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History of Islamic Thought: Difference between revisions
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'''Islamic philosophy''' is a general term for the works of Islamic scholars who tried to reconcile the [[Philosophy|philosophical]] tradition of the ancient world (primarily of Aristotle and Plato) with the teaching of [[Islam]]. | '''Islamic philosophy''' is a general term for the works of Islamic scholars who tried to reconcile the [[Philosophy|philosophical]] tradition of the ancient world (primarily of Aristotle and Plato) with the teaching of [[Islam]]. It covers the genesis and development of philosophical thought in the Islamic world, from Andalusia to [[India]], from the ninth century to the present. | ||
==Formative Period== | ==Formative Period== | ||
Whereas Judaism and Christianity began as a religion of small groups, Islam developed as the religion of an expanding empire. | Whereas Judaism and Christianity began as a religion of small groups, Islam developed as the religion of an expanding empire. Within a hundred years of Prophet [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] [[Muhammad's Death|death]] in 632 AD, military conquest extended the Islamic world to India, North [[Africa]] and Southern [[Spain]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://philpapers.org/rec/HYMPIT|title= Philosophy in the Middle Ages|publisher= Indianapolis: Hackett|author= Hyman, J. and Walsh, J.J.|date= 1973|isbn=9781603842082|page=203|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> | ||
As a result, a variety of different communities came under Muslim rule, and Islam came into contact with the theological systems of [[Islam and the People of the Book|Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastranism]], and the philosophy of India and [[Greece]]. | As a result, a variety of different communities came under Muslim rule, and Islam came into contact with the theological systems of [[Islam and the People of the Book|Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastranism]], and the philosophy of India and [[Greece]]. This led Islamic theologians to use philosophical ideas and principles to interpret [[Qur'an|Qur'anic]] doctrines. | ||
The first stage of this process was the translation into [[Arabic]] of Greek philosophical and scientific works that had been preserved by Eastern Christians in Mesopatamia, [[Syria]] and [[Egypt]]. | The first stage of this process was the translation into [[Arabic]] of Greek philosophical and scientific works that had been preserved by Eastern Christians in Mesopatamia, [[Syria]] and [[Egypt]]. The translators were mostly Nestorian and Jacobite Christians, working in the two hundred years following the early Abbasid period (c. 800). The most important translator of this group was the Syriac-speaking Christian Hunayn Ibn Ishaq (809-873), known to the Latins as ''Joannitius''. The texts were first translated into Syriac, then into Arabic. Despite this process, the translations were generally accurate, aiming for a literal reading rather than elegance.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://philpapers.org/rec/HYMPIT|title= Philosophy in the Middle Ages|publisher= Indianapolis: Hackett|author= Hyman, J. and Walsh, J.J.|date= 1973|isbn=9781603842082|page=204|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> | ||
In the tenth century another school arose among the Jacobites. These knew little Greek, and used only Syriac translations. The works translated included nearly all the works of Aristotle, the writings of commentators such as Alexander of Aphrodisias, Themistius and Theophrastus, most of the dialogues of Plato, and some Neoplatonist works. | In the tenth century another school arose among the Jacobites. These knew little Greek, and used only Syriac translations. The works translated included nearly all the works of Aristotle, the writings of commentators such as Alexander of Aphrodisias, Themistius and Theophrastus, most of the dialogues of Plato, and some Neoplatonist works. | ||
The next stage was the development of [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology|Islamic theology]] by the Mutakallimun. | The next stage was the development of [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology|Islamic theology]] by the Mutakallimun. These were divided into the Mu'tazilities and the Ash'arites. The Mu'tazilities originated in groups that met in Basrah and Baghdad to discuss how Greek philosophical ideas might help to resolve certain theological problems, such as divine unity, and how human beings can be free even though [[God]] is omnipotent. They also developed proofs of the creation of the world, using Christian Neoplatonist ideas. The Ash'arites (founded by Al-Ash'ari, 873-935) tried to clarify Qur'anic doctrines. They denied the existence of any causation except through God, and, hence it would appear, the true [[Free Will and Predestination in Islam|freedom of human will]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://philpapers.org/rec/HYMPIT|title= Philosophy in the Middle Ages|publisher= Indianapolis: Hackett|author= Hyman, J. and Walsh, J.J.|date= 1973|isbn=9781603842082|page=205|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref> They likewise established that God was more powerful than he was just, for the limitation of justice, they decided, could be restrictive upon a God powerful enough to be injust ''if'' he so desired.<ref>Rahman, F., ''Islam'', University of Chicago Press, p. 90-100. 1979.</ref> | ||
==Golden Age== | ==Golden Age== | ||