People in the Middle Ages were interesting in seeing in the Torah a self consistent system.
The basic premise was if it is not self consistent it is garbage. This was the reason for Maimonides to write the Guide and the Yad HaChazaka--to show that the Torah is one self consistent system.
But we know from Godel that for this to be true we need axioms from the outside.
But these axioms (although not provable ) in order to be meaningful need to be falsifiable.
How is something not based on physical evidence falsifiable? When from the same axiom you can prove two opposite conclusions --that shows the axiom itself is false.
This is the basic idea I was telling my learning partner yesterday about why Tosphot assumes that the Talmud is self consistent.
Appendix: This need to show that your system is not full of contradictions was also the reason for Aquinas to write his magnum opus.
In the case of Aquinas- there was a need to resolve the Old Testament, the NT and Aristotle, and the Church Fathers.
In the case of the Rambam there was a need to resolve the Old Testament, the Talmud and Aristotle..
But the work of the Rambam had been started by Saadia Geon.
In no case did anyone think the Torah is up for grabs for any individual to interpret it as he likes.
Now once you have gotten a system without contradictions then you need anyway faith in the axioms. That is where the Rambam and Aquinas are on different grounds.
The basic premise was if it is not self consistent it is garbage. This was the reason for Maimonides to write the Guide and the Yad HaChazaka--to show that the Torah is one self consistent system.
But we know from Godel that for this to be true we need axioms from the outside.
But these axioms (although not provable ) in order to be meaningful need to be falsifiable.
How is something not based on physical evidence falsifiable? When from the same axiom you can prove two opposite conclusions --that shows the axiom itself is false.
This is the basic idea I was telling my learning partner yesterday about why Tosphot assumes that the Talmud is self consistent.
Appendix: This need to show that your system is not full of contradictions was also the reason for Aquinas to write his magnum opus.
In the case of Aquinas- there was a need to resolve the Old Testament, the NT and Aristotle, and the Church Fathers.
In the case of the Rambam there was a need to resolve the Old Testament, the Talmud and Aristotle..
But the work of the Rambam had been started by Saadia Geon.
In no case did anyone think the Torah is up for grabs for any individual to interpret it as he likes.
Now once you have gotten a system without contradictions then you need anyway faith in the axioms. That is where the Rambam and Aquinas are on different grounds.
