Musar [Medieval Ethics] does not deal much with Philosophy but it does depend on Saadia Gaon and the later geonim and Rishonim that had the same kind of world view of combining Torah with Reason.
In terms of the Middle Ages that meant Torah with Neo Platonic thought as we see in the Obligations of the Heart.
To me that is one of the endearing qualities of Musar for the Neo Platonic approach has withstood the test of time. The difference is that Kant [with the interpretation of Leonard Nelson] was more along the lines of Plato directly.
חובות לבבות Obligations of the Heart is openly Neo Platonic and bases himself on the fact that that was the direction that Saadia Gaon took in his Beliefs and World Views אמונות ודעות.
Most Musar after that takes the same Neo Platonic approach with saying so openly. Once you get to מסילת ישרים Paths of the Just by Rav Moshe Haim Luzato, you are dealing with a modified form of Neo Platonic thought based on Rav Isaac Luria.
In terms of the Middle Ages that meant Torah with Neo Platonic thought as we see in the Obligations of the Heart.
To me that is one of the endearing qualities of Musar for the Neo Platonic approach has withstood the test of time. The difference is that Kant [with the interpretation of Leonard Nelson] was more along the lines of Plato directly.
חובות לבבות Obligations of the Heart is openly Neo Platonic and bases himself on the fact that that was the direction that Saadia Gaon took in his Beliefs and World Views אמונות ודעות.
Most Musar after that takes the same Neo Platonic approach with saying so openly. Once you get to מסילת ישרים Paths of the Just by Rav Moshe Haim Luzato, you are dealing with a modified form of Neo Platonic thought based on Rav Isaac Luria.
