L’affinité entre la philosophie et la médecine chez Maïmonide

Abstract

The article focuses on the theme of the affinity between medicine and philosophy in the works of Moses Maimonides (1138 – 1204), the Jewish medieval rabbi and philosopher. The author uses two examples taken from the history of philosophy. The first one is reminiscent of the antique theory of the four elements which constitute man’s body and widely influence his psyche. According to Maimonides, the problem of evil is related to matter and the manifestation of a disease is due to the particular proportion of elemental qualities. The second example discusses the Aristotelian moral theory of the middle way, with its horizontal and vertical aspects. The text concludes by stating that, when compared with the Aristotelian conception, Maimonidean ethics is an ethics of extremism.