There exists a particularly rich tradition of Jewish philosophy, and this volume presents a view of the field as a whole. Although there are books that detail the history of Jewish philosophy, this is the first time a volume has been prepared by a variety of authors for this purpose. The advantages of this are that they bring with them a variety of perspectives and range of ideas which goes to make up a unique approach to the nature and content of Jewish philosophy. Thirty-five authors, from Britain, Canada, Israel, and the United States cover the whole breadth of Jewish philosophy, concentrating upon the philosophical interest of the ideas themselves. No attempt has been made to deal with every single Jewish philosopher, but the major schools of thought and controversy are thoroughly dealt with in this collection, and useful bibliographical information is supplied by the individual authors. The discussion ranges from the Bible itself to postmodern trends, from the thought of Moses Maimonides to those who discuss the nature of the Holocaust.
The links between Jewish philosophy and its wider cultural context emerge, so that an accurate view of the place of Jewish philosophy in the development of philosophy itself emerges. There is nowhere at present that the reader interested in exploring the whole scope and variety of Jewish philosophy can go, and there has long been the need for an edition like this that brings together experts in the field who write clearly and with philosophical acuity on their particular topics. This volume is likely to be a vital research tool for those interested in Jewish philosophy for some time to come.