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Volume 7, No 1, Spring 2012 ISSN 1932-1066

Philosophy in and the West Mohammad Reza Rezvantalab University of Tehran [email protected]

Abstract: Undoubtedly, the most significant topic in is . The ' viewpoints about the cosmos entirely affect all philosophical thought. In what follows, the author has examined the differences between and that of the West, highlighting the origin of these differences. By comparing the concepts of both sides, it becomes transparent why stood aloof from in favor of and .

A Glance at Philosophical Schools of Thought with another approach to the . As one of the fifth-century BC philosophers and for the first time, In their drawing the picture of universe, the ancient Greek Xenophanes proposed the theory of unity among Philosophers were of the view that both the universe philosophers advising and criticizing the polytheist and the creator have one character thus the created philosophers. The creator, he says, is eternal and come with a godly character and some deserve everlasting. He argues that the plurality and alteration to be worshiped.1 As the time passed, people began to of the origin of the universe suggested by the preceding deny the godly character to the very of the created philosophers are no more than the measuring of beings giving it to the so-called archetypes supposed God's corn with their own bushel. He says that man to have strong traits and features. Gradually, a comes from dust and goes back to dust again. As for few scholars appeared among the Greek peoples who the eternity of the origin of the universe, Xenophanes were not satisfied with the archetype theory, instead argues that has neither a beginning nor an they believed things as created by causes interpreted ending. Were it to have a beginning, it should have differently. Some of them believed the air and some the come into being either from being or from non-being. fire as the origin and cause of things. On the former case, it should have been produced by Pythagoras who expressed much interest in itself thus not created temporally. The latter case is held that all things were the products of rejected by the intellect. Again, such a being has no combination of and their relations; he believed death or annihilation, nor does it have alteration or that everything, whether corporeal or incorporeal, change. For a change from being is either to being or complies with one . This was the first intellectual non-being. Were it to be there as it was before, then and incorporeal approach to the origin of the universe no change has happened thus it must still be there. A considering the incorporeal arithmetic relations as the change into non-being is also rejected be the intellect.2 top of the pyramid of existence. Xenophanes came , another one of the fifth-century BC

1 This essay is translated from Farsi into English by 2 Mohammad Foroughi, Sair Hikmat dar Uropa, Reza Bakhshayesh. Haras Pub. 2009, p. 14.

