Lettrism as Implicit Philosophy in 10th-century Jewish and Muslim Creation Theories

What is it about?

This article suggests the existence of "implicit philosophy" in lettrist creation theories, or theories about the creation of the world through sacred alphabet and letters. The article suggests that these mystical-exegetical texts often reimagine philosophical concepts in new ways, implicitly doing philosophical work. A comparative reading of two 10th-c. Islamicate works – one Muslim and one Jewish, on opposite sides of the Mediterranean – in conversation suggests that implicit philosophy may be just as valuable as explicit philosophy proper in understanding both individual texts themselves as well as the shared milieu within which they were produced.

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