Maimonides

Question 1

Existence of God

Answer 1

• Used cosmological arguments, such as arguments from motion, necessity, contingency

Question 2

Immortality of the Soul

Answer 2

• The soul achieves immortality through intellectual perfection and ethical reason

Question 3

Free Will

Answer 3

• Humans have full free will and are responsible for actions
• Suffering and punishment are consequences of sin

Question 4

Problem of Evil

Answer 4

• Evil is the absence (privation) of good, not a creation of God
• Majority of evil results form human actions, correctable through governance

Question 5

Divine Providence

Answer 5

• Providence is proportional to intellectual closeness to God
• Pain and suffering result from previous sins

Question 6

Judaism and Law

Answer 6

• Torah combines revelation and reason, guiding ethical and intellectual growth
• Designed to transition from idolatry to monotheism

Question 7

Role of Reason

Answer 7

• Combines revelation with reason to understand God, scripture, and ethical obligations
• Scripture uses metaphors to teach complex ideas away from idolatry

Question 8

Context of Influence

Answer 8

• Aristotelian philosophy heavily influences cosmological arguments and ethical ideas