Mohammand Reza Rezvantalab, "Philosophy in Islam and the West," Existenz 7/1 (2012), 60-64 First posted 12-1-2012 Philosophy in Islam and the West 61 philosophers who is celebrated as the scholar time, went like hot cakes for every study. simplifying the earlier philosophical theories thus Scholasticism demanded the priority of over bringing philosophy from above down to the earth, religion thus no room for intellectual independence. argues that it is necessary for mankind to have the Along with the appearance of Charlemagne in faculty of intellect, and there must indubitably be such the eight century AD, a new scientific approach for a faculty in the whole universe. As a result, there is no the ontology was revived. The sources of European room for coincidence or happenstance in the course of researches for the intelligiblis were their brief things happening in the word. information from 's teachings, because Plato's Plato, Socrates' pupil (427 BC), considered the several works have already been translated into . objects of as the accidents cannot be known; Augustine, Albert, and were the instead, their ideal forms may be known. Those Ideas promoters of Plato and 's opinions in . or Forms are the perfect archetypes of things or their This is why the German Albert is celebrated as the concepts, and the sensibilia are no more than the Middle Age Aristotle. His works heavily borrow from shadows of those ideal forms. As to God, Plato argues Aristotle, , ibn Zachariah Razi, that because things are in constant movement, no mover and 's views. God, Thomas Aquinas argues, for their movement can be imagined except for God. has manifested His existence by His mercy and through Aristotle who was born 43 years after his the channel of Jesus Christ to people. Borrowing from Plato has a similar foundation of thought in the field of Plato and Aristotle and inspired by Avicenna, Aquinas' philosophy. He considers the sensibilia as the particular philosophy was very popular as the conventional cannot be known, and instead of Platonic Ideas philosophy in the religious seminaries and academic the substances of things can be the objects of . centers of Europe for about four hundred years; it is still He argues that beings are composed of "forms" and in effect among the followers of revealed religions, in "matters" pivot on potentiality and actuality ending particular the Catholics. at last in the absolutely perfect actuality with no The first tendency toward empiricism was potentiality. It is absolutely still and motionless having suggested by Roger Bacon, the thirteen century English no mover. Franciscan . Bacon is celebrated as one of These ideas comprised the foundation of the would- the pioneers of experiential knowledge. Although be ontology for later generations at different periods, he taught Aristotle's works in particular Secretum however with few alterations. The Jewish people who Secretorume in the University of Paris for years, Bacon lived before Christ did not have a or believed that religion has its own method and science its philosophy; they used to seek for the absolute in own thus dichotomy between philosophy and theology. the words of Moses and for particular in scientific Philosophy, Bacon says, comprises different kinds study. The only scholar celebrated as a knowledgeable of knowledge rubbing off ignorance, while theology metaphysician was Philo Judaeus who tried to reconcile is a transcendental knowledge granted to some the contents of Torah with Greek philosophy. He was especial people by God. Geography and mathematics the founder of Trinity school to be included in the are two disciplines of knowledge to help in better Christian viewpoint afterwards. Philo's approach about understanding of The . The rank of metaphysics, the universe differs from that of Greek philosophers he argues, is lower than that of mathematics and in the fact that they did not stipulate that God created science, for everything is to be confirmed in the end by things ex nihilo; instead they believed in the eternity experience.3 Such ideas gave rise to his definite family of the prime as the origin and manager of the imprisonment for about one month. universe. Nonetheless, Philo has stipulated that God After him, the sixteenth century philosopher is Creator. Having shared the same ideas of Plotinus Francis Bacon proclaimed that our understanding of and being inspired by Plato, Philo founded Christian material things is confined within the scope of our sense metaphysics. As said by many, depends . Next, comes as the father more on the advice and points made by the disciples of classic empiricism who says that the only valuable than on the scholasticism. Due to the political and social beliefs are those confirmed by real . Then, circumstances of the two dominant of the time ( and Rome) particularly in the Middle Ages, 3 Muhammad Ilkhani, Tarikh Falsafeh dar Qurun Wusta there was no room for knowledge or . At this wa Runesans, Tehran: SAMT Pub. 2001.

