Related question:
· Critically examine the subject matter of “medieval philosophy: Islam”.
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY: A BRIEF ANALYSIS
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of the religious thinkers in the middle ages. It is a philosophy based on the Latin principle of “credo ut intelligam” meaning “I believe in order to understand”. According to this principle, faith comes before reasoning and the role of reasoning is simply to clarify faith. Hitherto, one should first believe certain truths by faith and then strive to understand it by means of philosophy. During the medieval period, philosophy was perceived as a handmaid or tool of theology. Philosophers who dominated this period were mainly Christian philosophers. However, there were also some prominent Islamic thinkers like Al-farabi, Ibn-rushd, Ibn-sina, and Al-ghazali and so on. During this period, the more advanced Islamic civilization spreading from the Middle East possessed the whole body of Aristotle’s works. These received development, commentary, and a Neoplatonic flavour at the hands of a series of subtle thinkers, among whom were Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes. From about the middle of the 12th century on, Latin translations of their works became available; and through these, as well as through translation directly from the Greeks, Western thinkers eventually knew all of Aristotle’s writings.
THE NATURE OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
Islamic philosophy is the branch of Islamic studies which deals with the continuous search for ‘‘Hikrah’’ (wisdom). Like philosophy itself, it entails the love of Islamic wisdom. It carries out this perennial search based on and guided by an Islamic worldview, culture, ethics and society. Islamic philosophy is a part of the large umbrella of the Islamic studies in general. As a religious philosophy, it is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between faith, reason and the religious teachings of Islam. The main character of Islamic philosophy was set by the combination of Aristotle and Neo-Platonism that had constituted an important tradition in the late stages of Hellenistic philosophy and that was represented particularly by the Neoplatonic commentators on Aristotle in Athens and Alexandria. The Muslim philosophers introduced into this tradition other fundamental concepts in order to adapt it to an Islamic environment; the most important were the ideas of “contingent and necessary being” and of “prophethood”. Despite these fundamental changes, the Muslim philosophers accepted the general cosmological scheme they had inherited from the Greek traditions. Thus, an important place in their cosmology and metaphysics is occupied by the role of the stars and the heavenly bodies; a role that has no place in the scheme of reality of the Quran. This must be attributed to the Greek beliefs about the status of stars and the heavenly bodies and their creative influence on the moon’s sphere; although such a picture of the universe was also quite in harmony with other traditions existing in the Middle East, for instance, Sabaeans and Babylonians.
SOURCES OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
In order to be more specific, Islamic philosophy refers to all philosophical activity within the Islamic environment. Hence, the main core sources of classical Islamic philosophy are;
· The religion of Islam, and especially the ideas derived and interpreted from the Holy Quran.
· The Greek philosophical heritage (as exemplified by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) which the early Muslims inherited, when some Greek territories came under Islamic rule.
· Critically examine the subject matter of “medieval philosophy: Islam”.
(YOUR INTRODUCTION)
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY: A BRIEF ANALYSIS
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of the religious thinkers in the middle ages. It is a philosophy based on the Latin principle of “credo ut intelligam” meaning “I believe in order to understand”. According to this principle, faith comes before reasoning and the role of reasoning is simply to clarify faith. Hitherto, one should first believe certain truths by faith and then strive to understand it by means of philosophy. During the medieval period, philosophy was perceived as a handmaid or tool of theology. Philosophers who dominated this period were mainly Christian philosophers. However, there were also some prominent Islamic thinkers like Al-farabi, Ibn-rushd, Ibn-sina, and Al-ghazali and so on. During this period, the more advanced Islamic civilization spreading from the Middle East possessed the whole body of Aristotle’s works. These received development, commentary, and a Neoplatonic flavour at the hands of a series of subtle thinkers, among whom were Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes. From about the middle of the 12th century on, Latin translations of their works became available; and through these, as well as through translation directly from the Greeks, Western thinkers eventually knew all of Aristotle’s writings.
THE NATURE OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
Islamic philosophy is the branch of Islamic studies which deals with the continuous search for ‘‘Hikrah’’ (wisdom). Like philosophy itself, it entails the love of Islamic wisdom. It carries out this perennial search based on and guided by an Islamic worldview, culture, ethics and society. Islamic philosophy is a part of the large umbrella of the Islamic studies in general. As a religious philosophy, it is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between faith, reason and the religious teachings of Islam. The main character of Islamic philosophy was set by the combination of Aristotle and Neo-Platonism that had constituted an important tradition in the late stages of Hellenistic philosophy and that was represented particularly by the Neoplatonic commentators on Aristotle in Athens and Alexandria. The Muslim philosophers introduced into this tradition other fundamental concepts in order to adapt it to an Islamic environment; the most important were the ideas of “contingent and necessary being” and of “prophethood”. Despite these fundamental changes, the Muslim philosophers accepted the general cosmological scheme they had inherited from the Greek traditions. Thus, an important place in their cosmology and metaphysics is occupied by the role of the stars and the heavenly bodies; a role that has no place in the scheme of reality of the Quran. This must be attributed to the Greek beliefs about the status of stars and the heavenly bodies and their creative influence on the moon’s sphere; although such a picture of the universe was also quite in harmony with other traditions existing in the Middle East, for instance, Sabaeans and Babylonians.
