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Scholars have come to recognize the importance of classical Islamic philosophy both in its own right and in its preservation of and engagement with Greek philosophical ideas. At the same time, the period immediately following the so-called classical era has been considered a sort of dark age, in which Islamic thought entered a long decline. In this monumental new work, Frank Griffel seeks to overturn this conventional wisdom, arguing that what he calls the "post-classical" period has been unjustly maligned and neglected by previous generations of scholars.
The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam is a comprehensive study of the far-reaching changes that led to a re-shaping of the philosophical discourse in Islam during the twelfth century. Earlier Western scholars thought that Islam's engagement with the tradition of Greek philosophy ended during that century. More recent analyses suggest that Islamic thinkers instead integrated Greek thought into the genre of rationalist Muslim theology (kalām). Griffel argues that even this new view misses a key point. In addition to the integration of Greek ideas into kalām, Muslim theologians picked up the discourse of classical philosophy in Islam (falsafa) and began to produce books in the tradition of Plato, Aristotle, and Avicenna—a new and oft-misunderstood genre they called "ḥikma"—in which they left aside theological concerns. They wrote in both genres, kalām and ḥikma, and the same writers argued for opposing teachings on the nature of God, the world's creation, and the afterlife depending on the genre in which they were writing. Griffel shows how careful attention to genre demonstrates both the coherence and ambiguity of this new philosophical approach.
A work of extraordinary breadth and depth, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam offers a detailed, insightful history of philosophy in Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia during the twelfth century. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of philosophy or the history of Islam.
Contents
Introduction
Conventions
Part One: Post-Classical Philosophy In Its Islamic Context
First Chapter: Khorasan, the Birthplace of Post-Classical Philosophy, A Land in Decline?
The madrasa System
The Cities of Khorasan and Its Surrounding Provinces
The First Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Seljuq Rule
The Second Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Khwarazmshahs and Ghurids
Other Patrons: Qarakhanids, the Caliphal Court in Baghdad, and the Ayyubids in Syria
Second Chapter: The Death of falsafa as a Self-Description of Philosophy
Falsafa as a Quasi-Religious Movement Established by Uncritical Emulation (taqlid)
Falsafa as Part of the History of the World's Religions
Three Different Concepts of Philosophy in Islam
Hikma as the New Technical Term For "Philosophy"
Third Chapter: Philosophy and the Power of the Religious Law
The Legal Background of al-Ghazali's fatwa on the Last Page of His Tahafut al-falasifa
Persecution of Philosophers in the Sixth/Twelfth Century
'Ayn al-Qudat's Execution in 525/1131 in Hamadan
Shihab al-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi's Execution c. 587/1192 in Aleppo
Was al-Ghazali's fatwa Ever Applied?
Part Two: Philosophers and Philosophies: A Biographical History of Philosophy in the Sixth/Twelfth Century Islamic East
The Principal Sources for Sixth/Twelfth-Century History of Philosophy in the Islamic East
The Early Sixth/Twelfth Century: Avicennism Undisturbed
Avicennism Contested: The Early Decades of the Sixth/Twelfth Century
The Outsider as Innovator: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi (d. c. 560/1165)
Two Ghazalians of Transoxania: al-Mas' udi and Ibn Ghaylan al-Balkhi (both d. c. 590/1194)
Majd al-Din al-Jili: Teacher of Two Influential Philosophers Trained In Maragha
Al-Suhrawardi (d. c. 587/1192), the Founder of the "School of Illumination"
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1210): Post-Classical Philosophy Fully Developed
Part Three: The Formation of Hikma as a New Philosophical Genre
First Chapter: Books and Their Teachings
Al-Razi's "Philosophical Books" (kutub hikmiyya)
What Books of hikma Do: Reporting Avicenna
First Perspective: Teachings on Epistemology
What Books in hikma Also Do: Doubting and Criticizing Avicenna
Knowledge as a "Relational State"
Knowledge as "Presence": The Context in al-Suhrawardi
Knowledge as Relation: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi's Key Contribution
Knowledge as Relation: Sharaf al-Din al-Mas'udi
Knowledge as Relation: Origins in al-Ghazali and Avicenna
Do al-Razi's "Philosophical Books" Teach Philosophical Ash'arism?
Second Perspective: Teachings on Ontology and Theology
A New Place for the Study of Metaphysics Within Philosophy
Opposing Avicenna: God's Essence is Distinct From His Existence
The Content of God's Knowledge Understood as Positive Divine Attributes
What Books of hikma Mostly Do: Endorsing and Correcting Avicennan Philosophy
Second Chapter: Books and Their Genre
The Eclectic Career of al-Ghazali's Doctrines of the Philosophers (Maqasid al-falasifa)
Al-Ghazali as Clandestine faylasuf: Evaluating His Madnun Corpus
The Madnun Corpus and Forgery: Two Pseudo-Epigraphies Foisted on al-Ghazali
Between Neutral Report and Committed Investment: al-Mas 'udi's Commentary on Avicenna's Glistering Homily (al-Khutba al-gharra)
Al-Mas 'udi's Reconciliation of falsafa and kalam on the Issue of the World's Eternity
Post-Classical Philosophy and Tolerance For Ambiguity
Third Chapter: Books and Their Method
Dialectical Reasoning Replaces Demonstration: "Careful Consideration" (i'tibar) in Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi
The Background of Abu l-Barakat's "Careful Consideration" (i'tibar)
The Middle Way Between Avicennism and Ghazalianism: How Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Describes His Philosophy
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's Method of "Probing and Dividing" (sabr wa-taqsim)
A Case Study of the New Method: Al-Razi on God's Knowledge of Particulars
The Method in Books of hikma: Implementing the Principle of Sufficient Reason
The Method in Books of kalam: Limiting the Principle of Sufficient Reason
Epilogue: Hikma and kalam in Fakhr al-Din's Latest Works
Conclusions
The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in the Islamic East during the Sixth/Twelfth Century
What Was Philosophy in Islam's Post-Classical Period?
Appendices
Bibliography
Index of Manuscripts
General Index