Existenz: An International Journal in Philosophy, Religion, Politics, and the Arts 62 Mohammand Reza Rezvantalab comes in turn Bishop Berkley who was anxious about beyond physical matter. Nonetheless, one may Locke's ideas lest they lead to skepticism or . find some sort of metaphysics with them however He abandoned metaphysics altogether in order to idealistic made by guess and assumption! vindicate theology by his own method unknowingly Having provided and certain , of his ideas leading Hume to empirical skepticism Islamic philosophy as against the above somehow atheistically. Thus Hume came to deluge the went to vindicate the fixed and definite beyond arguments for god (especially that of causation) with the sensible necessarily. The Islamic philosophy sharp criticisms. By his denial of spirit, he had already has constantly followed the right and firm path towards destroyed religion and faith; rather by his denial of the the truths inspired by theistic scholars and philosophers. objective , which he interpreted subjectively Nietzsche who at the end of his life came to believe that or psychologically, Hume had already destroyed all "there is no such being as God or the origin of universe scientific . Hume interpreted causality as the or even man," had already predicted the appearance repetition of events leading to the association of ideas of terrifying social and scientific cataclysms and in the . devastating wars in the of Europe under Not much later came the eighteenth century German for centuries. philosopher who holds that although Such psychological doctrinal ethical and social knowledge begins with sense it cannot be ruins have seriously endangered man of today. The reduced to sense experience. Knowledge, Kant argues, school of western is the major cause of all is composed of a posteriori and a priori above consequences. The empirical interpretation of of understanding. Two centuries later along with the reality inevitably lead to such a sorry ending. positivists, the earlier preferred empiricism holding that only those can The Distance Between Sense have a meaning that can be tested by experience or and Knowledge or else they fail to have a meaning or be true. As the so-called father of positivist August Comte Sense experiences however plenty and supporting one has put it, because metaphysical propositions cannot be another fail to constitute the content of scientific laws tested by sense experience they are not scientific thus or to convey the concept of causality. The denial of belonging to the past . causality, as mentioned earlier in Hume's views, stems The nineteenth century went to observe the school from the separation of sense perception from intellectual of materialism and the twentieth century the school of understanding. The opponents of metaphysics have all . For in twentieth century William James, in one way or another denied all kinds of intellectual the American psychologist, holds that a understanding confining knowledge to the set of sense that has practical utility is true; he proposed his so- . Such an unfinished knowledge cannot be called method of pure experience though it covers called true knowledge. It is merely a sense perception sense experiences, psychological experiences, and those or more precisely a superficial proposition of a sense of religion. Because in God's mercy and might is experience. useful for the psychological health, James argues, it is When metaphysics is denied, no proposition of true and to be accepted. sense perception can be developed into knowledge. A proposition of sense perception can be developed The Fate of Tolerance of Philosophical Views into a of nature merely in the light of metaphysics in the West and intellectual understanding, because such development cannot be experienced by the senses Such diversity and tolerance in the views of Western themselves. Accordingly, a philosophy dependent on philosophers as well as some political and social issues, sense experience cannot be embraced as a scientific led the Western scholars to religious pluralism ; it goes no more than a proposition of sense and theoretical liberalism, , and that all perception. Knowledge as such applies to general or texts particularly religious texts can be interpreted universal perception that is in need of intellectual efforts. differently; these are factors paved the way for nihilism. Sense perceptions comprise particular perception as the As a result, the majority of Western schools of starting point for the would-be perfect knowledge. Did thought after are inclined to deny any we experience that a drop or millions of water are fluid http://www.existenz.us Volume 7, No. 1, Spring 2012 Philosophy in Islam and the West 63 and wet, we fail to draw the general proposition that even the concept of casualty became non-assumable as every drop of water is fluid and wet. Sense experiences a subjective matter. or particular perceptions are temporal and limited. For (4) These fluctuations in evaluation of religious example, we experience at time A and in place B that knowledge, along with some social and political a particular drop of water is fluid and wet; however, transitions, created religious Pluralism, theological and we cannot rightfully draw the conclusion that another ethical liberalism and the concept of Hermeneutics in drop of water at another time and place is fluid and wet. interpreting religious texts. On the contrary, a general and rational understanding (5) Western empirical approach has limited is valid for good having perpetual conclusions. The philosophy to the meaning of ontology in perception empiricists have abandoned generality and of superficial phenomena and caused a gap between perpetual conclusions making life meaningless limited and metaphysics, ignoring that this gap can vein and dull. This is the very nihilism that has been refrain human being from any conclusion or law promoted otherwise as well. making even in empirical sciences, and in addition to ontological problems, it would build a deadlock on Major Differences Between Islamic Philosophy human life and his progressing . and Western Philosophy Reply to Charles E. Butterworth (pp. 65-69) The main between Islamic philosophy and Western philosophy is that the latter does not pay heed In The Name of God. to traditional or the intellect, or rather gives not I respect all my kind colleagues, who had gathered much cognitive value to it. On the contrary, the entire from all over the world to participate in a scientific arguments of Islamic philosophy are based on intellect conference, and appreciating my savant friend, who and logic. Another difference is that Islamic philosophy studied my essay and wrote a critique on it. In the deals with ontology (the study of being), while Western following, I intend to describe about sensualist versus philosophy deals with different topics often related to rationalist philosophers. I hope that I could improve human beings, or to matter, sometimes to language, my own understanding about Western philosophers' and the like. As to the objectives, Islamic philosophy viewpoints, although I would rather have a direct aims at knowing the real truth (things as they are), conversation to be able to exchange ideas better. but Western philosophies aim at solving the worldly Western philosophers can be divided into two problems man of today may come across, or at those categories: (1) Rationalists. The most significant one of problems Christianity has encountered. this is Hegel the of the nineteenth Century, with I gather this brief will suffice for the differences most of the rationalists coming from Germany. Among between the two philosophies. In the end, I give famous rationalists, we can name Descartes, Kant, my thanks to those helped in holding this scientific Leibnitz, Malebranche. and Spinoza. (2) Sensualists. gathering and to the audience who stayed here in Who are divided into moderates and radicals. order to listen to my words. Recommendations and (a) Moderate Senusality: This school is the same suggestions will be appreciated. as empiricism. The trend began in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries from England, with William Conclusion Ockham (1300-1347) being the inventor. Followers of this idea claim that all metaphysical realities discovered (1) The position of the Creator and it's relation with by peripatetic and platonic philosophies are nothing the universe has been varying apparently in views but illusions and dreams. are encouraged to of philosophers of Ancient Greek, but Muslim increase experience, to rely on empirical affairs, and philosophers had an integrated and consistent idea in to leave religious beliefs and orders for the realm of the area over the time. faith, since cannot help there. Ockham divided (2) Since the thirteenth century, tendency toward science into two type of subjective and intuitive to empiricism and dissociation of religious and scientific express his views. Intuitive perception, in his theory, knowledge was suddenly transformed and accelerated. was to perceive directly one thing that exists, which (3) After three centuries, credibility of non- could be the perception of the material itself such as empirical knowledge was questioned to the extent that "I see Ali," or perceiving a set of materials with their

