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<blockquote
cite="mid:mailman.31243.1433276835.8590.avodah-aishdas.org@lists.aishdas.org"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">
From: Micha Berger via Avodah <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:avodah@lists.aishdas.org"><avodah@lists.aishdas.org></a>
[Rambam's statement (''And know that one of the strongest proofs for Creation ex nihilo, //for
:: //one who ismodeh al ha-ememmes// ...
:: is his confirming the fact that every one of all natural entities
:: serves a specific purpose, with each one benefiting still another;
:: and that this fact is a proof for the purposeful intent of an
:: [I]ntender...'') is not an informal argument, akin to R' Aqiva's or REW's appeal
to the obviousness of a design and thus Designer. Rather,] it is a recap of a formal proof The Rambam made in 2:19-20... 2:20 marks the end of an Argument from Design. As it opens: "According to Aristotle, none of the products
of Nature are due to chance. His proof is this: That which is due to
chance does not reappear constantly nor frequently, but all products of
Nature reappear either constantly or at least frequently..."
This is a formal argument, unlike R' Aqiva's or REW's own appeal
to the obviousness of a design and thus Designer.</pre>
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<font face="Courier New, Courier, monospace">Philosophers may
disagree with classifying the </font><font face="Courier New,
Courier, monospace">argument made in 2:20 from ''frequency of
appearance</font><font face="Courier New, Courier, monospace">''
as ''an argument from design.'' But even if it is ''an'' argument
from design, it's a different argument from the ''modeh al
ha-emmess'' proof from the hierarchy of entities benefiting
others. So the latter is not a recap of the former. And it does
not necessarily follow that one who is modeh to the ''frequency''
argument considers the </font><font face="Courier New, Courier,
monospace">hierarchy argument ''one of the strongest.'' <br>
</font>
<pre wrap="">
RZL, continued:
: He explicitly describes this <i class="moz-txt-slash"><span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span>modeh al ha-emmess<span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span></i> statement /as a
: tangential interruption/: After that statement, he says, "I will now
: return to the subject of this chapter, viz., the ultimate cause [i.e.
: the purpose behind the universe being as it is--ZL]."
: My point was that we nevertheless see that the Rambam recognizes that
: there is another approach to verifying truth, namely that which follows
: the non-formal mindset of those who are <i class="moz-txt-slash"><span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span>modeh al ha-emmess<span class="moz-txt-tag">/</span></i>...
RMB: >Agreed it's tangential, which is why I doubt that if the Rambam did want
to say something that signficant, this would be its only mention.<</pre>
<font face="Courier New, Courier, monospace"><big>Again: Here, where
the Rambam, for the first time, is about to bring up the
hierarchy proof, he parenthetically mentions that it is
intuitively understood by anyone unbiased. </big></font><font
face="Courier New, Courier, monospace"><big>He does then go on to
state the proof in a formal philosophic form. </big></font><font
face="Courier New, Courier, monospace"><big>This is the most
proper place to insert such a parenthetical remark
parenthetically, and only once. It's not ''that significant''
for his purposes, because, as I had written, the entire purpose
of the Moreh is to address people (including himself) concerned
with hearing formal philosophic proofs and confronting the </big></font><font
face="Courier New, Courier, monospace"><big>challenges that formal
philosophic proofs</big></font><font face="Courier New, Courier,
monospace"><big> brought to the mesorah. Those interested in
hearing an expanded version of the argument in informal form
could find it in the Rambam's introduction to his his Mishnah
commentary.<br>
<br>
Zvi Lampel</big></font><br>
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