In this paper, I discuss the philosophical necessity of Augustine's Privation Theory of Evil as a tool to safeguard the benevolence/goodness of God. I conclude that the Privation Theory is...Show moreIn this paper, I discuss the philosophical necessity of Augustine's Privation Theory of Evil as a tool to safeguard the benevolence/goodness of God. I conclude that the Privation Theory is philosophically necessary in this regard.Show less
What is Western philosophy? The established narrative of 'our' intellectual tradition begins with classical Greek reason: championed by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, revived and perfected in...Show moreWhat is Western philosophy? The established narrative of 'our' intellectual tradition begins with classical Greek reason: championed by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, revived and perfected in Enlightenment rationalism and empiricism, to culminate in the modern European canon of Kant, Frege or Nietzsche. Conspicuously absent are any 'Middle Eastern' sources, notably Arabic and Persian philosophy. 'Islamic golden age' Aristotelians are often seen as babysitting rationality during a supposed mediaeval 'Christian dark age'. But the original impact on contemporary thought by the likes of al-Ghazali (d.1111) or Suhrawardi (d.1191) is ignored. Analysing this conspicuous absence reveals a deep binary structure in the narrative. Our canon is in fact made universally valid by excluding everything deemed mystical and arbitrary: Eastern religious thought. All religious traditions — especially Islam — represent this non-Western un-philosophy, simultaneously 'foreign' and 'archaic'. To recover our proper intellectual history, beyond this colonialist binary, we can employ a provocative redefinition: North-Atlantic (modern European) philosophy as "Far Western", and all broadly Mediterranean (Greco-Judaic and Islamo-Christian) philosophy as "Middle Western". This foregrounds the relations within the West, further suggesting its interdependence with all philosophies, including Sino-Indic ones.Show less
The problem of evil presented by Avicenna considers evil to be rather minimal, limited to single individuals and necessary. This dissertation attempts to apply this explanation of evil to the...Show moreThe problem of evil presented by Avicenna considers evil to be rather minimal, limited to single individuals and necessary. This dissertation attempts to apply this explanation of evil to the Holocaust. In comparison with the Banality of Evil by Arendt, Avicenna´s theory appears to be more cosmological and broad, while Arendt comments on the extremeness of evil of the Holocaust specifically.Show less
In this dissertation, I set forth an analysis and interpretation of Khomeini's 'Lectures on Surat Al-Fatiha,' broadcasted after the 1979 Revolution. In the 'lectures,' Khomeini argued in favour of...Show moreIn this dissertation, I set forth an analysis and interpretation of Khomeini's 'Lectures on Surat Al-Fatiha,' broadcasted after the 1979 Revolution. In the 'lectures,' Khomeini argued in favour of a philosophical rationale that justified his main political doctrine, the 'guardianship of the jurist.' As I discuss, this justification hinges upon the intellectual differentiation between individual human beings and the envisaged hierarchy of truth that characterizes the different Islamic disciplines. Albeit Islamic law is lower than Islamic philosophy, it is necessary, as most human beings cannot foster their philosophical perfection without an Islamic jurist guarding over them. This understanding enables us to epitomize Khomeini as an Islamic philosopher, a claim I strengthen by comparing the 'lectures' to Avicenna's political philosophy. Despite their differences, their political philosophies resemble each other more than might seem and an understanding of Avicenna’s political philosophy furthers our understanding of the relationship between Islamic law and Islamic philosophy in Khomeini’s thinking. Doing so, I argue that the main doctrine of Khomeini’s legalist reading of Islam, the ‘guardianship of the jurist,’ must be subordinated to his understanding of the philosophical perfection of the human being, thereby illustrating his conceptual closeness to the Islamic philosophical tradition.Show less