Existenz: An International Journal in Philosophy, Religion, Politics, and the Arts 64 Mohammand Reza Rezvantalab inter relationships like "I see Ali sitting on a rock." The relied on authentication of feeling and experience, but general feature of any intuitive conception, according the philosophers who became known as empiricists are to Ockham, is its certainty as it is certain in nature. He in fact John Locke, George Berkeley, and . claims that subjective science is any abstract that is not (b) Radical Sensuality: It is . In the intuitive, general concepts such as human, or , beginning of nineteenth century, Auguste Comte, and demonstrates a set of thing s of the same type, or known as the "father of ," founded the radical an image we have in mind from a past . Ockham experimental school of positivism that was constructed that its feature is that from which we cannot upon direct sensible data. Comte even considered judge about existence or inexistence of its members. such scientific subjective concepts that are not directly So, according to him, intuitive science is the only observable as metaphysical and non-scientific, and knowledge that leads us to assure of existence or lack of following this trend led to consider metaphysical something, and this is the basis for what Ockham calls events as empty and meaningless words. According "empirical knowledge" or "scientific knowledge." to Comte, human thought has three phases: A divine Actually, Ockham believes that our wisdom and religious phase, in which man assigns events to demands that we do not consider the existence of metaphysic causes; a philosophical phase, in which something, until we ourselves sense it or its effects, man seeks the causes in invisible nature of things; and and therefore, if we want to act wisely, we should a scientific phase, in which man assesses the quality of accept only something that we sense itself or its creation and interrelationship of phenomena instead of effects, otherwise we cannot believe in the existence of seeking their causes—and this is the phase of positivism. anything. One would have say, "I don't know," if one Positivists went further than Ockham and claimed couldn't find something by sense and through that that actual perception is limited in sensual one; by he believed in a rule which wiped many things out sensual conception they meant a knowledge which of being, and this rule is known as "Ockham's Razor." is obtained by bodily touching the things and it Ockham also denied the existence of general concepts. remains after cutting in a weaker sense. They believe This viewpoint about general concepts such as human, that something which philosophers call general animal, tree, stone, etc., was known as , imaginations or rational concepts, are nothing but a response against and Aristotelian subjective words. Such words are true only if they are idealistic . sensible and can be shown to others, otherwise they are Advocates of origin denomination, or nominalists, meaningless and empty, and on this basis positivists believed that we have nothing (not in mind nor in outer consider metaphysical things meaningless. They world) as general concept and these words, which know experience to be limited in sensual experience are said to implicate to general concepts, are just a set and they do not care about inner experience and call of codes. In fact, they are common words that have it non-scientific, because "scientific" means capable to implications on several matters, like a name that a be proved sensually to others. We can call this trend number of families place on their children or a last name of experimental authentication, sensuality or radical that members of a family have in common. Two British sense authentication. Other known positivists include philosophers, Francis Bacon in the sixteenth century Ludwig Wittgenstein, Rudolf Carnap, and Bertrand and in the seventeenth century, both Russell.

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