Q0595
“Inquiry is not forbidden to us; on the contrary, we are commanded…” — Saadia Gaon (The Book of Beliefs and Opinions…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Book of Beliefs and Opinions (Rosenblatt). Theme: inquiry.
English
Inquiry is not forbidden to us; on the contrary, we are commanded to know God by the path of demonstration as far as we can.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Book of Beliefs and Opinions (Rosenblatt) and files it under Jewish Rationalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Saadia Gaon
Saadia ben Joseph (882–942), gaon of Sura, wrote The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, the first systematic Jewish philosophical theology in the Islamic world. He defended rabbinic Judaism against Karaites and used Arabic kalām methods to show that Torah and intellect agree when both are rightly understood.
How to read this passage
Socratic elenchus, scientific method, and pragmatist experimentalism treat inquiry as self-correcting. The ethics of inquiry asks for intellectual honesty. This passage enters that discussion through inquiry, knowledge, faith.
Concepts in this quote
- Inquiry
- Inquiry is the disciplined pursuit of better questions and answers—philosophy as method rather than dogma.
- Knowledge
- Knowledge is the philosophical study of what we can justifiably claim to know—and where certainty ends.
- Faith
- Faith appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat faith as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Saadia Gaon. (n.d.). Inquiry is not forbidden to us; on the contrary, we are commanded to know God by the path of demonstration as far as we can. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0595
MLA: Saadia Gaon. “Inquiry is not forbidden to us; on the….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0595.
Chicago: Saadia Gaon. “Inquiry is not forbidden to us; on the….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0595.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Inquiry is not forbidden to us; on the…”?
The passage is attributed to Saadia Gaon, The Book of Beliefs and Opinions (Rosenblatt). The archive attributes this English wording to The Book of Beliefs and Opinions (Rosenblatt) and files it under Jewish Rationalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Saadia Gaon mean by inquiry?
Socratic elenchus, scientific method, and pragmatist experimentalism treat inquiry as self-correcting. The ethics of inquiry asks for intellectual honesty. This passage enters that discussion through inquiry, knowledge, faith.