SOURCES OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
In order to be more specific, Islamic philosophy refers to all philosophical activity within the Islamic environment. Hence, the main core sources of classical Islamic philosophy are;
· The religion of Islam, and especially the ideas derived and interpreted from the Holy Quran.
· The Greek philosophical heritage (as exemplified by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) which the early Muslims inherited, when some Greek territories came under Islamic rule.
Basically, the subject matter of ‘’medieval philosophy- Islam’’ also called Islamic philosophy must agree in content and principle with the ‘’Quran’’ (the Holy word of God) and the ‘’Sunnah’’ (the tradition of prophet Muhammad- S.A.W).
THE SUBJECT MATTER OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
Regarding the subject matter of Islamic philosophy, the following entail;
· Topical issues relating to Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy concerns itself with such matters as the ‘problem of unity and multiplicity’, ‘the relationship between God and the world’ and so on. Also, it wants to reconcile reason with faith, knowledge with revelation and philosophy with religion. It aims at proving that religion would be accepted by the pagans when it is illuminated by the light of philosophic wisdom. It also discusses the fact that when religion embraces philosophy, it takes on philosophical qualities; and vice-versa. This is why Islamic philosophy is classified as religious philosophy i.e. a philosophical thinking which is influenced and directed by a particular religion.
· Problems attempted in Islamic philosophy
Despite the fact that Islamic philosophy is religiously oriented, it has not ignored any philosophical issue. Hence, it has discussed extensively the problem of being and as well enhanced its position on issues like time, space, matter and life.
In addition, its treatment of epistemology is both comprehensive and unique. It draws an epistemic distinction between knowledge and opinion, innate and acquired qualities, accuracy and error, inconclusive and conclusive evidence, certainty and uncertainty and so on.
Even in ethics, it has thoroughly investigated the question of ‘what is virtue and happiness’? It even proceeds to divide virtues into a number of categories. In the end, it reached a conclusion that the highest virtue is uninterrupted contemplation and serene realisation of the truth.
CONTEMPORARY ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
There are a variety of different approaches to philosophy in the contemporary Islamic world, but some themes do recur. One of these themes comes from the notion of Islamic philosophy and deals with how Islamic it should be and what links it has to have with Islam itself, if any. How does Islamic philosophy taking place within a particular cultural context, shape it? How far should it continue to shape it? Although many Islamic philosophers continue to use techniques and ideas from outside of the region, the links that should be established between Islam and the rest of the world is frequently a contentious issue. It is worth adding that the Islamic world can no longer, if it ever could, be identified with a specific geographical area because Islamic thinkers are today to be found virtually everywhere in the world. The issue of the links between Islam and the rest of the world has persisted for some time and was highlighted in the nineteenth century as a result of orientalism and colonialism. In the past, the Islamic world was far in advance of the rest of the world, and yet for many centuries this has been entirely reversed and has led to many debates about the sources and significance of this apparent relative decline. It has been taken to be more than just a social or economic issue; it is a cultural one also, and clearly philosophy is then relevant in trying to resolve it.
PHILOSOPHY’S PRESENCE IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD
It is often said that philosophy declined in the Islamic world after the death of Ibn Rushd (Averroes) in the 12th century, but this is far from the truth. Today there is a lively philosophical presence in most of the Islamic world, often with the infusion into Islamic philosophy of ideas such as logical positivism, hermeneutics, pragmatism, Hegelianism, deconstructionism, and so on. Philosophy continued vigorously in the Persian cultural world, especially the philosophy of Ibn Sina and the ishraqi (illuminationist) thinkers. In Iran, philosophy has now moved away from the theological school, the madrasa, into the university. A good example of this is represented by the thought of “Mehdi Ha’iri Yazdi”. He develops a complex theory of knowledge that is based on knowledge by presence, a form of knowledge that is immediate and unchangeable and that serves as the foundation of other knowledge claims. He uses ideas from both ishraqi thinkers like al-Suhrawardi, and the modern philosopher Wittgenstein.
THE FUTURE OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
Perhaps the best-known Iranian thinker outside the country in the early twenty-first century is “Seyyed Hossein Nasr”. He enters the debate on modernity by being critical of European and North American science; he praises some of its material achievements but points to the ecological consequences of a worldview that does not base itself on the presence of God. Science without spirituality is blind to moral issues, Nasr believes, because there is nothing that it holds sacred; it bases itself entirely on measurements of quantities, not on the quality of existence. More spiritual philosophies such as those based on Islam are holistic and integrative; they embed spiritual values in the technological agenda and so make ecological disasters less likely. For Nasr, the main question is not what the Middle East should take from Europe and North America, but vice-versa.
Along with this view, Nasr has established in some detail the theoretical pre-suppositions of Sufism, the school of mysticism in Islamic thought. His historical accounts of this doctrine have played a large role in its increasing domestication outside of the traditional Islamic world. Indeed, as the Islamic world spreads out ever more widely, it is likely to involve itself much more in the ideas that it finds in an originally non-Islamic source. In this way Islamic philosophy is returning to its roots, in a sense, because it was the meeting of Islam with Greek philosophy in the early years of Islam that led to the subject coming into existence in the first place.
(YOUR CRITICISMS AND CONCLUSION)
