Strategies of interpretation in Maimonides'Guide of the perplexed
Moreover, Plato's political philosophy, as represented in the Republic, may be regarded as the primary source for Maimonides' own views, underlying much of the Guide's teachings. Plato's opinion of the relationship of philosophy and religion and the uses of religion as a political and social instrument had been communicated to Maimonides through Al-Farabi's writings, however, and Maimonides' praise for the "Second Master," as Al-Farabi was known, may be