Jewish Kalam

Jewish Kalam was an early medieval style of Jewish philosophy that evolved in response to Kalam in Islam, which in turn was a reaction against Aristotelianism.

The term "Jewish Kalam" is used by modern historians, but is not a term by which Jewish thinkers designated themselves. In all likelihood, they were simply known by the Arabic term Mutakallimūn "Kalamists", as they are referred to by Maimonides and other Jewish writers.

The best known practitioner of Jewish Kalam was Saadia Gaon, and Jewish Kalam represented the philosophical battlefield upon which Saadia attacked the proponents of Karaite Judaism. Maimonides in his The Guide for the Perplexed frequently references and disputes positions of Kalam, both Jewish and Muslim, and in general conveys an opinion of Kalam that is highly uncomplimentary. Judah Halevi also makes reference to Jewish followers of the Kalam, but mentions only Karaite Jews.^[1]