Jewish Kalam

Jewish Kalam was an early-medieval style of Jewish philosophy that evolved in response to the Islamic Kalam, which in turn was a reaction against Aristotelian philosophy. The term "Jewish Kalam" is used by modern historians, but is not a term by which Jewish Kalamic thinkers designated themselves. In all likelihood, they were simply known as Mutakallimūn (Kalamists), as they are referred to by Maimonides (called Rambam by Jewish scholars) and other Jewish writers.

The best known practitioner of Jewish Kalam was Saadia Gaon, and Jewish Kalam represented the philosophical battlefield upon which Saadia attacked his Karaitic opponents. Rambam in The Guide frequently references and disputes positions of the Mutakallimūn — the Kalam practitioners — both Jewish and Islamic, and in general conveys an opinion of Kalam thought which is highly uncomplimentary. Judah Halevi also makes reference to Jewish followers of the Kalam, but mentions only the Karaites (Wolfson 1967).

Some of the basic principles of the Jewish Kalam are as follow (Stroumsa 2003). See also Rambam's characterization of the principles below.

Rambam refers repeatedly to the Mutakallimūn (Kalam philosophers) in his Guide to the Perplexed. Some examples of his characterization of Kalamic thought can be found at the end of Book I (Chapters 73–76), see also Wolfson (1967). The translation which follows is from Pines (1963):

As for that scanty bit of argument (kalam) regarding the notion of the unity of God and regarding what depends on this notion, which you will find in the writings of some Gaonim and in those of the Qaraites, the subject matter of this argument was taken over by them from the Mutakallimūn of Islam and that this bit is very scanty indeed if compared to what Islam has compiled on this subject. Also it has so happened that Islam first began to take this road owing to a certain sect, namely, the Mutazila, from whom our co-religionists took over certain things walking upon the road the Mutazila had taken. After a certain time another sect arose in Islam, namely, the Ashariyya, among whom other opinions arose. You will not find any of these latter opinions among our co-religionists. This was not because they preferred the first opinion to the second, but because it so happened that they had taken over and adopted the first opinion and considered it a matter proven by demonstration

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