his revolutionary conclusion that the tradition of philosophical religion has survived into modernity ..."
Peter Gordon, The New Republic
"No reasonable person can fail to be impressed by the breadth of learning Fraenkel displays in this study and the care and subtlety with which he approaches his sources ... I am not aware of any other book that takes on so ambitious a project and executes it so well ... [T]he book constitutes a major contribution to historical scholarship."
Journal of the History of Philosophy
"Fraenkel's philosophical credentials, linguistic skills, and command of the pertinent sources are impeccably displayed in this book. No research into the phenomenon of philosophical religion can be conducted without resort to it as a seminal study, and no course can be taught that relates to it without including it in its syllabus. Rather than categorically convincing and putting an end to further discussion, Fraenkel's book achieves something far better. It will compel scholars to reconsider texts over which they have long considered to be in command, and stimulate reasoned and lively debate concerning vital issues that are not simply academic in nature. Fraenkel's book authentically provokes in every good sense of the word, and is itself worthy of Spinoza's parting words in the Ethics - 'all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare"."
James Diamond, Iyyun: The Jerusalem Philosophical Quarterly
About the Author
Carlos Fraenkel is Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Department of Jewish Studies, McGill University.
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
A vital contribution to the history of ideas, and indeed, to peace between people of faith and reason
By Aric Haley
Too often, we postmoderns get caught up in dichotomistic arguments that pit faith against reason, religion against science, theory vs. data, etc. without considering how some of the brightest minds in human history have approached this tension. Carlos Fraenkel may be uniquely positioned to deliver this incisive tour of philosophical religions, tracing ideas that were first articulated by Plato, through the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism (exemplified by Philo, Maimonides, and Delmedigo), Christianity (exemplified by Clement, Origen, and Spinoza), and Islam (exemplified by Averroes and Al-Farabi).
He concludes with brief comments on why the philosophical approach to religion has fallen into disuse [though it probably has unknowing adherents among some clergy of liberal denominations], and the challenge of pluralism in democratic states. I suspect and hope he will expand on these thoughts in the future.
I must commend Dr. Fraenkel and his editors for writing so lucidly on this complex topic. Perhaps it is a quirk of my education (more theology and religious history than philosophy proper), but I found this to be the clearest and most accessible scholarly book on philosophy that I have encountered in a long time. Better yet, it made me want to dig into the primary sources. I understood what he was saying, but felt like I would get a lot more out of it if I re-read it after studying Plato, Aristotle, Philo, Origen, Maimonides, Al-Farabi, Spinoza, and so on.
Key Ideas: People who approached religion philosophically distinguished between the literal/narrative content of their religion -- stories of prophets, miracles, and the like -- which serve a “pedagogical-political” purpose by appealing to the imagination of the intellectually ungifted and the true/hidden meaning of their religion, which could only be understood by philosophers. The proponents of philosophical religion differed over how to reconcile the conflict between the surface meaning and the hidden meaning of their religions. Some sought to gradually bring more and more of their community into the deeper understanding of their faith (e.g. Maimonides), and others thought it was dangerous to even attempt this (e.g. Averroes). [The recent history of liberal Protestantism in North America might be an interesting test case of the dangers of admitting that you don’t take your scriptures literally.]
The proponents of philosophical religion were generally in agreement on the idea that it serves a well-ordered community to allow adherents to persist in believing falsehoods (miracle stories, etc.) that serve the moral order. Not everyone can handle the idea of God as “Reason who rules all things” or “Deus sive Natura.” Let them go on believing that there is a person who watches all things and hands down blessings and judgments. For those who see the falsehood therein, explore to see whether they are not-yet-philosophers who can be brought into a deeper understanding of the way things really are. A key difference between the proponents of philosophical religion and hardline skeptics is that the philosophical religionists were strongly opposed to discarding the teachings and practices of their religion. They were agreed that outright rebellion against the surface falsehoods of religion would destroy the social order, and cause harm to the many. At the same time, many of the philosophical religionists embraced a sort of pluralism, thinking that their religion would have been expressed differently had it been delivered to different people at a different point in history.
On a personal level, this book also meant a lot to me, as my journey has been in the opposite direction of Spinoza’s: from Christianity to agnostic skepticism to rationalist/progressive Judaism. It gave me a better context for framing an understanding of the issues faced when holding both religious belief/praxis in tension with reason and scientific knowledge. Further, it gave me a better perspective on how to value the “imaginative” faith of people who do not share my rationalistic tendencies.
