The Last Hebrew Metaphysicians of Aragon: Averroes vs. Scotus in the Metaphysical Writings of Abraham Bibago, Moses Arondi, and Eli Habillo

In the decade before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, a small circle of Jewish thinkers in Aragon conducted an intensive study and correspondence on Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Though almost entirely neglected by present-day scholarship, this was in fact the most fruitful encounter between Jewish thinkers and Aristotle’s Metaphysics in history. This encounter led to a significant, more than two hundred folio page commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Books A-Θ, by Abraham Bibago, a shorter commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics and a significant super-commentary on Antonius Andreas’ Metaphysical Questions by Eli Habillo, as well as numerous letters to and from Moses Arondi. The size of this circle is difficult to estimate, but both Bibago and Habillo had students to whom they taught metaphysics. All three thinkers exhibit interest in scholastic philosophy and engaged in lively discussions of Thomas Aquinas, William of Occam, and Duns Scotus and the Scotists, including Antonius Andreas. Habillo in particular advocated adopting a Scotist approach to metaphysics and interpreting Jewish texts to accommodate that view. Bibago rejected this approach, preferring instead an Averroist approach, though one mixed with a kind of metaphysical uncertainty about the divine. These thinkers engaged deeply with Aristotle, Averroes, and various Latin scholastics in an effort to reconceive the Jewish connection to philosophy – all on the eve of the expulsion from Spain.