Sefer HaIkkarim, Maamar 3

Everything that is potential must pass from potentiality to actuality. And if it does not, then its potential existence is vain, and as though it were not at all. It is clear, therefore, that if man’s ultimate perfection and purpose which, as we said, is potential were not realized, the existence of the human species would be vain, for man would have no pre-eminence over the other animal species. We must therefore explain what this purpose is, that man may endeavor to attain it.

According to the opinion of the philosophers the ultimate purpose is the attainment of intellectual knowledge (lit. intelligibles). They say also that the intellect that is acquired by means of it (lit. them) survives after death. This takes place when the intellect, the cognizing subject, and the intelligible object are consolidated into one substance and are identified with the intelligibles in the Active Intellect. This, they say, is the ultimate purpose of man and the happiness of his soul. They also maintain that except in this way we can not conceive of any survival of the soul, and therefore the existence of the human species would be vain, the human species would have no pre-eminence over the animal, and the perfection of the species of which we spoke in the preceding chapter would be vain. This is the opinion of the philosophers concerning human perfection. It is also the opinion of many Jewish theologians, as stated in their works. They adopted this opinion because they thought that it is the opinion of the Bible. For Moses says, “That I may know Thee in order that I may find favour in Thine eyes.” From this, they say, it seems that only he who knows finds favor in God’s sight, and no one else. But this is not necessarily implied in the text, which only signifies that he who knows stands on a higher plane than the one who does not know, but nothing else. For the expression, “that I may know Thee,” refers to God, and no one can know God outside of Himself. We must therefore examine this question briefly, enough to give the believer an idea, as is our purpose in this work.

If we examine this opinion we shall find that it is absurd in itself and in disagreement with the divine Torah. For the philosophers can not by any means avoid the conclusion that the existence of man is vain, thus meeting with the same difficulty which they are endeavoring to escape. The purpose is either one that can be attained or one that can not be attained. If it can not be attained, then the existence of the human species is vain and man has no pre-eminence over the ass and the pig. And if it can be attained, it is clear that neither all nor the majority of mankind can attain it, but only one in a thousand, or one in a generation, like Socrates or Plato. But the other persons who have not as much knowledge as they, and have not reached their high plane, will be, in their opinion, in the position of the ass and the pig, since, according to their opinion, they have not attained the human purpose. The existence of all would therefore be vain except the one man in his generation. And if it happens that there is a generation without a man like Socrates, for example, the existence of the whole species at that time would be vain. Thus we see that they are subject to the same objection which they endeavor to avoid. For according to this theory it would follow that all God’s work at certain times and the greater part of His work at all times never attains or can, by any possibility, attain its purpose. This is something that can not be charged to any perfect agent, how much less to the Cause of Causes, who is far above any such limitation.

Moreover, even according to their opinion, those ideas which the wise man or the unique one in his generation apprehends, may not lead him to his human purpose and perfection. For knowledge concerning the elements and objects of nature does not confer essential perfection upon the soul even according to the opinion of the philosophers. Certainly this is true of mathematical knowledge. For what perfection can the soul attain by knowing that the angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles, or that the external angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the two opposite internal angles, or that when you add the side of an inscribed decagon to the side of an inscribed hexagon, the resulting line is divided into a mean proportional and two extremes? This knowledge gives perfection to the soul only so far as it is an introduction and a means to the understanding of the heavenly objects and the causes upon which the natural objects depend, but it does not of itself give perfection to the soul. Therefore the soul can not acquire eternity from such knowledge.

