Medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophers employed esoteri... — Carmelics

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Medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophers employed esotericism for political reasons, not merely gnostic ones.

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1.Revelation in Judaism and Islam deals fundamentally with law and the correct social order.
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2.Interpreting law is inherently a political act.
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3.Interpreting law is further from philosophy than interpreting dogma, placing philosophy on the periphery of Islamic and Jewish society.
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Reasons Against

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1.Maimonides explicitly states in the Guide that esoteric writing protects divine truths from misunderstanding, not philosophers from persecution.
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2.The 'seven causes of contradiction' Maimonides identifies are epistemological and pedagogical, not politically motivated concealment strategies.
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3.If esotericism were primarily political, it would disappear when political danger subsided, but Maimonides recommends it even for private written instruction.
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