Q&A: Maimonides and Aristotle on a Desert Island on the Sabbath
Maimonides and Aristotle on a Desert Island on the Sabbath
Question
With God’s help,
Greetings and blessings to the Rabbi,
A question occurred to me on the Sabbath, about Maimonides’ attitude toward a non-Jew who has reached perfection according to Maimonides’ definition.
It is well known that Maimonides praised Aristotle and held him in very high regard.
Suppose Maimonides and Aristotle were on a desert island on the Sabbath and Aristotle was drowning—would Maimonides feel obligated to save him because he is a “perfect” person?
On the other hand, Maimonides is first and foremost a man of Jewish law; if so, and since Aristotle is a non-Jew, and Maimonides himself ruled that it is forbidden to desecrate the Sabbath for a non-Jew, then according to that approach would Maimonides stand by and do nothing?
What does the Rabbi think?
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Answer
I have no way to answer that. I would guess that he too would agree with the Meiri, that one should desecrate the Sabbath to save an enlightened non-Jew.
By the way, Maimonides lived in Egypt, which he himself rules is forbidden (of course, there are explanations. They’d find some for Aristotle too).
Thank you very much; that’s exactly the direction I was also thinking. The Meiri seems like a further development of Maimonides’ position in light of his writings in The Guide for the Perplexed.