Guide for the Perplexed

E11342

Jewish philosophical text philosophical work theological work

Guide for the Perplexed is a seminal 12th-century philosophical and theological work by Maimonides that seeks to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish religious doctrine.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
The Guide for the Perplexed	3
Guide for the Perplexed canonical	2
Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed	1
Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T112759 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Guide for the Perplexed
Context triple: [Judeo-Arabic, notableWorkLanguageOf, Guide for the Perplexed]

A. Tractatus Theologico-Politicus
Tractatus Theologico-Politicus is a 17th-century philosophical and political treatise by Baruch Spinoza that defends freedom of thought and expression while offering a critical, rational interpretation of Scripture and religion’s role in the state.
B. Mens et Manus
Mens et Manus is the Latin motto of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, expressing the union of mind and hand in the pursuit of knowledge and practical application.
C. A History of Western Philosophy
A History of Western Philosophy is Bertrand Russell’s comprehensive survey of Western philosophical thought from the pre-Socratics to the early 20th century, combining exposition with critical commentary.
D. Veritas et Utilitas
Veritas et Utilitas is the Latin motto of Howard University, expressing its commitment to truth and service.
E. The Christian Philosopher
The Christian Philosopher is an early 18th-century work by Cotton Mather that attempts to reconcile and harmonize emerging scientific knowledge with Christian theology.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Guide for the Perplexed
Target entity description: Guide for the Perplexed is a seminal 12th-century philosophical and theological work by Maimonides that seeks to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish religious doctrine.

A. Tractatus Theologico-Politicus
Tractatus Theologico-Politicus is a 17th-century philosophical and political treatise by Baruch Spinoza that defends freedom of thought and expression while offering a critical, rational interpretation of Scripture and religion’s role in the state.
B. Mens et Manus
Mens et Manus is the Latin motto of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, expressing the union of mind and hand in the pursuit of knowledge and practical application.
C. A History of Western Philosophy
A History of Western Philosophy is Bertrand Russell’s comprehensive survey of Western philosophical thought from the pre-Socratics to the early 20th century, combining exposition with critical commentary.
D. Veritas et Utilitas
Veritas et Utilitas is the Latin motto of Howard University, expressing its commitment to truth and service.
E. The Christian Philosopher
The Christian Philosopher is an early 18th-century work by Cotton Mather that attempts to reconcile and harmonize emerging scientific knowledge with Christian theology.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (62)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Jewish philosophical text ⓘ philosophical work ⓘ theological work ⓘ
addressesAudience	educated Jews troubled by philosophy and scripture ⓘ
author	Maimonides ⓘ Moses Maimonides ⓘ linked to: Maimonides
completionDate	circa 1190 ⓘ
genre	philosophy ⓘ religious philosophy ⓘ theology ⓘ
historicalReception	controversial among medieval Jewish communities ⓘ subject of Maimonidean controversies in the 13th century ⓘ
influenceOn	Christian scholasticism ⓘ Gersonides ⓘ Islamic philosophy ⓘ Jewish philosophy ⓘ Spinoza ⓘ linked to: Baruch Spinoza Thomas Aquinas ⓘ linked to: St. Thomas Aquinas modern Jewish thought ⓘ
intendedPurpose	to guide intellectually perplexed believers ⓘ
keyConcept	divine simplicity ⓘ hierarchy of beings ⓘ intellectual perfection ⓘ interpretation of anthropomorphic biblical language ⓘ limits of human knowledge of God ⓘ negative theology ⓘ
mainTheme	creation and eternity of the world ⓘ divine providence ⓘ evil and suffering ⓘ nature of God ⓘ problem of anthropomorphism in scripture ⓘ prophecy ⓘ reconciliation of Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish theology ⓘ relationship between reason and revelation ⓘ
notableHebrewTranslator	Samuel ibn Tibbon ⓘ
notableTopic	eternity versus creation ex nihilo ⓘ interpretation of the account of creation in Genesis ⓘ nature of prophecy as an intellectual perfection ⓘ reasons for the commandments (ta'amei ha-mitzvot) ⓘ
originalLanguage	Judeo-Arabic ⓘ
originalTitle	Dalalat al-Ha'irin ⓘ linked to: Dalālat al-ḥāʾirīn Dalālat al-ḥāʾirīn ⓘ
part1Focus	equivocal terms and anthropomorphic expressions in the Bible ⓘ
part2Focus	metaphysics and creation ⓘ
part3Focus	providence, evil, and the reasons for the commandments ⓘ
philosophicalCategory	Aristotelianism in Judaism ⓘ linked to: Aristotelianism medieval philosophy ⓘ
philosophicalInfluence	Al-Farabi ⓘ Aristotle ⓘ Averroes ⓘ Avicenna ⓘ Islamic philosophy ⓘ Neoplatonism ⓘ
publicationCentury	12th century ⓘ
religiousCategory	Jewish theology ⓘ
religiousLawContext	Halakha ⓘ
religiousTradition	Judaism ⓘ
settingOfComposition	Egypt ⓘ
structure	three parts ⓘ
translatedInto	English ⓘ Hebrew ⓘ Latin ⓘ

How these facts were elicited