Averroes and Maimonides: Paradigms in Troubled Times
On Wednesday 4 March, the “La Palabra Encendida” series, dedicated in this edition to “Averroes: Bridge, Reason and the City”, hosted in Córdoba the debate “Averroes and Maimonides: Paradigms in Troubled Times”, a session focused on the intellectual legacy of two great thinkers born in our city. The event was organized by Virginia Luque with the City Council of Córdoba and Kutxabank.
During the event, editor and former minister Manuel Pimentel, member of the Board of Trustees of the Paradigma Córdoba Foundation for Convivence, focused his intervention on the enduring relevance of Averroes’ thought. He emphasized how the Cordoban philosopher, deeply influenced by Aristotle, defended reason as an essential tool for understanding the world and guiding collective life.
According to Pimentel, Averroes’ rationalism was not limited to philosophy, but also extended to the idea of justice and the organization of the city. Averroes believed that a well-governed community should be grounded in rational deliberation, knowledge, and the pursuit of the common good. Justice, in this sense, was not merely a legal principle, but a form of social balance founded on reason.
Manuel Pimentel also emphasized that this approach is directly connected to the Aristotelian legacy that Averroes studied and commented on in depth. For the Andalusi thinker, philosophy was not opposed either to faith or to public life, but rather constituted a way of better understanding the order of reality and guiding human action.
In today’s international context, marked by cultural and political tensions, the speaker recalled that the figure of Averroes continues to offer a valuable framework for thinking about Convivence. His work shows that dialogue between traditions, the use of reason, and respect for justice can become the foundations of a plural society.
The debate highlighted how Córdoba, birthplace of Averroes and Maimonides, continues to stand as a symbol of intellectual encounter. Recovering their legacy, Manuel Pimentel noted, allows us to imagine cities organized around knowledge, justice, and convivence.
