Knowing the Unknowable God.. Ibn-Sina, Maimonides, Aquinas

This comparative philosophical study examines how three medieval thinkers from distinct religious traditions—Ibn Sina (Avicenna) from Islam, Moses Maimonides from Judaism, and Thomas Aquinas from Christianity—grappled with the fundamental paradox of knowing an unknowable God. David Burrell explores how each philosopher developed sophisticated strategies to speak meaningfully about divine transcendence while maintaining that God ultimately exceeds human comprehension.

The work centers on a shared philosophical problem: if God is utterly transcendent and unlike created beings, how can human language and concepts apply to the divine? Burrell demonstrates that despite their different religious contexts, all three thinkers drew on Aristotelian philosophy, particularly its metaphysics and logic, to navigate this challenge. He shows how each developed variations of negative theology (via negativa) alongside analogical reasoning to construct meaningful theological discourse.

Ibn Sina's contribution lies in his distinction between essence and existence, arguing that in God alone these are identical, while in all creatures existence is accidental to essence. This metaphysical innovation provided a framework for understanding God as necessary being while maintaining divine simplicity. Maimonides pushed negative theology furthest, arguing that positive attributes can only describe God's effects, not God's essence, while developing sophisticated interpretations of biblical anthropomorphism. Aquinas synthesized these approaches through his doctrine of analogy, arguing that terms applied to God and creatures are neither univocal nor equivocal but analogical, preserving both similarity and difference.

Burrell's analysis reveals how medieval philosophical theology transcended confessional boundaries, with each thinker building on his predecessors across religious divides. The cosmological argument appears throughout as these philosophers move from the contingency of creation to divine necessity, while prophecy serves as the epistemological bridge between human limitation and divine revelation. The study illuminates how rational philosophical inquiry and revealed theology interacted in medieval thought.

The monograph's significance lies in demonstrating that the question of religious language and divine knowledge represents a perennial philosophical problem rather than a sectarian concern. By showing how three great medieval minds converged on similar solutions despite different faith commitments, Burrell argues for the universal relevance of their insights for contemporary philosophy of religion and interfaith dialogue.