Prophecy 12b
תניא נמי הכי האומר לחבירו מנת בכרם אני מוכר לך סומכוס אומר לא יפחות מג' קבין א"ר יוסי אין אלו אלא דברי נביאות
That opinion is also taught in a baraita: With regard to one who says to another: I am selling you part of a vineyard, without specifying how much of the vineyard, Sumakhos says: He may not give him less than an area large enough to plant three kav. Rabbi Yosei said: These are nothing other than words of prophecy,
This usage of "prophecy" suggests an unsupported specuation.
Rashi: אין אלו אלא דברי נביאות - בלא טעם:.
The meaning of "merely prophecy" is without reason
The meaning of "merely prophecy" is without reason
Tosafoth:
א"ר יוסי אין אלו אלא דברי נביאות. לא לשבח קאמר אלא כלומר שאומר בלא טעם ):
Thus was not said as praise, rather to indicate that it was said without reason
This usage of "prophecy" suggests an unsupported specuation.
אמר רבי אבדימי דמן חיפה מיום שחרב בית המקדש ניטלה נבואה מן הנביאים וניתנה לחכמים אטו חכם לאו נביא הוא הכי קאמר אע"פ שניטלה מן הנביאים מן החכמים לא ניטלה
§ In connection with Rabbi Yosei’s statement that Sumakhos’s words are nothing but words of prophecy, the Gemara reports that Rabbi Avdimi from Haifa says: From the day that the Temple was destroyed prophecy was taken from the prophets and given to the Sages. The Gemara expresses astonishment: Is that to say that a Sage is not fit to be a prophet? Rabbi Avdimi seems to say that these are two distinct categories of people. The Gemara explains: This is what Rabbi Avdimi is saying: Even though prophecy was taken from the prophets, it was not taken from the Sages.
אמר אמימר וחכם עדיף מנביא שנאמר (תהלים צ, יב) ונביא לבב חכמה מי נתלה במי הוי אומר קטן נתלה בגדול
Ameimar said: And a Sage is greater than a prophet, as it is stated: “And a prophet has a heart of wisdom” (Psalms 90:12), i.e., he is wise. When comparisons are drawn, who is compared to whom? You must say that the lesser is compared to the greater. Here too, prophecy is compared to wisdom, thus indicating that wisdom is greater than prophecy.
....
אלא אמר רב אשי תדע דאמר גברא רבה מילתא ומתאמרא הלכה למשה מסיני כוותיה ודלמא כסומא בארובה ולאו טעם יהיב
Rather, Rav Ashi said: Know that this is so, as a great man makes a statement and the same statement is then cited as a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai in accordance with his statement. The Sage makes a statement that corresponds to words pronounced in Heaven, which, without prophecy, is beyond human capability. The Gemara states: But perhaps he arrived at this idea by chance, without the assistance of prophecy, like a blind man who makes his way through a skylight. A blind man cannot deliberately find a skylight; therefore, his finding it occurs by chance. The Gemara answers: But does the Sage not offer a reason for his statement? The fact that he demonstrates an understanding of the issue indicates that he does not arrive at his idea by chance, but rather by prophecy.
Rashi: ולאו טעמא קאמר - במילתיה וכיון דאמר טעמא אין זה כסומא שמכוון לירד בארובה במקרה בעלמא אלא סברת הלב היא הבאה לו בנבואה וזכה להסכים להלכה למשה מסיני:
It is the ability to offer a reason that separates prophecy from wisdom. The scholar can come to a conclusion that was also delivered by prophecy, but the scholar can describe the deductive process, the prophet cannot.
We should realize that the deductive processes Rashi and the Talmud refer to are not like our (Greek derived) logical proofs that come from the most limited number of assumptions( axioms) or are supported by (the Northern European tradition of) observable or experimental evidence. The deduction of the Talmud is the application of hermeneutic principles to recalled texts. Although there is some similarity in the deduction process, the bases of these systems are different. That gap interests me.
It is the ability to offer a reason that separates prophecy from wisdom. The scholar can come to a conclusion that was also delivered by prophecy, but the scholar can describe the deductive process, the prophet cannot.
We should realize that the deductive processes Rashi and the Talmud refer to are not like our (Greek derived) logical proofs that come from the most limited number of assumptions( axioms) or are supported by (the Northern European tradition of) observable or experimental evidence. The deduction of the Talmud is the application of hermeneutic principles to recalled texts. Although there is some similarity in the deduction process, the bases of these systems are different. That gap interests me.
א"ר יוחנן מיום שחרב בית המקדש ניטלה נבואה מן הנביאים וניתנה לשוטים ולתינוקות
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: From the day that the Temple was destroyed, prophecy was taken from the prophets and given to imbeciles and children.
This is the often quoted ( out of context) phrase. It comes with a snicker about the concept of prophecy and those who purport to have the power. But I think that the discussion in the Talmud illuminates the information situation of out time.
AI is (very similar to ) prophecy.
Artificial intelligence produces predictive models based upon rapid, extensive and, at times, unusual, analyses of (preferably very large) data sets. When these models are generated, they are tested for their predictive (prophetic) accuracy, compared with models based upon (the presumption of) understanding. If they win, if they are better at predicting, no reasoning is demanded of them. These revelations come from a superhuman source, capable of trillions of calculations per milisecond and are based on millions of samples. This is the modern equivalent of prophecy: predictive knowledge that does not to justify itself with ordinary hermeneutics.
This is the often quoted ( out of context) phrase. It comes with a snicker about the concept of prophecy and those who purport to have the power. But I think that the discussion in the Talmud illuminates the information situation of out time.
AI is (very similar to ) prophecy.
Artificial intelligence produces predictive models based upon rapid, extensive and, at times, unusual, analyses of (preferably very large) data sets. When these models are generated, they are tested for their predictive (prophetic) accuracy, compared with models based upon (the presumption of) understanding. If they win, if they are better at predicting, no reasoning is demanded of them. These revelations come from a superhuman source, capable of trillions of calculations per milisecond and are based on millions of samples. This is the modern equivalent of prophecy: predictive knowledge that does not to justify itself with ordinary hermeneutics.
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