Skepticism in classical Islam
Subtitle: moments of confusion
By: Paul L. Heck
Series: Culture and civilization in the Middle East; Culture and civilisation in the Middle East
Publisher: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2014
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 215
ISBN-13: 9780415707251; 9781315886947
Subjects: Doctrines; Glaubenszweifel; 08.10 non-western philosophy; Skeptizismus; Islamic philosophy; Islamische Theologie; Skepticism; History; Belief and doubt; Islam
Description: The first major treatment of skepticism in Islam, this book explores the critical role of skeptical thinking in the development of theology in Islam. It examines the way key thinkers in classical Islam faced perplexing questions about the nature of God and his relation to the world, all the while walking a fine line between belief in God's message as revealed in the Qur'an, and the power of the mind to discover truths on its own. Skepticism in Classical Islam reveals how doubt was actually an integral part of scholarly life at this time. Skepticism is by no means synonymous with atheism. It is, rather, the admission that one cannot convincingly demonstrate a truth claim with certainty, and Islam's scholars, like their counterparts elsewhere, acknowledged such impasses, only to be inspired to find new ways to resolve the conundrums they faced. Whilst their conundrums were unique, their admission of the limits of knowledge shares much with other scholarly traditions. Seeking to put Islam on the map of the broader study of the history of scepticism, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of Religion, History and Philosophy.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-210) and index.
Table of contents: title: Skepticism in Islam; title: Words, words, words; title: Baghdad in its beginnings; title: Theological controversy; title: Theo-political controversy; title: Skepticism; title: Islam the civilization: Abu 'Uuthman 'Amr al-Jahiz (d. 869); title: Anti-anthropomorphism; title: More anti-anthropomorphism; title: Skepticism and sufism; title: Sufism and the legacy of confusion; title: Christians as source of confusion; title: A world without words; title: Baghdad beyond beliefs; title: The philosophy of rule; title: Philosophy as arbiter of beliefs; title: Skeptical confusion reconfigured; title: Skepticism defined; title: The brethren of purity: one response to the equivalence of evidence; title: Abu l-Hasan al-'Amiri (d. 992): another response to the equivalence of evidence; title: Truths beyond words, truths beyond ideas; title: Baghdad bewildered; title: Reviver of Islam: Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad al-Ghazali (d. 1111); title: The synthesis; title: The challenge of Avicenna; title: Learned ignorance; title: Reasoned reflection on God's creation; title: The logic of skepticism; title: The logic of prophecy; title: Philosophy condemned?; title: Philosophical prophecy; title: Divine speaking and human thinking in tandem.