Abraham ben Shem Tov Bibago

Abstract

Abraham Bibago was a Jewish Averroist, whose work treats the connection between Judaism and philosophy as well as Aristotelian logic, physics, and metaphysics. His numerous writings can essentially be divided into two groups: (1) philosophical and scientific works and (2) religious works. The first group consists of interpretations of Aristotle’s works taking into account inter alia several of Averroes’ commentaries. He also addressed current scholastic issues and in general strove to promote the Aristotelian approach. His religious writings, most prominently the Derekh Emunah (“Way of Faith”), strive to present a unified portrait of the world, which preserves a place for science and philosophy alongside Talmudic based religious life. In general, Bibago says in these works that philosophy and science can lead to human perfection, but so can faith. Often, he suggests that the perfection obtained through faith is superior to that attained through human intellect. These views, however, are not supported by the philosophical and scientific works, where Bibago presents Aristotelian philosophy as the only way to achieve human perfection. He even suggests in these works that the true purpose of Judaism is to allow the elite to study philosophy. Bibago’s two contradictory views, which he gives in different kinds of works, mark him firmly as a Jewish Averroist.