Advice to the reader: Unlike many works of nonfiction, Philosophical Religions from Plato to Spinoza should be read from the beginning, in order. Each section of each chapter builds on what has come previously.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
One can find philosophy in religious teachings according to many philosophers
By Israel Drazin
We can summarize Carlos Frankel's informative book as follows:
There are people, including most philosophers, who are convinced that: (1) People have a duty to study and develop their minds, for this is what makes them human. To do otherwise is to act as an animal or plant or a piece of dirt. (2) Contrary to most religious people, they think that God wants or reason demands that individuals devote their lives to this study. (3) The purpose of their study is to improve themselves and help improve society. (4) The study should be of the laws of nature, including such subjects as physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics so they can understand the world, and psychology, history, and sociology to understand people. (5) These people recognize that everybody cannot do this. (6) They recognize also that such study will teach them information that will differ with the notions held by the majority of people who have leant little since grade school, who lack the capacity to learn, and who have based their lives on childish notions, false ideas, and even superstitions. (7) They know that if they try to tell the average person what they know, the average person will feel threatened because they will feel that the intellectual is attacking the basic principles of their lives.
Many of these philosophically-minded intellectuals are religious people or people who feel that their religion is important and would like to believe that their religion is teaching people the truth, but they realize that religion cannot teach the ideal truth (8) because the average person is unable to understand the truth and would feel threated by the new ideas because they lack the education to understand the truth or lack the ability to do so or have become accustomed to false ideas and superstitions taught to them as children. To teach them the truth is as dangerous as feeding solid foods to children. Yet (9) the goal of religion is to aid people in living a better life so it teaches some truths in a “watered-down manner.”
But, (11) Intellectuals feel that they can mine the words of their scriptures and read many of the tales in it as allegory, and they can thereby find that their religion is teaching the truth in a hidden manner. Carlos Fraenkel calls this “philosophical religion,” in his book “Philosophical Religion from Plato to Spinoza.”
The following are some of the statements that Fraenkel made about “philosophical religion”:
The need to study the laws of nature
Fraenkel argues a person needs to study philosophy, meaning the laws of nature, to be perfectly religious. True “piety consists in perfecting reason.” It is the study of the sciences to improve oneself and to aid in improving society. “At the center of philosophical religion is the ideal of Godliness attained through the perfection of reason.”
Philosophy is the highest form of worship
Like Plato, Aristotle, the Jewish philosophers Aristobulus in the second century BCE, Philo in the beginning of the common era, Maimonides in the twelfth century, and many philosophers before and after Maimonides, which Fraenkel quotes, Fraenkel notes that philosophers “claim to grasp the true nature of things which radically differs from the belief of ‘the many’ (hoi polloi)…the hopelessly confused ‘opinions of mortals.’”
The value of philosophy (understanding the laws of nature)
“In a community based on a philosophical religion the life of all members is ordered toward what is best.” “Reason determines how much food, drink, and sex or power, victory, and honor we should pursue.” It is not, as most people think, prayer and the study, among Jews, of the Talmud.
It was impossible for the Torah to teach the truth
Maimonides taught[1] that the Babylonian Talmud[2] states that “the Torah speaks in the language of man,” meaning that the Torah could not reveal the entire truth but only what people could understand and deal with to help them improve themselves and society. The Torah adapts its teachings to the audience’s capacity to understand. “The Law of Moses,” Fraenkel states, “aims at the perfection of every adherent insofar as possible for him.”
Teaching lies
To do this, Maimonides teaches, the Torah had to use a “ruse” such as God punishes people who do not obey the divine law.[3] It is a “necessary” falsehood,[4] what Plato called “the noble lie.” An example of a necessary teaching that is contrary to reason is that God has emotions and becomes angry when people disobey divine law.[5] Fraenkel mentions Samuel ibn Tibbon (died c. 1232) who agreed with Maimonides “The Divine Law has two sides: a secret side directed towards philosophers and a public side directed towards non-philosophers.”
Religion teaches what people can understand about the truth
Religion “establishes beliefs, practices, and institutions that imitate (emphasis added) philosophy to give non-philosophers a share in the perfection (of the self and society) that philosophy affords.”
How do philosophers read the Bible?
We have to learn how to read and understand biblical statements. “Only if taken literally prophetic statements are false. Their allegorical sense, by contrast, consists in sound philosophical doctrines.”
Even the prophets taught as much of the truth as people could understand
“The difference between the philosopher and the prophet is that while both know the good, the prophet also has the skill to convey the good to non-philosophers and motivate them to do it.”
[1] Guide 1:26.
[2] Yevamot 71a.
[3] Guide 3:32.
[4] Guide 3:28.
[5] Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Madda, Laws concerning repentance 10:5.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
A Study of Reason and Religion
By Robin Friedman
Many philosophers have thought about the relationship between two broad and difficult to define concepts: religion and reason. They are frequently considered in opposition. In his learned and thoughtful book “Philosophical Religions from Plato to Spinoza: Reason, Religion, and Autonomy” (2012), Carlos Fraenkel, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Judaic Studies at McGill University, aims, in his words, to “lay the groundwork for understanding and tracing the history of what I call a philosophical religion.” Perhaps the most succinct and evocative statement of what Fraenkel means is his brief autobiographical comment about his three years of graduate study at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Fraenkel writes that he was
“both puzzled and intrigued by scholars who combined a Spinozistic mindset with strict religious observance. In a sense this book is an attempt to solve what then seemed like a paradox to me.”
