ISLA 380 Islamic Philosophy and Theology Fall 2015 Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:05PM-5:25PM, in Leacock 110

Transcription

1 ISLA 380 Islamic Philosophy and Theology Fall 2015 Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:05PM-5:25PM, in Leacock 110 Instructor: Prof. Robert Wisnovsky Institute of Islamic Studies Morrice Hall 026 Tel: TA: Ms. Pauline Froissart Office hours: By appointment ISLA 380 is an introduction to the most important philosophers and theologians in Islamic intellectual history, with a focus on the concepts they articulated and the movements they engendered. Although many of the philosophical and theological problems we will examine first arose a thousand years ago, debates over how to solve them still resonate throughout the Islamic world. The classes will alternate between those devoted to lecturing and to answering questions, and those devoted to student-led debates over particular philosophical and theological problems. All the readings are in English. Students will be required to: Requirements a) Lead one side of one debate. In each debate, two student debaters will give twenty-minute presentations of their opposing positions, and then respond to questions and criticisms from the rest of the class. There are only ten debates. If more than twenty students end up enrolling in the class, the remaining students will each choose a debate and submit a 3000-word (+/- 100 words) essay in which they lay out the arguments in favor of one side of that debate, and against the other side. This essay will be due at the beginning of the class in which that debate is held. b) Complete three in-class exams. For each in-class exam, students will choose one of three essay questions to answer. The exams are closed-book, and will be written by hand on an exam booklet. The October 5 exam will cover topics and materials listed in the syllabus between September 9 and September 30, inclusive; the November 4 exam will cover topics and materials listed in the syllabus between October 7 and November 2, inclusive; and the December 7 exam will cover topics and materials listed in the syllabus between November 9 and December 2, inclusive. There will be no Final Exam. c) Come to class i) having read the assigned readings, and ii) prepared to participate in the discussions, especially those during the debates. The readings average about 100 pages per class (lecture or debate). Course grades will be determined as follows: a) debate: 20% b) exam #1: 20% c) exam #2: 20% d) exam #3: 20% e) class participation: 20% 1

2 Textbooks The following textbook is available for purchase at the Paragraphe Bookstore. Peter Adamson and Richard Taylor, eds, The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) Copies of the remaining textbooks are on reserve at the Islamic Studies Library. B. Abrahamov, Islamic Theology: Traditionalism and Rationalism (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998) J. Barnes, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000) S. van den Bergh, trans., Averroes' Tahafut al-tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence) (London: E.J.W. Gibb Memorial Trust, 1978) A. Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983) G.F. Hourani, trans., Averroes on the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy (London: E.J.W. Gibb Memorial Trust, 1961) R.C. Martin and M.R. Woodward, Defenders of Reason in Islam: Muʿtazilism from Medieval School to Modern Symbol (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1997) F. Rahman, Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984) Amina Wadud, Qur an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) W. M. Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology: An Extended Survey (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1985) H. A. Wolfson, The Philosophy of the Kalam (Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press, 1976) In addition, PDFs of the readings other than Adamson and Taylor are available for download from the MyCourses webpage. McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see for more information). In accord with McGill University s Charter of Students Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded. Schedule Fri Sep 4 (Lecture): Logistics; introduction Mon Sep 7: NO CLASS (Labor Day) Wed Sep 9 (Lecture): Early sectarianism; Muʿtazilism Watt, 1-63 Wolfson,

