Avicenna's Philosophy Handout 02 (Life & Works)

Outline

·      Avicenna’s life 980-1037

o   The social-political context

§  Decentralization of Baghdad and rise of other cities

§  Institutionalized philosophy in Baghdad and non-institutionalized philosophy in its rivals

o   Autobiography and its interpretation

·      Avicenna’s works

o   Main books

§  Shifa (he wrote the list of contents in two days and then complete the book in Hamadan and Isfahan)

·      Logic(9 parts), Physics(8), Mathematics(4) and Metaphysics

§  Al-Isharat and al-tanbihat: the most mature and comprehensive work, and most difficult. (Logic, Physics, Metaphysics, Mysticism-Ethics)

§  Al-Najat (summary of Shifa)

§  Al-Mabda’ wa al-Ma’ad (the Origin and the Return) the result of studying Physics and Metaphysics is the content of the book, i.e. how everything emanated from God, started its journey from matter and ended up to God

§  Al-Mubahathat (the discussions) correspondence (letters) between him and his students, comprising philosophical discussions

§  ‘Uyun al-Hikma, (also known as alMuzaj) (class instructions and lecture notes for Logic, Physics, Theology)

§  Danishnameh Alayi (Logic, Physics, Mathematics and Metaphysics) in Persian, upon the demand of ‘Ala al-dowla, governor of Isfahan

§  Al-Insaf. Its original version that contained 28,000 questions and replies, according to Avicenna’s report, didn’t survive the attack on Isfahan by Mas’ud Ghaznawi

§  Al-Hudud: Definitions; (73 definitions of Reason, Soul, Form, Hyle etc.)

§  Kitab al-siyasa, the book of politics.

§  Hay b. Yaqzan, Risalat al-tayr (allegorical stories)

§  Treaties and epistles on: Love, Secret of Destiny, Happiness,

§  Poems on Medicine, Mysticism

§  The Canon of Medicine (1025) was used as the most authoritative textbook source of medicine in the region and beyond up until the end of 18^th century

·      Introduction, principles and bases of Medicine

·      Simple medicines (not mixed)

·      Diseases of limbs and organs

·      Diseases of the whole body

·      Complicated medicines (mixture)

§  Adwiya qalbiyya, the Hearty Medicines, the primacy of body over mind in analyzing and controlling human behavior.

o    Change of style (to attract different audience)

§  Shifa (expositional)

§  Isharat (Educative)

§  Hay b. Yaqzan (general readers and also mystical pointers)

§  Some poems and esoteric treaties (to attract mystical minds among muslims) 

Excerpts 

Ibn Sina (general information) Inati

Avicenna's Autobiography & its interpretation - Gutas

Links

His Life and Works - Stanford

Ibn Sina - WikiShia

Avicenna's Philosophy Handout 01 (Introduction)

·      Outline

     Hikma and Philosophy in the Muslim World

o   Combination of “Islamic Philosophy”

§  Islamic Ideology

§  Philosophy inspired by Islamic teachings (speculative theology)

§  Philosophy developed in Islamic civilization by Muslim (or even non-Muslim) thinkers

o   Islam and literacy / Qur’an and reason and intellect

o   Philosophical questions and inspiration stemming from the Holy texts

o   Mixed reactions to Philosophy in the Islamic world and their origins

·      Peripatetic Philosophy

o   Peripatetic philosophy in its origin

§  They walked when doing philosophy?

§  The hallways of Lycum (the correct one)

§  The gradual process of thinking in contrast to sudden intuition

Peripatetic tradition in Islam. The contrast between masha (intellectual process) and Ishraq (sudden illumination)

Excerpts

S.H.Nasr-Philosophy in Islam (1)

S.H.Nasr-Philosophy in Islam (2)

Webpage Links

Arabic & Islamic Metaphysics - Stanford

Islamic Philosophy - WikiShia

Doctrines of Islam Course Handout - 02 (Main Divisions)

Main Kalami Schools

1- Sunni

    1-1-Mutazilite

Historical origin: Wasil b. Ata (early 2^nd century) isolated himself after proposed “a sinner is not either Mu’min (as Murji’a would have said) not Kafir (as Khawarij would have said) but he is Fasiq.”

   

 1-2-Asharite

Historical origin: early 4^th cent. Abu al-Hasan Ash'ari's attempt to reconcile between scriptualist elements and Mutazilite beliefs

2-Shia (Imami)

Historical Origin: Disagreement over the successorship to Prophet Muhammad (s) and religious-political authority after him.

Webpage Links

Mutazilite Theology

Ash'arite Theology

Shia Theology

Doctrines of Islam Course Handout - 01 (Introduction)

Detailed Outline

a.      Where are we? (in the greater picture of studies of religion)

                                                              i.      Basic and general knowledge about any religion as a distinctive  phenomenon = Philosophy of Religion

                                                            ii.      Content of Religion = Theology, Religious Jurisprudence and spiritual preaching

                                                          iii.      Functions of religion = sociology, psychology, anthropology and mythology of religion

                                                          iv.      Nature of religion and religiosity = phenomenology of religion

                                                            v.      Comparative studies and history of religions  

1.     Kalam or Islamic Theology

a.      Meaning, subject, Methods and Goals

                                                              i.      Old definition

1.     Farabi: the ability to defend the right and falsify the wrong religious claims by speech and words

2.     Iji: the capability of demonstrating the right religious beliefs and refute wrong ones

3.     Taftazani: the knowledge of religious belief based on certain evidences

4.     Ibn Khaldun: to demonstrate religious beliefs based on rational arguments and refute the heretics

5.     Lahiji: a theoretical skill that enables one to prove religious beliefs

b.     Main themes:

