Saadya Gaon
Saadya Gaon

Author: Gyongyi (Ginger) Hegedus

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2013-07-11

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 900425644X

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In Saadya Gaon: The Double Path of the Mystic and the Rationalist Gyongyi Hegedus offers a new perspective on the thought of the most significant medieval Jewish thinker of the pre-Maimonidean era, Saadya Gaon. Saadya’s important philosophical works belong to two distinct traditions: his main work is written in the style of rationalist theology (kalam), but he is also responsible for composing a commentary in a neo-Pythagorean tone. In addition to contextualizing the two traditions and analyzing their Islamic parallels, the book makes the argument that Saadya consciously constructed a two-layered model of thought and harmonized two styles: one based on sensation and logic, the other on a specific prophetic insight.

Two Greek Aristotelian Commentators on the Intellect
Two Greek Aristotelian Commentators on the Intellect

Author: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies

Publisher: PIMS

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 9780888442833

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No Aristotelian doctrine had a greater influence on medieval philosophy and theology than that of the agent, or active, intellect. This influence, however, was mediated by a long tradition of exegesis in which the Greek commentaries of later antiquity played a dominant role. The two commentaries presented here were known to have been influential in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The first is a short treatise called the "De intellectu", attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias; the second a paraphrase of Aristotle's "De anima" (3.4-8) by Themistius, which also includes a major interpretation of "De anima" (3.5), the chapte on the active intellect.

The Internal Senses in the Aristotelian Tradition
The Internal Senses in the Aristotelian Tradition

Author: Seyed N. Mousavian

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-03-19

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 3030334082

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This volume is a collection of essays on a special theme in Aristotelian philosophy of mind: the internal senses. The first part of the volume is devoted to the central question of whether or not any internal senses exist in Aristotle’s philosophy of mind and, if so, how many and how they are individuated. The provocative claim of chapter one is that Aristotle recognizes no such internal sense. His medieval Latin interpreters, on the other hand, very much thought that Aristotle did introduce a number of internal senses as shown in the second chapter. The second part of the volume contains a number of case studies demonstrating the philosophical background of some of the most influential topics covered by the internal senses in the Aristotelian tradition and in contemporary philosophy of mind. The focus of the case studies is on memory, imagination and estimation. Chapters introduce the underlying mechanisms of memory and recollection taking its cue from Aristotle but reaching into early modern philosophy as well as studying composite imagination in Avicenna’s philosophy of mind. Further topics include the Latin reception of Avicenna’s estimative faculty and the development of the internal senses as well as offering an account of the logic of objects of imagination.

Polished Mirror
Polished Mirror

Author: Cyrus Ali Zargar

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-11-02

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1786072025

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Islamic philosophy and Sufism evolved as distinct yet interweaving strands of Islamic thought and practice. Despite differences, they have shared a concern with the perfection of the soul through the development of character. In The Polished Mirror, Cyrus Ali Zargar studies the ways in which, through teaching and storytelling, pre-modern Muslims lived, negotiated, and cultivated virtues. Examining the writings of philosophers, ascetics, poets, and saints, he locates virtue ethics within a dynamic moral tradition. Innovative, engaging, and approachable, this work – the first in the English language to explore Islamic ethics in the fascinating context of narrative – will be a valuable resource for both students and scholars.

Philosophy in the Islamic World
Philosophy in the Islamic World

Author: Ulrich Rudolph

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2022-05-09

Total Pages: 864

ISBN-13: 9004492542

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A comprehensive reference work covering all figures of the earliest period of philosophy in the Islamic world. Both major and minor thinkers are covered, with details of biography and doctrine as well as detailed lists and summaries of each author’s works.

Philosophising the Occult
Philosophising the Occult

Author: Michael-Sebastian Noble

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-11-23

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 3110644614

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Was it mere encyclopedism that motivated Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d.1210), one of the most influential Islamic theologians of the twelfth century, to theorize on astral magic – or was there a deeper purpose? One of his earliest works was The Hidden Secret (‘al-Sirr al-Maktūm’), a magisterial study of the ‘craft’ which harnessed spiritual discipline and natural philosophy to establish noetic connection with the celestial souls to work wonders here on earth. The initiate’s preceptor is a personal celestial spirit, ‘the perfect nature’ which represents the ontological origin of his soul. This volume will be the first study of The Hidden Secret and its theory of astral magic, which synthesized the naturalistic account of prophethood constructed by Avicenna (d.1037), with the perfect nature doctrine as conceived by Abū’l-Barakāt (d.1165). Shedding light on one of the most complex thinkers of the post-Avicennan period, it will show how al-Rāzī’s early theorizing on the craft contributed to his formulation of prophethood with which his career culminated. Representing the nexus between philosophy, theology and magic, it will be of interest to all those interested in Islamic intellectual history and occultism.