Machiavelli's theorizing of power Juxtaposed to the negative theological conceptualization of God: implications for Mideast peace

Botwinick, Aryeh (2022) Machiavelli's theorizing of power Juxtaposed to the negative theological conceptualization of God: implications for Mideast peace. Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 57 (1). pp. 40-57. ISSN 0022-0558

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Abstract

I begin this essay with a mini-genealogy of Maimonides's negative theology (which declares that we can only endlessly say what God is not, but not what God is), which traces it to a specific and recurring talmudic source. I then argue that Machiavelli, one of the great theorists of power in the Western intellectual tradition, structured his argument about power in a manner that was directly analogous to Maimonides's argument about God. I will draw the practical implications of this association throughout the essay. My starting point for the development of this argument is arbitrary. One can trace the argument of negative theology to numerous Greek, Islamic, and rabbinic sources. However, the vein of interpretation that I am mining here is relatively underdeveloped, so I think that it deserves special attention.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2022 University of Pennsylvania Press.
Divisions:	LSE
Date Deposited:	24 Aug 2022 08:48
Last Modified:	08 Apr 2024 03:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/116378

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