List of articles (by subject) Historical schools and periods of Islamic philosophy
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Open Access Article
1 - A Study of the Methodological Development of Interpretive Philosophy in Islam from Kindī to Mīr Dāmād
Seyed Mohammad Hosain MirdamadiThis study examines the background of pre-Sadrian Islamic philosophers’ method of interpretive or t’awīlī thinking following a descriptive-analytic method. Interpretive philosophy has been defined in different ways; however, its general feature is going beyond the surfa MoreThis study examines the background of pre-Sadrian Islamic philosophers’ method of interpretive or t’awīlī thinking following a descriptive-analytic method. Interpretive philosophy has been defined in different ways; however, its general feature is going beyond the surface meaning of concepts and employing both reason and revelation in interpreting a text. A glance at the historical development of this method demonstrates its general growth, although with some fluctuations, in the Islamic philosophical tradition. This is because the process of t’awīl is rooted in the move from the separation of religion and philosophy towards their graded unity. A method of thinking that leads to unity indicates intellectual growth in case it is based on sound reasoning because the intellect advocates unity while imagination is pluralist. From a historical perspective, it can be said that philosophers’ interpretive thoughts have gradually moved away from defending the opposition of religion and philosophy to accepting that their truths are inseparable. In the case of the former standpoint, philosophers sometimes followed the exoteric meanings of religion and sometimes took side with the intellect and philosophy. However, later they unanimously concluded that religion and philosophy share the same truth that has been expressed in different languages. Therefore, the important point is to perceive their methods and languages and explain the related constraints. Hence, we are witnessing a process of monopoly and partiality instead of universality and holism. Manuscript profile -
Open Access Article
2 - Theoretical Changes about the Faculty of Estimation in the Course of Historical Development of Islamic Philosophy
Mohammad-Ali ArdestaniThe faculty of estimation is one of the inner, particular, and perceptive powers of the soul that plays a significant role in particular cognitions, and without which it is impossible to organize and balance life affairs. Its potential of transcending the realm of meani MoreThe faculty of estimation is one of the inner, particular, and perceptive powers of the soul that plays a significant role in particular cognitions, and without which it is impossible to organize and balance life affairs. Its potential of transcending the realm of meanings has placed it on top of all inner particular powers. Following a descriptive-analytic evaluation method, the present paper examines the development of the views of Muslim philosophers in this regard. Three important theories stand out in this process. In their quest to attribute a specific source to each kind of perception, Peripatetic philosophers consider the faculty of estimation to be independent from others, place it alongside the faculties of sensation, imagination, and intellect, and emphasize that it can perceive the nature of all specific universals. Accordingly, perceptions are divided in two four sensory, imaginative, estimative, and rational types. Among the followers of the Transcendent Philosophy, some philosophers such as Mullā Hādī Sabziwārī have advocated the Peripatetics on this ground, but Mullā Ṣadrā and ‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī have criticized this theory each in their own way. Mullā Ṣadrā has promoted the faculty of estimation to the level of the intellect and placed it at the level of revealed intellect. Accordingly, perceptions are divided into three sensory, imaginative, and rational types. However, ‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī has attributed the faculty of estimation to the common sense and demoted its status to the level of the senses. He acknowledges the unity of sensory, imaginative, and estimative perceptions. Manuscript profile