Philosophy of the Talmud

This is a new presentation of the philosophy of the Talmud. The Talmud is not a work of formal philosophy, but much of what it says is relevant to philosophical enquiry of the kind that has been going on recently.

Hyam Maccoby is Professor of Jewish Stuides at the University of Leeds. He has published many books and articles on rabbinic literature, Christian origins, and the origins of antisemitism.

Preface and Acknowledgements  1. Does the Talmud Contain Philosophy?  2. The Aggadah as a Source of Philosophy  3. The Talmud and Moral Theory  4. The Rabbinic Social Contract  5. Judaism and Revolution  6. Revolutionary Thought in the Rabbinic Writings  7. The Problem of Morality I  8. The Problem of Morality II  9. Transgressional Sacralism  10. Absolute Values in Talmudic Judaism  11. Political Theory in Torah and Talmud  12. Rabbinic Epistemology  13. The Day God Laughed  14. Talmudic Logic  15. Two Modern Talmudic Thinkers  Appendix A Qal va-chomer^n in Aggadah  Appendix B Talmudic Rectification of Abuses  References  Index of Quotations  General Index