Maimonides#
Moses Maimonides (1138–1204) was a medieval Jewish philosopher, legal scholar, physician, and communal leader. Born in Córdoba, Spain, he later lived in Morocco and Egypt, where he served as the leader of the Jewish community. He is one of the most influential figures in Jewish intellectual history.
While ethics appears throughout his writings, several key works directly articulate his ethical thought:
Commentary on the Mishnah (1168): an introduction to his commentary on Pirkei Avot, summarizing philosophical and psychological foundations of ethics.
Mishneh Torah (1177-1180): A legal-philosophical code that sets out practical norms of ethical conduct, character development, and emotional health.
The Guide of the Perplexed (1186–1190): although primarily philosophical and theological, it contains extensive discussions of moral perfection, intellectual virtue, and the purpose of the commandments.
Knowledge and virtues#
Maimonides argues that the highest human end is the perfection of the intellect, culminating in a refined understanding of God and of the metaphysical order underlying creation. This intellectual perfection constitutes the ultimate human aspiration, and an ethical life is a life directed toward this highest aim.
For the mind to function properly, a person must cultivate ethical virtues. Moral disorder, being ruled by impulses, appetites, and passions, distorts perception and obstructs rational clarity. Ethical virtues create psychological balance, allowing reason to govern and opening the way for intellectual perfection.
Maimonides adopts Aristotle’s doctrine of the “golden mean,” according to which virtues are ideal dispositions located between harmful extremes. Aristotle holds that virtue is constitutive of human flourishing and therefore inherently part of happiness in this life. Maimonides, by contrast, treats the moral virtues as instrumental: they prepare the soul for knowledge of God.
Unlike Aristotle, Maimonides suggests that a person may sometimes need to adopt an extreme temporarily. If someone tends toward one extreme, they may need to embrace the opposite extreme for a time in order to counterbalance their tendencies and restore equilibrium, until they are once again able to walk the golden mean reliably.
Commandments#
Traditionally, the Ten Commandments are understood as divine rules revealed to guide human behavior. Over time, Jewish tradition expanded and systematized the commandments, and by Maimonides’ era they had been enumerated as 613.
For Maimonides, the commandments form a comprehensive system designed to transform both character and intellect. They serve two primary purposes:
The perfection of the body: creating social order, cultivating virtuous habits, restraining passions, and fostering a stable, just society in which people can live peacefully and think clearly.
The perfection of the soul: eliminating idolatry and superstition, directing the mind toward truth, cultivating correct beliefs, and ultimately enabling the intellectual knowledge of God.
Drawing on themes found throughout the Guide of the Perplexed and the Mishneh Torah, the commandments can be loosely grouped into conceptual categories:
Commandments of belief: These orient the intellect toward truth and away from fantasy or superstition. Correct beliefs are foundational, because without true understanding, moral action becomes misguided. Examples include loving God and sanctifying God’s name.
Moral character commandments: These regulate emotions and desires so that reason can govern. Their aim is psychological balance, which allows for intellectual growth. Examples include avoiding resentment, not coveting, loving one’s neighbor as oneself, and honoring the elderly.
Charity and social justice laws: These reduce envy, violence, and greed: the passions that disrupt both society and individual judgment. Such laws establish a stable social environment, which Maimonides sees as essential for moral and intellectual development. Examples include giving charity, providing interest-free loans, establishing courts, and prohibiting theft, fraud, and oppression.
Ritual commandments: These discipline the imagination and emotions, cultivate self-control, and reinforce communal identity. Examples include prayer, Sabbaths and festivals, dietary laws, and the sacrificial system.
Commandments of self-restraint: These moderate physical desires and prevent excessive indulgence, which can cloud judgment and distract the intellect. They impose order on the appetites so that the rational faculty is not overwhelmed. Examples include prohibitions on certain foods, sexual relations, and excessive drinking or gluttony.
Commandments of compassion and kindness: These cultivate mercy and benevolence, traits that imitate God’s ways and elevate the soul above cruelty and anger. Examples include kindness to strangers, preventing animal suffering, and honoring parents.
Commandments of Law and Government: These establish political stability and social justice. Examples include laws of kingship, judicial procedures, and civil laws.
Role of the law#
For Maimonides, laws and justice play a crucial role in shaping moral character and preparing people for intellectual perfection.
In a chaotic society, people are preoccupied with survival, and the accompanying fear, anger, and instability make it difficult to pursue truth. An atmosphere of external peace fosters internal peace, which in turn enables the perfection of the intellect.
Human beings achieve virtue within a community, and their character is molded by their social interactions. Good laws create an environment in which people are naturally habituated to virtuous behavior.
Good laws shape everyday conduct: how people speak, treat one another, conduct business, and resolve conflicts. Over time, these externally regulated behaviors form stable internal dispositions.
The legislator, Maimonides suggests, is like a physician. Just as a physician uses the right chemical remedies to restore physical balance, the legislator employs the right incentives and prohibitions to restore psychological balance within the community and guide people toward intellectual perfection.
