"Consequently he who wishes to attain to human perfection, must therefore first study Logic, next the various branches of Mathematics in their proper order, then Physics, and lastly Metaphysics"
About this Quote
Perfection, for Maimonides, is not a glow-up of the soul; it is an education with a spine. The sentence marches in a strict sequence, and that sequencing is the point: human excellence is engineered, not wished into being. Logic comes first because it polices the mind. Before you can talk about God, ethics, or ultimate causes, you need defenses against self-deception, bad argument, and the seductions of rhetoric. In a medieval world where theological certainty could easily outrun intellectual rigor, that’s a quietly radical demand.
The next move is even sharper. Mathematics isn’t just a toolkit; it’s a discipline of proof, a training in necessity. By insisting on “the proper order,” Maimonides signals a curriculum designed to reshape the knower. You don’t get to cherry-pick the impressive parts; you submit to a progression that produces intellectual humility as a byproduct.
Physics follows because it anchors the mind in the structured world of causes and change. Only then does metaphysics arrive - last, not first - as the most perilous terrain, where concepts can detach from reality and become pious fiction. The subtext is a warning: metaphysics without prior training becomes imagination dressed up as truth.
Context matters. Writing within a Jewish tradition negotiating its relationship with Aristotelian philosophy and Islamic intellectual culture, Maimonides is also doing politics: defending faith by demanding that its thinkers be competent. “Human perfection” becomes a credential, not a feeling - earned through method, order, and restraint.
The next move is even sharper. Mathematics isn’t just a toolkit; it’s a discipline of proof, a training in necessity. By insisting on “the proper order,” Maimonides signals a curriculum designed to reshape the knower. You don’t get to cherry-pick the impressive parts; you submit to a progression that produces intellectual humility as a byproduct.
Physics follows because it anchors the mind in the structured world of causes and change. Only then does metaphysics arrive - last, not first - as the most perilous terrain, where concepts can detach from reality and become pious fiction. The subtext is a warning: metaphysics without prior training becomes imagination dressed up as truth.
Context matters. Writing within a Jewish tradition negotiating its relationship with Aristotelian philosophy and Islamic intellectual culture, Maimonides is also doing politics: defending faith by demanding that its thinkers be competent. “Human perfection” becomes a credential, not a feeling - earned through method, order, and restraint.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reason & Logic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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