In yeshiva, world view issues were not emphasized. You really had to piece it together on your own.
The Guide of Maimonides was around in its English edition but most people were not looking at it. Yeshiva was really about Gemara, Rashi, and Tosphot. World view issues were ignored.
The Guide for the Perplexed and most of Jewish Philosophy from the medieval period in any case was addressing issue that most people including myself did not have. I never asked "How can the Torah say such and such? Did not Aristotle prove otherwise?"
All Medieval Jewish Philosophy assumes Aristotelian science to be correct.
As for the Rambam himself in the Guide I also have no problem because I simply understand it like Rav Avarham Abulafia [the most important mystic from the Medieval period] explained it.
In any case for world view issues I have to piece together my own approach based on the Ari [Isaac Luria] and the Guide of the Rambam and the other Medieval books of Jewish Musar [books on ethics].
Mainly I go with the idea that this world is a world of shadows. It is just the shadows that you see on the cave wall. The real world is the world that is the dinge an sich-things in themselves. And beyond that there is the Ding An Sich, the first cause. And I think the dinge an sich are hidden from pure reason. Over the years I have changed my mind about free will. My mother in law once asked my wife about WWII and Germany. And my wife answered free will. And I was surprised at the time a because I had in my own mind confined free will towards every persons' owns decisions. Now I think she was right that one person's free will can affect other people for good or bad.
In any case, Musar addressed world view issues to some degree. But to do more that that might be impossible. The problem is this: If you would want to deal with these kinds of issues in yeshiva you would have to spend a lot more time on it that is available. Let's say for example you would want to learn the Guide of the Rambam. To do that and have any idea of what he was dealing with you would also have to learn Aristotle and t get an accurate picture you would have to learn the commentaries on him and the later books of Joseph Albo and Abravenal going back towards the traditional Neo Plato view.
The drawback however of not learning this material is people get drawn to phony mystics and pseudo Torah.
One possible way to address this issue would be at night seder [session] to work on Jewish Philosophy. That is at least to plow through the basic material quickly. The Guide, Saadia Gaon's Emunot VeVeot, Joseph Albo, Isaac Abravenel, and Yehuda Abravenel.
The Guide of Maimonides was around in its English edition but most people were not looking at it. Yeshiva was really about Gemara, Rashi, and Tosphot. World view issues were ignored.
The Guide for the Perplexed and most of Jewish Philosophy from the medieval period in any case was addressing issue that most people including myself did not have. I never asked "How can the Torah say such and such? Did not Aristotle prove otherwise?"
All Medieval Jewish Philosophy assumes Aristotelian science to be correct.
As for the Rambam himself in the Guide I also have no problem because I simply understand it like Rav Avarham Abulafia [the most important mystic from the Medieval period] explained it.
In any case for world view issues I have to piece together my own approach based on the Ari [Isaac Luria] and the Guide of the Rambam and the other Medieval books of Jewish Musar [books on ethics].
Mainly I go with the idea that this world is a world of shadows. It is just the shadows that you see on the cave wall. The real world is the world that is the dinge an sich-things in themselves. And beyond that there is the Ding An Sich, the first cause. And I think the dinge an sich are hidden from pure reason. Over the years I have changed my mind about free will. My mother in law once asked my wife about WWII and Germany. And my wife answered free will. And I was surprised at the time a because I had in my own mind confined free will towards every persons' owns decisions. Now I think she was right that one person's free will can affect other people for good or bad.
In any case, Musar addressed world view issues to some degree. But to do more that that might be impossible. The problem is this: If you would want to deal with these kinds of issues in yeshiva you would have to spend a lot more time on it that is available. Let's say for example you would want to learn the Guide of the Rambam. To do that and have any idea of what he was dealing with you would also have to learn Aristotle and t get an accurate picture you would have to learn the commentaries on him and the later books of Joseph Albo and Abravenal going back towards the traditional Neo Plato view.
The drawback however of not learning this material is people get drawn to phony mystics and pseudo Torah.
One possible way to address this issue would be at night seder [session] to work on Jewish Philosophy. That is at least to plow through the basic material quickly. The Guide, Saadia Gaon's Emunot VeVeot, Joseph Albo, Isaac Abravenel, and Yehuda Abravenel.
