Reason Unbound: On Spiritual Practice in Islamic Peripatetic Philosophy (SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions)

Reason Unbound......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgments......Page 9 Introduction. Islamic Philosophy and the Crisis of Modern Rationalism......Page 11 1. Beyond Orientalism and Academic Rationalism: A Critique of the Standard Readings of Islamic Philosophy......Page 17 1.1. Philosophy as Practice of Spiritual Exercises......Page 18 1.2. Standard Readings of Islamic Philosophy......Page 21 2. To the Things Themselves: Corbin and Heidegger on Phenomenological Access......Page 31 2.1. Phenomenology According to Henry Corbin......Page 33 2.2. Heidegger’s Phenomenology......Page 34 2.3. Two Contemporary Approaches to Heidegger’s Phenomenolog......Page 38 2.4. Back to Corbin......Page 45 3. From the Things Themselves to Prophecy: Philosophical Cultivation in Islamic Peripateticism......Page 49 3.1. The Ethical Foundations of Islamic Philosophy......Page 50 3.2. Alfarabi’s Appropriation of Islamic Ethics......Page 52 3.3. Alfarabi’s Philosophical Appropriation of Islamic Prophetology......Page 55 3.4. The Reception of the Notion of Active Intellect in the Islamic Philosophical Tradition......Page 59 3.5. Alfarabi on Religion and Politics......Page 62 3.6. Avicenna on Philosophical Felicity......Page 63 3.7. Avicenna on Intellectual Prophecy......Page 70 4.1. Prophetic Imagination......Page 75 4.2. The Beautiful and the Sublime......Page 81 4.3. After Kant......Page 82 4.4. Avicenna on the Poetic Cultivation of Imagination......Page 85 5. The Theologian’s Dream Imagination and Intellectual Heresy......Page 91 5.1. Ghazali on Dreams......Page 92 5.2. Ghazali and Avicenna on the Interpretation of Prophetic Symbols......Page 96 5.3. Ghazali’s Charge of Heresy Against Islamic Peripatetics and Averroes’ Reply......Page 99 6. On Human Finitude,Conscience, and Exemplarity: A Comparison betweenIslamic Peripateticism and Heideggerian Phenomenology......Page 105 6.1. Being-Towards-Beyond-Death: On the Immortality of the Soul in Islamic Peripateticism......Page 106 6.2. Conscience and the Active Intellect......Page 115 6.3. Paradigms of Emulation: Divine Exemplars and Existential Heroes......Page 118 1. Islamic Peripateticism and the Predicament of Modern Western Philosophy......Page 121 2. Peripateticism in Later Islamic Philosophy......Page 123 Notes......Page 133 Bibliography......Page 167 A......Page 179 C......Page 180 E......Page 181 H......Page 182 I......Page 183 K......Page 184 N......Page 185 P......Page 186 R......Page 187 T......Page 188 W......Page 189 Reason Unbound 5 Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction. Islamic Philosophy and the Crisis of Modern Rationalism 11 1. Beyond Orientalism and Academic Rationalism: A Critique of the Standard Readings of Islamic Philosophy 17 1.1. Philosophy as Practice of Spiritual Exercises 18 1.2. Standard Readings of Islamic Philosophy 21 2. To the Things Themselves: Corbin and Heidegger on Phenomenological Access 31 2.1. Phenomenology According to Henry Corbin 33 2.2. Heidegger’s Phenomenology 34 2.3. Two Contemporary Approaches to Heidegger’s Phenomenolog 38 2.4. Back to Corbin 45 3. From the Things Themselves to Prophecy: Philosophical Cultivation in Islamic Peripateticism 49 3.1. The Ethical Foundations of Islamic Philosophy 50 3.2. Alfarabi’s Appropriation of Islamic Ethics 52 3.3. Alfarabi’s Philosophical Appropriation of Islamic Prophetology 55 3.4. The Reception of the Notion of Active Intellect in the Islamic Philosophical Tradition 59 3.5. Alfarabi on Religion and Politics 62 3.6. Avicenna on Philosophical Felicity 63 3.7. Avicenna on Intellectual Prophecy 70 4. Disciplining the Imagination: Intellect, Imagination, and