Epistemology (Islamic Philosophy) (Course Syllabus)

1. Introduction
   1. What is Epistemology?
   2. History of Epistemology in Western and Islamic Philosophy
   3. First division in Metaphysics: Ontology and Epistemology
   4. Differences between Epistemology and Logic
   5. Why is it important?
2. Terminology
   1. 1. علم، معرفة، ادراک
      2. Knowledge, science, perception, cognition
3. Divisions of Knowledge (1)
   1. Knowledge by presence and acquired knowledge
      1. Kinds of Knowledge by Presence
         1. Self-awareness
         2. Knowledge of feelings (inner sense) and emotions
         3. Knowledge of the faculties of the soul
         4. Knowledge of direct  actions of the soul (will, judgment, deliberation, attention, decision)
         5. Knowledge of mental forms and concepts
         6. Knowledge of the Existence-giving cause about its effect and vice versa
      2. Knowledge by presence = always particular and true
         1. Objections and Responses
4. Division of Acquired Knowledge (1): (تصور و تصدیق)
   1. Conception
      1. Particular
         1. Sense
         2. Imagination
         3. (Wahmiyyat in its philosophical sense)
         4. (Mulla Sadra’s problem with the particularity of conceptions)
      2. Universal
         1. Primary Intelligibles (معقولات اولی)
         2. Secondary Intelligibles (معقولات ثانیه)
            1. Logical
            2. Philosophical
   2. Assent
5. Divisions of Acquired Knowledge (2) (بدیهی و نظری)
   1. بدیهی
      1. Self-evident/Axiomatic (Assent)
      2. Simple and Immediate (Conception)
   2. نظری
      1. demonstrable/deductive (Assent)
      2.  Complicated and Composite (Conception)
6. Divisions of Acquired Knowledge (3)
   1. True
      1. Definition of true knowledge: justified true belief
         1. Justification:
            1. (cf. sources of knowledge; below)
            2. deduction, induction, analogy
            3. argumentative, polemic, rhetoric, poetic, fallacious
         2. Truth (resemblance, correspondence & coherence)
      2. Possibility of True Knowledge
         1. Scepticism
         2. History
         3. different forms of Scepticism
            1. absolute Scepticism
               1. theoretical
               2. psychological
            2. Modified (Modern) forms of Sophism
               1. (relativism & perspectivism)
   2. False
7. Divisions of Knowledge (2) by its sources
   1. Intuition (self-consciousness etc.)
   2. Five senses (inner sense?)
      1. Empiricism and Rationalism
   3. Reason/Intellect
      1. Theoretical
         1. Universals
         2. Analysis
         3. Abstraction
         4. Deduction
      2. Practical
   4. (ontological and epistemological three-fold hierarchy:
      1. 1. Sense/matter+form/ Material World
         2. Imagination/form without matter/  Mithal
            1. Muttasil/Internal and Munfasil/External Imagination
         3. Intellect/ Neither form nor matter/ Immaterial World)
            1. (The role and function of Khiyal (imagination) and Wahm)
   5. Narration/testimony
   6. Authority
8. Mental and External Existence
9. Epistemology of Religion and some commonly-raised issues.