Islamic Philosophy

Introduction

In, An Introduction to Islamic Philosophy (1999), University of Kentucky Philosophy Professor Oliver Leaman, focuses mainly on the two schools of Islamic philosophical thought that he believes are often overlooked by philosophers in the western world. These schools are the Sufi, also known as the mystical, school; and the Ishraqi, also known as the illuminationist, school. He thinks that Ð'- even though the Islamic philosophical movements emanating from the Peripatetic and Greek traditions are more important to the whole of Islamic studies Ð'- if these aforementioned schools were to be overlooked it would be doing a great injustice to the study of Islamic philosophy.

The first two chapters of the text focus primarily on the history and roots of Islamic philosophy, and on the major controversies surrounding the study of Islamic Philosophy. In the first chapter Leaman writes, "Islamic philosophers, like philosophers everywhere, wrote in ways which they hopped would resonate with their local intellectual communitiesÐ'..." The author is speaking to the fact that Ð'- as the Islamic empire expanded into areas of the Middle East that were richly saturated with the traditions of Greek culture and learning Ð'- Muslim thinkers began to be exposed to other schools of philosophical thought. This caused early Muslim scholars to begin adapting what they could from Greek and other traditions to make further progress in their own philosophical endeavors. After explaining the birth of the Islamic philosophical tradition, the author continues by briefly documenting some of the most notable scholars of Islamic philosophy Ð'- from the Ð''first Arab philosopher' Al-Kindi to the major thinkers of today, such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

Following his explanation of the historical significance and controversies within the discipline of Islamic philosophy, the author breaks his analysis into seven sections, each one dealing with a different aspect of Islamic culture, life, and religious practice in relation to Islamic Philosophy. Leaman chooses to look specifically at Ð''Knowledge,' Ð''Mysticism,' Ð''Ontology,' Ð''Ethics,' Ð''Politics,' Ð''The Question of Transmission,' and Ð''Language.' This essay will focus mainly on the sections pertaining to Ð''Ethics' and Ð''Politics'; exploring the similarities between these two areas and looking critically at the impact that Islamic philosophic principles have on the socio-political events that shape our world.

Ethics

Since the early days of Islamic philosophical discourse, one of the major ethical controversies has centered on the linguistic meaning of ethical terms, as it relates to God's ability to alter or expand the meaning of these ethical terms. At the heart of the debate are two opposing schools of philosophical thought, the Ash'arites and the Mu'tazilites. The Ash'arites claimed that ethical meaning is completely subjective (or, derived from the subject, God), and accordingly believed that an action is only moral if it is performed out of a desire to fulfill God's wishes. This conflicted with the view of the Mu'tazilites, which said that although God wishes that we do good, the rules of morality are beyond His control. The question at the core of this Ð'- Ð''Can God affect linguistic meaning?' Ð'- seems simple enough but the debate over this question has only begun. Al-Ghazali takes the debate a step further by asserting that although God is the final authority on what a term means, the rules of language are not iron clad. There is no reason to insist that the nature of language is finite, and one should not hesitate to question the rules of language, so that God may change them as he wishes.

Another aspect of this argument is the idea, central to Islamic philosophy, that one is justified in trusting in the wisdom of a higher power Ð'- or, if we have reason to trust a source of authority, we are justified in following the advice it gives, even if we do not fully understand the reasons behind the advice. In terms of ethical meaning, this idea dictates that since our human vantage point is so limited we will never be able to fully comprehend ethical language, so we should do whatever God tells us to do, for no reason other than the fact that He is telling us to do so. The culmination of this debate is the idea that while God is in control of the meaning of ethical terms, this does not mean that the powers of human reason are dulled or diluted. It is only an acknowledgment of the fact that God is more suited to the task; for we tend to get caught up in our own emotions and because of this at times it becomes hard for us to make reasonable judgments. It is an acknowledgement that since God created the world, he knows a great deal more about it than we do.

Politics

In this section, Leaman examines the links between religion and politics in Islam; in an attempt to better explain the origin of the Islamic state, and to shed light on the forces that have influenced the development of modern Islamic governments. The ideas that form the basis of Islamic political theory are closely linked to the theories contained in Plato's The Republic. Islamic political theory and Platonic political theory both agree that a society is best ruled when it is ruled by reason, and this makes philosophers the ideal political leaders. These philosophical traditions also believe that rulers are not obligated to inform the masses what exactly they're doing or why they're doing it because if they did the people would either be disinterested or unable to understand the complex workings of government. Following these ideas is the idea that a state should provide each person with something (but not necessarily the same thing) so that they may feel that they are competent and contributing member of society.

Another important aspect