3 Mon Sep 14 (Debate): If God creates our actions, isn t He unjust to punish us for them? Wolfson, Wed Sep 16 (Lecture): The Miḥna; Ashʿarī and Ashʿarism Watt, and Ashʿarī [d. ca. 936], A Vindication of the Science of Kalam [R. J. McCarthy, trans., The Theology of al-ashʿarī (Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1953), ] Ashʿarī [d. ca. 936], Highlights of the Polemic against Deviators and Innovators [R. J. McCarthy, trans., The Theology of al-ashʿarī (Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1953), and ] Mon Sep 21 (Debate): Is the Qurʾān created or uncreated? Ṭabarī [d. 923], History of Prophets and Kings [C.E. Bosworth, trans., al-ṭabarī: History of Prophets and Kings; vol. 32: The Reunification of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1987), ] Wolfson, Wed Sep 23: (Lecture): Greek into Arabic; Kindī; logic and epistemology Adamson and Taylor, Excerpts on translation, biography and the sciences [F. Rosenthal, ed. and trans., The Classical Heritage in Islam (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1975), pp ] Ibn Khaldūn [d. 1406], Prolegomenon [F. Rosenthal, trans., Ibn Khaldūn: An Introduction to History, The Muqaddimah (New York: The Bollingen Foundation, 1964), , , ] Kindī [d. 865], On First Philosophy [A.L. Ivry, trans., Al-Kindi s Metaphysics (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1974), 55-95] Mon Sep 28 (Debate): Do we need a divine text in order to know things with certainty, or can we use logic instead? Kindī [d. 865], Sketch of Aristotle s Organon [N. Rescher, trans., Al-Kindi s sketch of Aristotle s Organon, The New Scholasticism 37 (Baltimore: The American Catholic Philosophical Association, 1963), 44-58] The Discussion between Abū Bishr Mattā and Abū Saʿīd al-sīrāfī on the Merits of Logic and Grammar [D. Margoliouth, trans., The discussion between Abū Bishr Mattā and Abū Saʿīd al-sirāfī on the merits of logic and grammar, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland New Series 37 (London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1905), 79-91, ] Abrahamov, 1-64 Wed Sep 30 (Lecture): Fārābī; ethics and political philosophy Adamson and Taylor, Fārābī [d. 950], The Enumeration of the Sciences [R. Lerner and M. Mahdi, eds and trans, Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook (New York: The Free Press, 1963), 22-30] Fārābī [d. 950], The Attainment of Happiness [M. Mahdi, trans., Alfarabi s Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1969), 13-50] Miskawayh [d. 1030], The Refinement of Character [C. Zurayk, trans., The Refinement of Character: A Translation of Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Miskawayh's Tahdhīb al-akhlāq (Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1968), 11-15, and 69-85] 3

4 Mon Oct 5: In-class exam #1 Wed Oct 7 (Debate): Do prophets or philosophers make better lawgivers? Adamson and Taylor, Ashʿarī [d. ca. 936], Highlights of the Polemic against Deviators and Innovators [R. J. McCarthy, trans., The Theology of al-ashʿarī (Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1953), ] Avicenna [d. 1037], On the Divisions of the Rational Sciences [R. Lerner and M. Mahdi, eds and trans, Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook (New York: The Free Press, 1963), 95-97] Avicenna [d. 1037], Healing: Metaphysics X [R. Lerner and M. Mahdi, eds and trans, Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook (New York: The Free Press, 1963), ] Avicenna [d. 1037], On the Proof of Prophecies [R. Lerner and M. Mahdi, eds and trans, Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook (New York: The Free Press, 1963), ] Nāṣir Khusraw [d. ca. 1088], Knowledge and Liberation [F. Hunzai, trans., Knowledge and Liberation: A Treatise on Philosophical Theology (London: I.B. Tauris, 1998), ] Ṭūsī [d. 1274], On Ethics [G.M. Wickens, trans., The Nasirean Ethics by Naṣīr ad-dīn Ṭūsī (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1964), 23-73] Mon Oct 12: No Class (Thanksgiving) Wed Oct 14 (Lecture): Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā); metaphysics and psychology Adamson and Taylor, Avicenna [d. 1037], The Autobiography [D. Gutas, trans., Avicenna and the Aristotelian Tradition (New York: E.J. Brill, 1988), 22-30] Avicenna [d. 1037], On Necessary and Possible Existence [G. Hourani, Ibn Sina on necessary and possible existence, Philosophical Forum 6 (Boston: Boston University Department of Philosophy, 1974), 74-86] Mon Oct 19 (Debate): After we die, do our souls alone survive, or will our bodies be resurrected as well? Adamson and Taylor, Avicenna [d. 1037], Psychology [F. Rahman, trans., Avicenna s Psychology: An English Translation of Kitāb alnajāt, Book II, Chapter VI, with Historico-Philosophical Notes and textual Improvements on the Cairo Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952), 56-64] Ghazālī [d. 1111]/Averroes [d. 1198], Incoherence, Wed Oct 21 (Lecture): Ghazālī; reactions to falsafa Adamson and Taylor, ; Ghazālī [d. 1111], Deliverance from Error [W.M. Watt, trans., The Faith and Practice of al-ghazālī (Chicago: Kazi Publications, 1982), 19-85] Ibn Taymiyya [d. 1328], Against the Logicians [W.B. Hallaq, trans., Ibn Taymiyya: Against the Logicians (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), 3-30] Mon Oct 26 (Debate): Are God s hands tied by the laws of nature, or can He override nature in order to create miracles? Wolfson, Ghazālī [d. 1111]/Averroes [d. 1198], Incoherence,

