Kniha zjevených pravd a rozumových argumentů – Gaon Saadja (2021)

The Jewish religious thinker Saadia ben Joseph (882–942) is the author of the theological-philosophical treatise The Book of Revealed Truths and Rational Arguments (Judeo-Arabic Kitáb al-amánát wa l-i?ti?ádát). It can be said without hesitation that this text is revolutionary, both in its content and its formal treatment. Within Jewish religious-legal literature, it documents the 'birth of the author' and represents a new type of text that does not rely on the associative interpretation of legal and religious questions so typical of the Talmud. The author speaks for himself without citing a chain of transmitters and effectively writes the first scientific monograph in the Jewish context. The work aims to be a didactic manual providing the reader with a clear foundation for interreligious debates, which were an integral part of the intellectual life of cosmopolitan Baghdad in the first half of the 10th century. Therefore, the author presents the reader with the only correct opinion on the creation of the world, on the Creator, on the reason for the giving of commandments and their nature, on the soul, the afterlife, and on a number of other topics.