{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02742409402546523, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0009794319294809011, 'mean_word_length': 5.2317073170731705, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Happiness, Virtue, and Political Society

Chapter 9 is concerned with social and political behavior. Even in the context of moral philosophy, Jewish philosophers discuss issues within the wider context of a rational scientific perspective. This chapter begins with specific moral codes developed by Jewish thinkers, focusing in particular upon the works of Ibn Gabirol, Baḥya ibn Paquda, Maimonides, and Crescas. Can there be ethical dictates independent of the commandments? The rabbis already worried whether there existed a domain of “right behavior” that pre-dates, or exists independently of, divine commandment. Does Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean apply to divine law? Furthermore, can all humans achieve intellectual perfection? Is the road the same, and open, to all? And is there only one road to ultimate felicity, or are there many routes? The chapter ends with a discussion of whether human felicity can be achieved in this life, and whether the prophet best represents the ideal model for such achievement.