5 Wed Oct 28 (Lecture): Averroes (Ibn Rushd); Arabic into Latin Adamson and Taylor, and Averroes [d. 1198], Harmony, Aquinas [d. 1274], Summa Contra Gentiles [A.C. Pegis, trans., Saint Thomas Aquinas: Summa Contra Gentiles Book 1: God (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1975), 79-96, Mon Nov 2 (Debate): Is God so sublime that He only knows things in a general way, or can He know particular things just as we do? Ghazālī [d. 1111]/Averroes [d. 1198], Incoherence, The Condemnation of 219 Propositions [A. Hyman and J. Walsh, trans, Philosophy in the Middle Ages: The Christian, Islamic and Jewish Traditions (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., 1973), ] Giles of Rome [d. 1316], Errors of the Philosophers [J.O. Riedl, trans., Giles of Rome: Errores Philosophorum (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1944), 3-67 (odd pages only--i.e., only the facing translation)] Wed Nov 4: In-class exam #2 Mon Nov 9 (Lecture): Post-classical Sunni and Shiʿite muḥaqqiqūn and mutakallimūn (Abū al-muʿīn) Nasafī [d. 1114], An Ocean of Discourse about Theology [A. Jeffery, trans., A on Islam: Passages from Standard Arabic Writings Illustrative of the Beliefs and Practices of Muslims ( s-gravenhage: Mouton & Co., 1962), ] Ṭūsī [d. 1274], Treatise on the Proof of a Necessary Being [P. Morewedge, trans., The Metaphysics of Ṭūsī (New York: The Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1992), 1-14] Taftāzānī [d. 1389], Commentary on the Nasafite Creed (i.e., the Creed of [Abū Ḥafṣ] Nasafī [d. 1142]) [E.E. Elder, trans., A Commentary on the Creed of Islam: Sa d al-dın al-taftāzānī on the Creed of Najm al-dīn al-nasafī (New York: Columbia University Press, 1950), 3-87] Shah Walī Allāh of Delhi [d. 1762], The Conclusive Argument from God [M.K. Hermansen, The Conclusive Argument from God: Shāh Walī Allāh of Delhi s Ḥujjat Allāh al-bāligha (New York, E.J. Brill, 1996), 33-36, , ] Wed Nov 11 (Debate): Was the world created out of nothing or is it eternal, just as God is? Ghazālī [d. 1111]/Averroes [d. 1198], Incoherence, 1-58, Mon Nov 16 (Lecture): Illuminationism; the Akbarian Turn Adamson and Taylor, and Shahrazūrī [d. after 1288], Introduction to his Commentary on Suhrawardī's [d. 1191] Philosophy of Illumination [J. Walbridge and H. Ziai, trans., Suhrawardī: The Philosophy of Illumination (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1999), xxxviii-xliii] Mullā Ṣadrā [d. 1641], Book of Prehensions [P. Morewedge, trans., The Metaphysics of Mulla Sadrā (New York: The Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1992), 55-83] Sabzavārī [d. 1878], Metaphysics [M. Mohaghegh and T. Izutsu, trans, The Metaphysics of Sabzavārī (Delmar, NY: Caravan Books, 1977), 31-47] Wed Nov 18 (Lecture): Early Modernism Hourani,

6 Mon Nov 23 (Debate): Does progress presuppose Westernization? Martin and Woodward, Afghānī [d. 1897], The Benefits of Philosophy [N. Keddie and H. Algar, trans, An Islamic Response to Imperialism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), ] ʿAbduh [d. 1905], Essay on Divine Unity [I. Musaʿad and K. Cragg, trans, The Theology of Unity by Muhammad ʿAbduh, (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1966), 27-56, ] Iqbal [d. 1938], Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam [M.S. Sheikh, ed., The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam by Allama Muhammad Iqbal (Lahore, Pakistan: Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986), 23-49] Wed Nov 25 (Lecture): Late Modernism Rahman, Martin and Woodward, Mon Nov 30 (Debate): How useful is the Islamic philosophical and theological tradition to modern Muslims? Martin and Woodward, Nasution, The Muʿtazila and Rational Philosophy [Martin and Woodward, ] Soroush, The Three Cultures [M. Sadri and A. Sadri, trans and eds, Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam: Essential Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), ] Wed Dec 2 (Lecture): Postmodernism and Postcoloniality Martin and Woodward, Arkoun, Islam, Europe, the West: Meanings-at-stake and the Will-to-Power [J. Cooper et al., eds, Islam and Modernity: Muslim Intellectuals Respond (London: I.B.Tauris, 2000), ] Abu Zaid, Divine Attributes in the Qur an: Some Poetic Aspects [J. Cooper et al., eds, Islam and Modernity: Muslim Intellectuals Respond (London: I.B.Tauris, 2000), ] Soroush, The Evolution and Devolution of Religious Knowledge [C. Kurzman, ed., Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), ] Wadud, ix-xxvi and Mon Dec 7: In-class exam #3 6