DAVID NOVAK, NATURAL LAW, AND MEDIEVAL JEWISH PHILOSOPHY

ABSTRACTAmong contemporary philosophers and theologians of Judaism, David Novak is renowned for his groundbreaking work on Jewish ethics, conceptualizing a natural law ethic derived from the sources of the Jewish tradition. One area that has been underexplored in Novak’s writings is his interpretation of medieval Jewish philosophy. This article demonstrates that Novak’s understanding of medieval Jewish philosophy is based on the conviction that medieval thought was incorrect on theoretical reason (physics and metaphysics), but correct on practical reason (ethics and law). He argues that one can discern two different and competing models of natural law ethics in the medieval period: Nachmanides’ minimalist model and Maimonides’ metaphysical model. He suggests that there are dangers to imposing Maimonides’ model through war on people who do not share the same metaphysical views. This is partly because ethics imposed with too much military force can easily be corrupted, even if the motivation is initially pure. Thus, while Novak thinks that Maimonides’ metaphysical natural law ethic is often deeper, as necessary for a state and especially with regard to sexual ethics, Nachmanides’ more limited model is often more prudent regarding the limits of applying it universally.