David calls attention to this fact in the nineteenth Psalm. The statement is there made that human speculation can make inferences from the motions of the spheres because we see that the heavens move continuously. As every moving thing requires a mover, we infer the existence of God who moves them. And being enormous bodies, they point to the mighty force of their mover, thus indicating His glory and power. This is the meaning of the expression, “the glory of El (God),” the word El indicating power in Hebrew, as in the expression, “Yesh le-el yadi,” which denotes power. Similarly the firmament, i. e., that part of the atmosphere in which rain and snow and hail and thunder and lightning originate, also points to the great power of God. It is possible also that the word firmament alludes to the diurnal sphere, which Ezekiel also calls firmament, as in the statement, “And over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament like the color of the terrible ice, stretched forth over their heads above.” The Psalm continues to describe how the heavens and the firmament declare the glory of God and the work of His hands, by saying, “Day unto day uttereth speech, etc.” The meaning is that they declare the glory of God through the diurnal motions which are visible every day and the changes by which one day differs from another. And similarly, “Night unto night revealeth knowledge”. For in reality there is no ‘speech,’ that is a proposition or judgment, such as, “the world had an origin in time,” nor ‘words,’ such as the component words of the proposition mentioned, viz. “world,” “origin,” etc. Nor is there even the ‘voice’ or sound of a single letter, for “their voice is not heard.” The heavens have not any of these, but “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world”, through their visible motions, through the sun for whom “He hath set a tent” in the heavens, and through whom are known day and night, and through the other celestial motions which cause the genesis of existing things in the lower world, thus pointing to God’s handiwork. Further in the same Psalm we read, “which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,” the meaning of which is that the sun is forced in its diurnal motion by the diurnal sphere like a bridegroom who does not desire to leave his chamber but is forced to, as the prophet says, “Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her pavilion.” And despite this fact the sun “rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course,” in order to do the will of his Maker. In explanation of the statement that the sun is forced in his diurnal motion, he refers to the other motion of the sun which is proper to him, “His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it,” i. e. to the north and to the south. For the sun does not rise to-day in the same place where he rose yesterday, and in this way he warms now the south now the north, “And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” This is the knowledge that may be derived from the heavens and their motions. But it is not this that gives perfection to the soul, enabling it to cleave to the higher beings and return to the place of its origin. “The Law of the Lord,” alone, “is perfect,” and adequate to bring the soul back to its original home, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.” In the sequel the Psalm describes the pre-eminence of the divine law over other laws, as was explained in the eighth chapter of the First Book.

From all this it is clear that knowledge of the motions of the spheres and of the natural phenomena that take place in the firmament of heaven does not confer perfection upon the soul. But if the soul is to attain perfection, it can come only from a knowledge of divine things. But this can not be unless the knowledge is true, i. e. unless what is in the soul is in agreement with that which is outside of the soul. Then only can the soul unite with the Active Intellect. But this union can take place only if there is a complete agreement. But this is impossible, for it is inconceivable that there be one so wise that his ideas should agree in every way with the ideas in the Active Intellect. This is the reason why some philosophers deny the immortality of the soul altogether, because that which man knows of divine things can not be absolutely true and in complete agreement with the ideas of the Active Intellect. For the soul’s knowledge of things abstracted from their matter is mere surmise and conjecture, and it may be that the reality is quite different from the idea.

To give an illustration, there is a difference of opinion between the ancient philosophers and the modern, whether the first mover is an effect of the First Cause or not. Ibn Sina, Alfarabi and R. Moses ha-Lavi are of the opinion that the first mover is an effect of the First Cause, whereas Ibn Roshd maintains that the First Cause is the immediate mover of the sphere, and attributes this opinion to Aristotle. Now if Ibn Sina is correct, then Aristotle did not have the true opinion concerning this question, which is the most important of questions concerning divine things, but entertained a theory which is different from the truth. If so, then the entire existence of man from the time of Aristotle to that of Ibn Sina was in vain, since their opinion concerning the most important question was different from the truth. Clearly, then, the philosophers are subject to the objection which they endeavored to avoid.

Moreover, even if we grant that the perfection of man is dependent upon a knowledge of ideas, and that this knowledge may be acquired by the whole human race or the greater part of it, it can not be denied that there is a difference between one person and another, for it is a matter of experience. This being the case, I should like to know what would happen when Reuben has certain ideas, and Simeon has one idea more than Reuben. What difference would there be between them when they are both identified with the Active Intellect? And if it is maintained that no one can be identified with the Active Intellect unless he has all the ideas of the latter and the two become one, no man has ever attained this stage. And therefore this kind of immortality becomes null and void, a species of immortality invented by men wise in their own eyes and following the desires of their evil heart, who dive in deep waters and bring up a potsherd.

David alluded to this when he said, “I hate them that are of a double mind; but Thy law do I love.” The meaning is, I hate philosophical ideas, but I love Thy law, for through it man attains perfection of soul, embracing the entire species or the greater part of it. For the purpose of a given species must be realized in the whole species or in the greater part thereof. For example, the power of scammonia to pass red gall or the power of rhubarb to purify the bad mixture in the liver must apply to every individual in the species, whether he be strong or weak. It is impossible that it should not apply to the whole species or to the greater part thereof, for in that case the respective definitions would not be applicable to scammonia and rhubarb. It is clear, therefore, that all individuals to whom the definition of man applies or a majority of them should be able to realize the purpose of man, unless it be hindered through their own evil choice. If not at all times, this should be possible most of the time, else the existence of the human species is in vain. But it is absurd to suppose that there exists a species with a specific form which does not realize the function and purpose which it ought to realize. Hence Aristotle says that there must come a time when all men will pursue the truth and endeavor to know God as far as it is possible for man. He says this because he thought that otherwise the existence of the human species would be in vain. Now since the acquisition of knowledge in the manner explained is impossible for all men, we must explain what is the method by which human perfection, embracing the whole or a greater part of the species, may be obtained by the whole species or by the greater part thereof.