Chapter Three. Leone Ebreo’s Concept Of Jewish Philosophy

Abstract

Leone Ebreo is considered the pre-eminent Jewish thinker of the sixteenth century, well acquainted, indeed imbued with the Neoplatonic conceptions, ideas, and expressions then current in the Italian Renaissance. The discussion as to where Leone should be located within the spectrum of Renaissance philosophy surfaces as early as the sixteenth century in mentions of his work. The problem in determining Leone's position among Renaissance intellectuals is not the Jewishness of his speculations - as some modern authors maintain - but the literary and philosophical value of his writings. Leone follows the traditional dating of the Jewish calendar, based on a count of years beginning with creation. Leone's writing was not a major departure and could even be welcomed for its poetic style. Leone made philosophical ideas understandable, a task at which Marsilio Ficino had failed completely.Keywords: Christian philosophical treatises; Italian Renaissance; Jewish Philosophy; Leone Ebreo; Marsilio Ficino