t is generally believed that Judaism was the first of three monotheistic religions. ”Religion” and ”monotheism” though are problematic and anachronistic notions. The lecturer will try to show how the Jewish tradition was in fact transformed into a ”doctrine of the unity of God” in the Medieval Islamicate world by the 12th century rabbi and philosopher, Moses Maimonides.
About the Speaker:
Assoc. Prof. David Lemler is an Associate Professor in Medieval Jewish thought at Sorbonne Université, Paris/LEM, UMR8584, CNRS. His field of study is mainly Maimonidean and post-Maimonidean philosophy. His research emphasizes the specific way Medieval Jewish philosophers wrote: he dedicated a monograph to the diverse writing strategies used by Jewish philosophers from Saadia Gaon to Hasday Crescas to deal with the debate on the eternity vs the creation of the world (Création du monde et limites du langage. Sur l’art d’écrire des philosophes juifs médiévaux, Paris, Vrin, 2020). His last book, L’invention du judaïsme. Comment les Juifs se définissent eux-mêmes (Paris, Albin Michel, 2025; The invention of Judaism. How Jews Defines Themselves), analyses the way Jewish philosophy helped form the comprehension the Jews have of their own tradition.
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