The Misty Land of Ideas and The Light of Dialogue

The Misty Land of Ideas and The Light of Dialogue

Author: Ali Paya

Publisher: ICAS Press

Published: 2013-11-12

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 1904063578

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Comparative philosophy, like other types of philosophy, is a sort of dialogue among philosophers. But whereas dialogue among philosophers in the traditional branches of philosophy is usually in the form of duologue, in comparative philosophy three interlocutors are involved. Participants in a dialogue of the type which is common in comparative philosophy need not be contemporaneous. Nor do they need to speak the same language or belong to the same tradition. Of the three interlocutors in a dialogue of the type relevant to comparative philosophy, the one who plays the role of the go-between among the other two is the true practitioner of ‘comparative philosophy’ or, to coin a term, the true ‘comparative philosopher’, i.e, the one who is actually engaged in the process of comparing philosophies and reflecting upon the finesse of the art of comparison of views. The comparative philosopher is an interpreter, a commentator, a critic, a connoisseur of good philosophical arguments and interesting ideas, an educator, and a communicator. This last characteristic pertains to the role the comparative philosopher plays vis-à-vis contemporary and future audiences.


Post-Islamist Political Theory

Post-Islamist Political Theory

Author: Meysam Badamchi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-06-22

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 3319594923

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This book deals with the concept of post-Islamism from a mainly philosophical perspective, using political liberalism as elaborated by John Rawls as the key interpretive tool. What distinguishes this book from most scholarship in Iranian studies is that it primarily deals with the projects of Iranian intellectuals from a normative perspective as the concept is understood by analytical philosophers. The volume includes analyses of the strengths and weakness of the arguments underlying each thinker’s ideas, rather than looking for their historical and sociological origins, genealogy, etc. Each chapter develops a particular conjectural argument for the possibility of an overlapping consensus between Islam and political liberalism, though the arguments presented draw upon different Islamic, particularly Shia, resources. Thus, while Shabestari and Soroush primarily reason from a modernist theological or kalami perspective, M.H.Tabatabai and Mehdi Haeri Yazdi’s arguments are mainly based on traditional Islamic philosophy and Quranic exegesis. While Kadivar, An-Naim and Fanaei are post-Islamist in the exact sense of the term, Malekian goes beyond typical post-Islamism by proposing a theory for spirituality that constrains religion within the boundaries of enlightenment thought. Throughout the book, specific attention is given to Ferrara and March’s readings of political liberalism. Although the book’s chapters constitute a whole, they can also be read independently if the reader is only curious about particular intellectuals whose political theories are discussed.


Differences in Identity in Philosophy and Religion

Differences in Identity in Philosophy and Religion

Author: Lydia Azadpour

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-04-02

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1350076511

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This book explores the constitutive role alterity plays in identity formation in Western and Eastern traditions. It examines the significance of difference in conceptions of identity across major philosophical and religious traditions in a global and comparative context, considering Ancient Greek and Egyptian, Chinese, Islamic, European and Japanese philosophies. In addition, the book opens up discussion of less dominant trends in philosophical thinking, particularly the spaces between self-same existence and otherness in the histories of philosophical and religious thought. Chapters critique both essentialist and postmodern understandings of self-constitution by questioning the ordinary narrative of identity construction across Western and non-Western traditions. The book also explores the construction of selfhood from a wide range of perspectives, drawing upon individual philosophers (including Plotinus, Descartes, Geulincx, Hume, de Beauvoir and Ueda) as well as religious and philosophical movements, including Confucian philosophy, Zen Buddhism, Protestantism and Post-Phenomenology. Differences in Identity in Philosophy and Religion represents a landmark study, drawing together a range of approaches, perspectives and traditions to explore how identity is constructed across the world.


Methods, Methodologies, and Perspectives in the Humanities and Social Sciences With Particular Reference to Islamic Studies: A Critical Rationalist Interpretation

Methods, Methodologies, and Perspectives in the Humanities and Social Sciences With Particular Reference to Islamic Studies: A Critical Rationalist Interpretation

Author: Ali Paya

Publisher: ICAS Press

Published: 2021-01-01

Total Pages: 752

ISBN-13: 1907905529

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This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to methods and methodologies in the humanities and social sciences in general, and Islamic Studies in particular, from a critical rationalist point of view. The book aims to be a self-sufficient theoretical and practical guide to the topics that it introduces. It contains a large selection of fully worked out review activities and review questions plus topics for further discussion which are devised to assist readers to better understand the issues which are discussed in the book. Last but not least, all efforts have been made to make sure that most (if not all) of the reading materials which are recommended in the book are not only of the highest quality but also freely available on the internet.