Prophecy 75 4.1. Prophetic Imagination 75 4.2. The Beautiful and the Sublime 81 4.3. After Kant 82 4.4. Avicenna on the Poetic Cultivation of Imagination 85 5. The Theologian’s Dream Imagination and Intellectual Heresy 91 5.1. Ghazali on Dreams 92 5.2. Ghazali and Avicenna on the Interpretation of Prophetic Symbols 96 5.3. Ghazali’s Charge of Heresy Against Islamic Peripatetics and Averroes’ Reply 99 6. On Human Finitude,Conscience, and Exemplarity: A Comparison betweenIslamic Peripateticism and Heideggerian Phenomenology 105 6.1. Being-Towards-Beyond-Death: On the Immortality of the Soul in Islamic Peripateticism 106 6.2. Conscience and the Active Intellect 115 6.3. Paradigms of Emulation: Divine Exemplars and Existential Heroes 118 Conclusion: The Importance of Islamic Peripateticism for Modern Philosophy in the West and Its Impact onLater Islamic Philosophy 121 1. Islamic Peripateticism and the Predicament of Modern Western Philosophy 121 2. Peripateticism in Later Islamic Philosophy 123 Notes 133 Bibliography 167 Index 179 A 179 B 180 C 180 D 181 E 181 F 182 G 182 H 182 I 183 J 184 K 184 L 185 M 185 N 185 O 186 P 186 Q 187 R 187 S 188 T 188 V 189 W 189 1438437633,9781438437637 State University of New York Press 2011 Peripatetic Philosophy Is Taken To Mean The Work Of Alfarabi And Avicenna, With Significant Contributions From Ghazali And Averroes And This Work Is Brought Into Contrast With The Dualities Of Modern Rationalism (p. 3). Islamic Philosophy And The Crisis Of Modern Rationalism -- Beyond Orientalism And Academic Rationalism : A Critique Of The Standard Readings Of Islamic Philosophy -- To The Things Themselves : Corbin And Heidegger On Phenomenological Access -- From The Things Themselves To Prophecy : Philosophical Cultivation In Islamic Peripateticism -- Disciplining The Imagination : Intellect, Imagination, And Prophecy -- The Theologian's Dream : Imagination And Intellectual Heresy -- On Human Finitude, Conscience, And Exemplarity : A Comparison Between Islamic Philosophy And Phenomenology -- Importance Of Islamic Peripateticism For Modern Philosophy In The West And Its Impact On Later Islamic Philosophy. Mohammad Azadpur. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This intriguing work offers a new perspective on Islamic Peripatetic philosophy, critiquing modern receptions of such thought and highlighting the contribution it can make to contemporary Western philosophy. Mohammad Azadpur focuses on the thought of Alfarabi and Avicenna, who, like ancient Greek philosophers and some of their successors, viewed philosophy as a series of spiritual exercises. However, Muslim Peripatetics differed from their Greek counterparts in assigning importance to prophecy. The Islamic philosophical account of the cultivation of the soul to the point of prophecy unfolds new vistas of intellectual and imaginative experience and accords the philosopher an exceptional dignity and freedom. With reference to both Islamic and Western philosophers, Azadpur discusses how Islamic Peripatetic thought can provide an antidote to some of modernity's philosophical problems. A discussion of the development of later Islamic Peripatetic thought is also included. Azadpur (philosophy, San Francisco State U.) looks to the writings of key Islamic Peripatetic philosophers, most notably Abu Nasr Muhammad Farabi (Alfarabi), d. 950, and Abu Ali Hussain ibn Sina (Avicenna), d. 1037, and places them in dialogue with such figures as Martin Heidegger and Henry Corbin in order to challenge Western accounts of rationality and to break down many of the "false dualisms" of mainstream modern philosophy (e.g., reason vs. nature, reason vs. spirituality, and reason vs. imagination). Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)