At the Center of the Universe
Essays on Western Intellectual Space
by Mordecai Plaut
Foreword By (Haskomo):
Rabbi Yakov Weinberg, zt"l, Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshivas Ner Israel
Also endorsed by Rabbi N. Bulman, mashgiach, Ohr Somayach Yeshiva
Is economic gain a universal drive? Is it reasonable to say that the world is the result
of chance occurrences? Does the earth go around the sun? Can the world be only 5,760 years
old? Can G'd's existence be demonstrated? Does humanism understate the value of humanity?
At the Center of the Universe
Contents
Introduction: Where are We?
Notes on an Outmoded World View
The Rise of the Science of Economics and the Idea of Gain
How to Succeed in Knowing without Really Seeing
Reason and Random
A Timely Note
A Look into Proofs of G'd
A Sound Mind
The Scientist as Poet; The Baal Mesorah as Scientist
From The Jewish Observer
October, 1985
Reviewed by Rabbi Joseph Elias,
former Dean, Rika Breuer Teacher's Seminary, New York, N Y.
This is a remarkable book, both from the viewpoint of contents and presentation. Rabbi
Yaakov Weinberg, Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Israel, in his introduction deservedly calls it
"a breath of fresh air," and the thoughtful reader will indeed find that it
effectively disposes of a great many cobwebs in the popular mind.
In our modern age, because of man's achievements in exploring and making over his
world, he has fallen prey to an extraordinary arrogance - a conceit that the ideas
developed by the secular liberal movements of the last few centuries are not only
sufficient for man but that they are the only ones that can claim rationality and deserve
our respect. In truth, this attitude characterizes in large measure the popularizers, the
media, the followers and the disciples. Philosophers themselves know the limits to which
human reason can penetrate; scientists are aware of the limits of the scientific method;
and psychologists encounter the pitiful victims of a worldview which leaves man adrift and
alienated. But the popular mind still pays strident homage to ideas whose validity is
highly questionable.
The last decades have seen the publication of writings that, in contrast, present our
Torah value system and the concepts that should guide us and mold our lifestyle. However,
Rabbi Plaut's book is unique in that it takes direct issue with a number of the most
cherished beliefs of our age - and does so in a manner that must command the respect of
his antagonists. He examines the popular notions according to the strictest standards of
scientific and philosophical method - and, lo and behold, arrives at conclusions that
instill a healthy note of skepticism about those notions and, at the same time, renewed
appreciation of our approach to these fundamental issues.
The author deals with some themes which are commonly recognized as fundamental - such as
the age of the earth, or proofs of the existence of G-d - as well as with questions that
we would not readily encounter. What are the philosophical and psychological consequences
of the adoption of the Copernican system? Can order be the result of chaos, according to
scientific logic? Can the Mesorah's teachings be shown philosophically to be authentic
knowledge? The author's ideas are brilliantly presented, the analysis is always lucid, and
the writing elegant. The book is not easy reading, but whatever difficulties it presents
are inherent in the subject-matter and not the presentation - which is both clear and
persuasive.
This reviewer must admit, though, that he was not persuaded by the author that the
Thirteen Principles of the Rambam were meant to be "the blueprint for a sound
mind" and do not possess an "exclusive essentiality" - the Rambam's
concluding words in his presentation of the Thirteen Principles in the Perush
Hamishnayos would appear to indicate differently (pp. 139-147).
All in all, this is a volume that breaks new ground in applying searching philosophical
examination to fundamental questions of human existence, and arriving at results that will
make the reader see traditional Jewish teachings in a new light. It is to be hoped that it
will find the wide circulation that it deserves, particularly among those involved in the
intellectual ferment of our time.
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