                                                    

                                                              i.      Of Old Theology: existence of God, Divine attributes, God’s actions, Divine providence, freewill and predestination, problem of evil, prophetlogoy, angiology, eschatology

                                                            ii.      Modern Theology: definition of religion, expectations from religion, origin of religion, language of religion, religious pluralism, reason and religion, science and religion, ethics and religion, secular affairs and religion

a.      Historical Origins, Developments and Evolution

                                                              i.      Motives of early Muslims to pursue Kalam (internal elements = responsible for the emergence of Kalam as a whole)

1.     Holy text and its meaning

2.     Critical thinking

3.     Spiritual intuition

b.     Foreign influences on Islamic Kalam (external elements = responsible for the emergence of particular opinions)

                                                              i.      Social, political events

                                                            ii.      Relation and fusion with other traditions and cultures

1.     Greek, Hellenistic Philosophy

2.     Biblical Tradition

3.     Persian, Indian traces

a.      Sources of Kalam

                                                              i.      Qur’an

1.     The beliefs

2.     The methods of demonstration

3.     As an inspiration for new opinions

                                                            ii.      Hadith

1.     Explanation and interpretation of Qur’an

2.     Arguments narrated in Hadith

3.     Even the supplications and prayers

4.     Some beliefs are uniquely from Hadith, like Raj’a

b.     Mixed reactions to Kalam; Opposition to Kalam and its origins

                                                              i.      It is the source of conflict and disunity, but Qur’an invites to unity

                                                            ii.      Kalam is a bid’a or innovation in Religion

                                                          iii.      Similitude to foreign sciences like greek philosophy (specially that mostly Iranians -nonArabs- would engage in Kalam discussions)

1.     Kalam practitioners wrote books against atheist and Indian pagans and gained some popularity

                                                          iv.      Rational demonstrations were regarded as something against authority of revelation by some

                                                            v.      Rational arguments would be seen as downgrading the level of faith and certainty

                                                          vi.      If religion is perfected by the Prophet s, why do we need to talk about it anymore?

                                                        vii.      Arabs were not familiar with rational discourse         

                                                      viii.      Kalam is not bad in itself, but it is not recommended for general untrained minds. It’s like a medicine, sometimes for certain people

                                                          ix.      Doing Kalam is basically enjoying the ambiguous teachings and forgetting the solid teachings

                                                            x.      The literal connotation of some Qur’anic verses and Hadith that object to involvement in discussions and arguments

Webpage Links:

M. Mutahhari on Kalam

Kalam or Islamic Theology - Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyya

Kalam in MuslimPhilosophy

Comparative Studies, Rewards and Challenges

In the age of massive circulation of information, misunderstandings are highly likely, and can be dangerous. Along many other benefits of comparative studies, the particular function of such endeavors in honest clarification of truth and avoidance of misunderstandings, make them an imminent necessity, rather than a fancy pursuit of exploring an exotic culture. Taking them as serious as such, one must be ready to adopt the most effective yet simple methodology in correctly understanding and presenting two different thought worlds. In what follows I try to outline some of the key methodological tips which will turn a comparative study to a clear and fruitful discussion.

Following a division between “internal elements” and “external/structural relations” of two given concepts, this methodological approach presents the similarities and differences between two given concepts in two different thought worlds as clearly as possible. Also, in any accurate comparison, awareness of “chronological evolution and developments” plays a significant role in avoiding misunderstandings and confusions.

Connection to the Divine, the Unifying Factor of Religions

As time goes on, leaders and practitioners of different religions feel the necessity and need for tolerance and friendly relations among themselves more and more. One very effective way to achieve such ideal state is by stressing on commonalities and using them as bases for constructive dialogue and fruitful friendships. Some unifying factors are external to religions, like the secular humanistic ones, that can be bases for dialogue between the religious and the non-religious. However, there are some commonalities among religious people in particular. One of the widest of such bases, which includes theistic and non-theistic religions and traditions, is the connection to the Divine.

Like most of other religions, followers of Islam see connection to their God through supplication and prayer as one of the main parts of their religious consciousness. Whether a personal request, a formal glorification and ritualistic act of worship, or a simple and spontaneous expression of gratitude and gratefulness to God; various types of prayer seem to be corresponding to different mental and emotional modes of man. However, as there are always at least two sides in every connection and prayer is believed to be a kind of connection, a general theme repeats itself in different types of prayer, that there is a need for proper relevance in the both sides, for a real and effective connection to take place. By analyzing some prayer and supplication texts in Shia Islam, the present study aims at bringing into light this general theme in Islamic prayer, that is, the prayer’s relevance to man as one side of the connection, and its relation to the Divine, as the second side of the connection.

Celebrities, Prophets of Luxurious Narcissism

This article explores how celebrity-culture in its individualistic luxurious form, influences, often indirectly, the educative role of religion in its moral upbringing both at social and individual levels. The highly valued pursuit of fame and luxury, or even false pretense of displaying them –thanks to social media- are among the natural results of excessive dominance of celebrity culture. Fame and luxury might not be bad or negative in themselves, but once the two are placed in the pivot center of a moral-value system, other agents (like religion in our example) can no longer play their proper roles in the ethical upbringing of individuals or communities. When celebrity culture norms turn to behavioral standards, then not just religious practitioners and leaders aim, often subconsciously, at fitting in that context, but also they understand and picture the historical religious figures and holy personalities with the colors borrowed from that culture. It is in this process that religious role-models lose their effective and educative roles in shaping the moral norms of a society. In what follows I shall briefly illustrate different dimensions of the celebrity culture as a distinct modern phenomenon, and then discuss its inevitable presence and pivotal role in any plan for ethical upbringing in a modern society.