Solomon Ibn Gabirol (ca. 1021-ca. 1058)

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Solomon Ibn Gabirol (ca. 1021-ca. 1058)

Spanish-Hebrew poet and mystic philosopher. He was an advocate of neoplatonism, but also ascribed to the via negativa, the mystical doctrine that holds that the deity can only be understood as a negation of all attributes (which are in themselves limiting and human in our thoughts). He considered this view essential to the preservation of Jewish monotheism.