intuition

asked 5 years ago

In the SD
Hello Rabbi,
I remember you mentioning that relatively few philosophers accept the mystical addition of intuition,
But in fact I think that was the vast majority of philosophy back then. Isn’t the concept of the active intellect that gives reason in the conceptual intellect exactly like what you say? (Except for the way of explaining how it is constructed, whether by an angel under the moon wheel as a demon according to certain methods that radiates to the conceptual intellect that adheres to it, or an ideal world, etc.).

2. I wanted to ask, why does a Gentile need to accept the 7 commandments of the children of Noah and follow them because God commanded and it is not enough to do the moral law?

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מיכי Staff answered 5 years ago

I don’t think I said that, because I’m not familiar enough with philosophical literature to say that. It’s not very important to me either. There is no philosophy that is not fundamentally based on intuition, and therefore whether they admit it or not they accept its validity. It’s not mysticism, though, as you defined it here. That’s how our minds work in the normal way. Not just a gentile. A Jew must also do a mitzvah because of the commandment, otherwise they are not mitzvahs but just good deeds. Doing a ‘mitzvah’ means obeying a commandment and doing it because of it. Theoretically, a person can fulfill all the halakha without accepting the existence and ‘authority’ of God. Is it reasonable in your opinion that this would have the value of a mitzvah and the worship of God?

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. replied 5 years ago

Sorry for the rant,
I asked why a Gentile should aim for the z’ mitzvot of the Noahide gods for their own sake? And you answered” Doing a ‘mitzvah’ means obeying a commandment and doing it for its sake”,
But at the core of the question I meant that the reason a Gentile would do z’ mitzvot is probably because he sees them as a good thing, and according to the evidence from morality, this means that he is putting God at ease, and if so, he is doing it because of His commandment.
And perhaps, a similar question can be asked about a person who gives charity from the moral law, does he go beyond the law?
But it is possible that a Jew has another religious purpose besides the moral purpose, as you say, but is this also the case with a son of Noah?

מיכי Staff replied 5 years ago

Note that there is a logical leap in your words. The fact that he believes in God, even if it is true, still does not mean that he does things because of His command.
Beyond that, it is not correct to call such a thing faith. Faith is what you are aware of. The fact that behind your perception there is an implicit assumption that there is a God, which you yourself are not aware of, does not make you a believer. Hidden perceptions have no value and meaning.
And third, if there is a moral atheist, it is possible that he is mistaken in his belief and it is possible that he is mistaken in his morality. In other words, either he is missing the point and is in fact a hidden believer, or he is mistaken and in fact he does not believe that morality is valid.
And finally, the requirement to observe out of compliance with a command is a requirement on awareness and not on unconscious philosophical perceptions.

Regarding a giver of charity, if he does not do it because God commanded, he does not have a mitzvah. I assume there will be readers here who will quote the Gemara about "whoever gives charity so that his son may live, may he merit the life of a righteous man", but if you think again you will see that there is no contradiction.