Rambam (Letter to Chasdai HaLevi): As a general rule, philosophers establish their assertions with clear rational proofs. The philosophers before Plato denied G d’s existence and they brought proof that the world is eternal and not created. Some of the newer philosophers acknowledge G d’s existence and that the world was created - and thus are consistent with the view of Moshe. There are other philosophers who acknowledge G d’s existence but insist that the world is eternal and that G d does not interact with the world. The fact is there is no conclusive logical proof for any of these three viewpoints. Each brings support for their position - but not irrefutable proof… Now obviously one cannot say that the world is both not eternal and not created, however I don’t have irrefutable proof that the world was created. Therefore, the matter is irresolvable purely on the basis of logical proofs and neither position can refute the other. The fact is that man’s intellect is limited and as long as the soul is contained within the body, it is not able to know that which transcends nature. Since it exists within nature, it is impossible to see that which is beyond nature…. It able to see and understand only that which is within nature. A clear proof of the inability to penetrate that which transcends nature is the fact that none of the three theories has an irrefutable proof. However, prophecy is a form of knowledge which is superior to philosophy. Prophecy is a different dimension and requires no proofs or arguments. Once it is established that something is known through prophecy it is unquestionably valid. Thus, we see that a prophet was never required to prove that what he was saying was true - but only to prove that he was a genuine prophet. Therefore, prophecy is superior to any rational proof and is able to know that which transcends nature. Moshe was the greatest prophet that ever lived and reached the highest level of prophesy. Once we accept that intellect cannot refute that which is learned from prophesy, there is no need to bring proof to that which is learned by prophesy. Thus the only way to refute our beliefs - which come from the prophesy of Moshe - is to deny that Moshe was a prophet. However, if you acknowledge that he was a prophet, then rational proofs are not needed concerning what he said. To try and establish these matters purely on the basis of intellect cannot result in an irrefutable understanding. It is equivalent to trying to gather up all the water in the world into a small jug.
Maharal (Menachos 64b): Greek Wisdom is what we call the natural sciences. All the natural sciences are included in Greek Wisdom which is outside of the Torah. Even though it is a mitzva to calculate the seasons and astronomical movements…(Shabbos 75a) – it is prohibited to learn these except from the Torah. This is the desire of G d that everything be from the Torah and this is the way it should be done. However to learn them for their own sake without using the Torah – it is prohibited.
Derech Emunah (2:303): You should know that the majority of philosophy came to us from Aristotle who was a Jew from a Jewish family in Jerusalem from the tribe of Benyamin…He gave us and taught us much more than what he learned from us.
Maharal (Derech Chaim 6:10): In the time of the Rambam there were those who were attracted by philosophy i.e., the secular wisdom which was not illuminated by the light of Torah. If he had not explained the verses according to their philosophical understanding there was a danger of even greater loss. In fact, the essential understanding was never concealed to those with proper wisdom…
Sefer Hamidos (Introduction): There is a sefer in which it was written that Aristotle embraced the Torah at the end of his days and became a ger.
Rambam (Introduction to Mishna): Since the purpose of man is develop knowledge and wisdom why did G d create the majority of people who are not intellectually developed, lacking in cleverness and empty of wisdom and concerned primarily with their lusts. We even see that wise men are held in contempt as well as being few in number? The answer is that these type of people exist for two reasons. The first is to provide support and services to the rare wise person. In fact if everyone sought wisdom and philosophy the world would not function very well and life would soon disappear from the earth…. Furthermore to learn all the skills necessary for society, the lifespan of Mesushalech would not suffice. Even more problematic is that an individual who had to be self sufficient would have no time to study and acquires wisdom. That is why the majority of mankind is needed to preserve and develop society so that the elite will have their material needs supplied. As a result not only will the world continue functioning but wisdom will also flourish… This is in fact the reason why our sages described the intellectually undeveloped masses am haaretz (people of the land)…. The second reason for the existence of those lacking in wisdom is to provide companionship for the small number of wise men… While you might think that this is an insignificant reason, it is in fact much more important than the first. We see that G d even had wicked people populate Israel to create a society and to remove the loneliness of the pious (Shemos 23:29)…
Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim:2:11): These scientific theories don’t contradict anything which has been taught to us by our Prophets or by our Sages. That is because we are a wise and complete nation as was declared by G d who made us complete through Moshe, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Devarim 4:6). However when the wicked of the foolish nations caused us to lose our possessions, our science and literature and killed our sages - we were reduced to simpletons as punishment for our sins. This had been foretold by Yeshaya (29:14), “The wisdom of their sages shall perish and the understanding of the wise men shall be concealed.” We are now intermingled with the other nations and as a result we have adopted their viewpoints - just as we have mimicked their characteristics and deeds…Because we have been raised on the basis of a primitive understanding – these philosophical and scientific views are perceived as incompatible with our religion - just as it would appear to any uneducated person. However it is not so!