Fraenkel works to define the nature of a philosophical religion, to trace its development through a series of thinkers culminating in Spinoza, and to offer brief comments on the continued importance of offshoots of philosophical religion. Philosophical religion sees religion and philosophy as identical. Philosophy and thought show the nature of reason and goodness in the universe which is shared by human beings at their best when they are being faithful to themselves. Reason and God are identical and form the basis for contemplation and study -- the most worthy activities of human life. Traditional religions, such as Greek polytheism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are full of anthropomorphic gods, stories and myths, and rewards and punishment. Practitioners of philosophical religion view these traditional religions as showing philosophical truths imaginatively for the great majority of human beings who are incapable of or have no interest in following philosophical demonstrations. They reinterpret the texts and practices of traditional religions to show how their underlying insights are those of philosophical religion.
On this view, there are a plurality of different and equally legitimate traditional religions, which develop based on differences in culture, time, and temperament, but only one philosophical religion – the religion of reason. Philosophical religion thus accounts for and respects pluralism and diversity. There is a heavily political component to philosophical religion. In its historical form, it presupposes that only a small percentage of people have the capability of philosophical understanding. It leads to a tendency to organize societies in non-egalitarian ways based on the insight and knowledge of the more rational people. Following the Enlightenment, Fraenkel argues, moral ideas of egalitarianism, equality, and the responsibility of each individual for his or her own life and choices he or she makes undercut the presuppositions of philosophical religion. Fraenkel suggests that many of the insights of philosophical religion may be restated to meet modern ideals of individualism and changes in the character of science as well, but these possible changes are only discussed briefly.
Fraenkel’s historical study begins with Plato and emphasizes the Republic and the Laws. Fraenkel studies Plato’s concept of nous or mind which later became translated as logos. In the Republic Plato objected to the stories of the gods and suggested that children above the age of 10 should be taken away from their families to gain a true understanding. In the Laws, Plato modified his position. He suggested that philosophers and rulers could work with the existing myths and stories and reinterpret them. Reinterpretation would show the congruence between imagination and philosophical truth without the radical step of what Fraenkel calls a cultural revolution. Harmonizing traditional religion with reason through interpretation, as Fraenkel reads Plato in the Laws, forms the basis for philosophical religion in Fraenkel's account.
In the following chapters of his book, Fraenkel describes how philosophers used and modified Plato’s philosophical religion to show how the Abrahamic faiths constituted philosophical religions. He offers detailed and close interpretations of Philo of Alexandria, who interpreted Jewish Biblical texts allegorically in accordance with Platonic teachings of Alexandrian Christian students of Philo including Clement and Origen who expanded both Plato and Philo to read Christianity as a philosophical religion.
Fraekel gives close attention to the Islamic philosophers Al-Farabi and Averroes to show their understanding of the relationship between philosophy and Islam from the standpoint of what was called falasafa. Islamic teachings were reinterpreted and understood in accordance with Plato’s teachings of reason to make a philosophical understanding of religion. The great Jewish philosopher and codifier Maimonides also was a falasafa, heavily influenced by Islamic thinkers in creating a philosophical understanding of Judaism and its teachings. Together with these thinkers, Fraenkel considers the little-known Jewish thinker Elijah Delmedigo as a bridge figure to understand Spinoza’s relationship to his medieval predecessors.
Fraenkel offers a controversial interpretation of Spinoza which emphasizes medieval components of his thought more than is usually done. His study focuses on the Theological-Political Treatise and if argues that Spinoza in part aimed to interpret Christianity, the dominant religion of his society, as a philosophical religion, using interpretation and allegory as did figures such as Philo. Fraenkel also recognizes an inconsistent thread of the Theological-Political Treatise. Spinoza mounts an attack on revealed religion and anthropomorphic religion in all their forms and rejects attempts to read philosophy into Scripture in the manner of Maimonides, Philo, and others. Spinoza founded the modern school of Biblical interpretation which tries to understand texts historically rather than reading ideas into them which are not there. Fraenkel sees the tension between these two parts of Spinoza’s project in the Theological-Political Treatise as continuing to the present day in the efforts different people make to think about religion – in terms of both secularization and reinterpretation. This observation is important and insightful, but it is only sketched in the last pages of Fraenkel’s book.
Fraenkel has written a difficult but outstanding book. It is inspiring to see a young philosopher writing with erudition and taking the history of thought seriously. The book offers a great deal to think about in understanding the nature of both reason and religion both and on the consequences of moral egalitarianism. In reading, I thought frequently of contrasting approaches to Fraenkel’s study, such as Rebecca Goldstein’s recent book on Plato or Jonathan Israel’s work on Spinoza and Radical Enlightenment. This is a book for serious readers with a strong passion for the study of religion and for the history of philosophy.
Robin Friedman
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