Maimonides also emphasizes that good laws promote charity and the protection of the vulnerable: they do not only improve material conditions but they also cultivate people’s healthy psychological dispositions. Good laws foster empathy, and help form a virtuous and rational society.
Virtues#
This is a list of virtues in Maimonides’ ethics, each understood as a mean between two extremes. Maimonides makes two notable exceptions: humility and patience. He allows leaning toward the extreme of humility because pride easily corrupts a person’s character, and toward the extreme of patience because anger so quickly disturbs judgment. In these cases, avoiding the dangerous extreme is more important than maintaining a perfect midpoint.
Temperance: moderate regulation of bodily appetites so they serve reason.
Excess: self-indulgence, gluttony, uncontrolled desire.
Deficiency: asceticism that harms the body or rejects natural pleasures.
Examples: Eating moderately even at feasts. Sexual conduct governed by reason and Torah law. Enjoying permitted pleasures without becoming dependent on them.
Humility: correct appreciation of one’s abilities and place.
Excess: arrogance, self-importance.
Deficiency: self-abasement that leads to paralysis or self-neglect.
Examples: Speaking modestly of one’s achievements. Giving others credit. Avoiding boastful behavior.
Courage: appropriate readiness to face danger or hardship when reason requires it.
Excess: recklessness, unnecessary risk, seeking danger.
Deficiency: cowardice, fearfulness that prevents action.
Examples: Acting calmly in dangerous situations when duty requires. Protecting others. Enduring hardship.
Generosity: giving in proportion to need and to what reason judges right, without harming one’s ability to pursue intellectual ends.
Excess: prodigality, giving so much that one becomes dependent on others.
Deficiency: stinginess, refusing reasonable charity or assistance.
Examples: Giving proportionate to income. Supporting community needs in a sustainable way. Sharing resources without impoverishing oneself.
Patience: controlled response to provocation, using reason to decide whether and how to react.
Excess: uncontrollable anger, rage, fits of temper.
Deficiency: total inability to feel anger even when morally required.
Examples: Correcting others calmly. Allowing oneself to feel indignation only in controlled, purposeful ways. Maintaining emotional composure in conflict.
Justice: impartial, balanced treatment in accordance with law and reason.
Excess: harshness, quick condemnation, rigid strictness.
Deficiency: excessive leniency or refusal to judge when appropriate.
Examples: Giving others the benefit of the doubt. Listening carefully before responding. Applying rules fairly.
Truthfulness: honesty tempered by wisdom, speaking truth when appropriate and avoiding harmful falsehoods.
Excess: hurtful bluntness, truth-telling without compassion.
Deficiency: habitual lying, deception, manipulative speech.
Examples: Being honest in business. Avoiding false flattery. Telling the truth in a considerate way.
Love of God: measured, rational love of God expressed in pursuing knowledge of God and conforming life to that knowledge.
Excess: fanaticism that abandons reason.
Deficiency: indifference or apathy toward God and truth.
Examples: sustained philosophical/theological study motivated by desire to know God. Worship insofar as it reinforces understanding and moral order.
Maimonides’ ethical guidelines#
Cultivate the “Golden Mean”: Identify where you tend toward extremes. Set small, realistic behavioral goals to move closer to the middle. Keep a weekly journal noting when you acted with balance or imbalance. Ask trusted friends to point out when you’re leaning toward an extreme.
Correct extreme traits through their opposite: If you struggle with stinginess, deliberately practice generosity for a period. If you tend to anger, practice speaking softly and pausing before reacting. Continue the opposite behavior until you feel closer to the middle path.
Develop habits: Turn virtues into routines: schedule times for charity, study, or acts of kindness. Practice daily micro-habits. Celebrate consistency. Use reminders (calendars, phone alerts) to reinforce new patterns.
Avoid acting in anger: Never respond immediately when angry; impose a mandatory delay. Step away physically if possible; breathe until the spike fades. If you must correct someone, speak firmly without inner rage. Reflect afterward: What triggered me? What pattern am I seeing?
Pursue humility: Talk less about yourself; listen more. Acknowledge your mistakes without defensiveness. Practice gratitude: list daily what comes from others rather than from yourself. Let others take credit when appropriate; avoid seeking praise.
Give charity with empathy and dignity: Assume the recipient’s dignity: give discreetly and respectfully. Prioritize sustainable help (job support, skills, tools) when possible. Set aside a regular charity budget so giving becomes habitual. Support causes that restore independence, not dependency.
Love and care for others as yourself: Actively look for ways to help others: small kindnesses count. Avoid gossip and negative speech; speak truthfully and gently. Treat others’ emotional needs as seriously as your own. When interacting, ask: “How would I want to be treated in this moment?”
Accept responsibility for your actions: Say “I was wrong,” not “I was wrong but….” Identify patterns of avoidance and confront them directly. Establish clear personal rules and hold yourself accountable. Learn from mistakes rather than hiding them.
Elevate ethical virtues to prepare for intellectual virtues: Schedule time for study, reflection, or contemplation daily. Reduce distractions (excess entertainment, trivial pursuits). Clean up moral habits that hinder clarity (envy, anger, laziness). Approach study with humility, patience, and joy.