The Role of Comparative Philosophy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Role of Comparative Philosophy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author: Nevad Kahteran

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 1527574954

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This collection of essays highlights that, despite its history of conflict, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a real enthusiasm for comparative philosophy. It illustrates the role of this type of philosophy in Bosnian culture and links it with developments in other parts of the world and other cultures. Part One consists of essays that have appeared, in slightly revised versions, in a number of journals and books that focus on relevant resources introducing this field in our region and especially Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Part Two consists of interviews with prominent scholars outside of this country. The book examines the challenges confronting the teaching of comparative philosophy within the university-level philosophy curriculum in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the surrounding countries in the Balkans, a part of the world where multicultural societies are the norm. Facing the twenty-first century, these confluences and cross-currents are increasingly gaining importance, especially in this region, with a comparativism of ethnocentrism and multiculturalism becoming a way of challenging stereotypes.


American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 32:1

American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 32:1

Author: MD. Mahmudul Hasan

Publisher: International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT)

Published: 2015-11-17

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13:

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The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS), established in 1984, is a quarterly, double blind peer-reviewed and interdisciplinary journal, published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), and distributed worldwide. The journal showcases a wide variety of scholarly research on all facets of Islam and the Muslim world including subjects such as anthropology, history, philosophy and metaphysics, politics, psychology, religious law, and traditional Islam.


Avicenna's Al-Shifā'

Avicenna's Al-Shifā'

Author: Sari Nusseibeh

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-04-09

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 1351050419

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This book deals with the philosophy of Ibn Sina - Avicenna as he was known in the Latin West- a Persian Muslim who lived in the eleventh century, considered one of the most important figures in the history of philosophy. Although much has been written about Avicenna, and especially about his major philosophical work, Al-Shifa, this book presents the rationalist Avicenna in an entirely new light, showing him to have presented a theory where our claims of knowledge about the world are in effect just that, claims, and must therefore be underwritten by our faith in God. His project enlists arguments in psychology as well as in language and logic. In a sense, the ceiling he puts on the reach of reason can be compared with later rationalists in the Western tradition, from Descartes to Kant –though, unlike Descartes, he does not deem it necessary to reconstruct his theory of knowledge via a proof of the existence of God. Indeed, Avicenna’s theory presents the concept of God as being necessarily presupposed by our theory of knowledge, and God as the Necessary Being who is presupposed by an existing world where nothing of itself is what it is by an intrinsic nature, and must therefore be as it is due to an external cause. The detailed and original analysis of Avicenna’s work here is presented as what he considered to be his own, or ‘oriental’ philosophy. Presenting an innovative interpretation of Avicenna’s thought, this book will appeal to scholars working on classical Islamic philosophy, kalām and the History of Logic.


Comparative Philosophy without Borders

Comparative Philosophy without Borders

Author: Arindam Chakrabarti

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2015-11-19

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 147257625X

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Comparative Philosophy without Borders presents original scholarship by leading contemporary comparative philosophers, each addressing a philosophical issue that transcends the concerns of any one cultural tradition. By critically discussing and weaving together these contributions in terms of their philosophical presuppositions, this cutting-edge volume initiates a more sophisticated, albeit diverse, understanding of doing comparative philosophy. Within a broad conception of the alternative shapes that work in philosophy may take, this volume breaks three kinds of boundaries: between cultures, historical periods and sub-disciplines of philosophy such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and political philosophy. As well as distinguishing three phases of the development of comparative philosophy up to the present day, the editors argue why the discipline now needs to enter a new phase. Putting to use philosophical thought and textual sources from Eurasia and Africa, contributors discuss modern psychological and cognitive science approaches to the nature of mind and topics as different as perception, poetry, justice, authority, and the very possibility of understanding other people. Comparative Philosophy without Borders demonstrates how drawing on philosophical resources from across cultural traditions can produce sound state-of-the-art progressive philosophy. Fusing the horizons of traditions opens up a space for creative conceptual thinking outside all sorts of boxes.


Islam, Modernity and a New Millennium

Islam, Modernity and a New Millennium

Author: Ali Paya

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-02-02

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1351615599

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As the world becomes increasingly globalised Islam faces some important choices. Does it seek to "modernise" in line with the cultures in which it is practised, or does it retain its traditions even if they are at odds with the surrounding society? This book utilizes a critical rationalist viewpoint to illuminate many of the hotly contended issues in modern Islam, and to offer a fresh analysis. A variety of issues within Islam are discussed in this book including, Muslims and modernity; Islam, Christianity and Judaism; approaches to the understanding of the Quran; Muslim identity and civil society; doctrinal certainty and violent radicalism. In each case, the author makes use of Karl Popper’s theory of critical rationalism to uncover new aspects of these issues and to challenge post-modern, relativist, literalist and justificationist readings of Islam. This is a unique perspective on contemporary Islam and as such will be of significant interest to scholars of Religious Studies, Islamic Studies and the Philosophy of Religion.