DOCSLIB.ORG

Comparison of Islamic, Traditional and Alternative Utility Theories

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Comparison of Islamic, Traditional and Alternative Utility Theories 2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo Comparison of Islamic, Traditional and Alternative Utility Theories Sümeyye DEMĠRSOY International University of Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Mehmet CAN International University of Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina [email protected] Abstract: Decision making under uncertainty is always trying to be explained by utility theory. And utility theory‘s roots rely on moral philosophy. Moral philosophy is concerning concepts about good and bad, right and wrong, virtue, justice, etc. It can be say that utilitarianism, which is a field of moral philosophy, is more directly about utility theory. Throughout the human history, from Prophet Abraham to Greek philosophers; Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus, to Islam scholars al Kindi, al-Farabi, al-Razi, Ibn-i Sina, Ibn- i Rushd, Ibn-i Haldun, all discussed about ethics and utility concept. 1. Introduction Although utility is an economic term which measures the satisfaction or desirability in terms of the consumption of goods and services, its roots rely on moral philosophy which deals with the concepts about good and bad, right and wrong, virtue, justice, and happiness. On the other hand, concepts of good and bad, right and wrong, virtue, justice, and happiness was constituents of ethichs throughout history of humanity. Human concepts like good and bad, right and wrong, virtue, justice, and happiness were the concern of human civilizations through millenniums. Historically the foundations of human ethics are laid by divine revaliations through prophets. Muslims identify the prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by Allah to teach mankind. Humans may rely on revelation or tradition to identify prophets. Each prophet brought the same basic ideas of ethics. They brought the belief in a single God and in the avoidance of idolatry and sin. Muslims regard Adam as the first prophet and Muhammad as the last. Islamic theology recognises as many as 124,000 prophets. The Qur'an identifies 25 prophets by name, starting with Adam and ending with Muhammad. Five of them, Rasuls, receive the highest reverence for their perseverance, Ibrahim (Abraham), Moosa (Moses), Dawud (David), Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad. 1.1 Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) Ibrahim was born in a house of idolaters, in the kingdom of Babylon. He announced to his people: O my people I turned my face towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah. He has the power to make the stars rise and set. 1.2 Prophet Musa (Moses) Musa the son of Imran, was born in Egypt in which at that time the kings were known as Fir‘awns. First statement about working ethics in Torah is in Genesis part. ―In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.‖ (Torah, Genesis 3/19) In Torah it is suggested to respect neighbour rights and to behave in good way to them: ―When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his 476 2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God."(Torah, Deureronomy 24/10-13) Another statement about poor is as following and in this statement Torah mentioning about living together with brothers: ―And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.‖ (Torah, Levitucus 25/35-36) ―If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. If thou at all take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.‖ (Torah, Exodus, 22/25-27) ―And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.‖ (Torah, Levitucus 19/9- 10) ―And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.‖ (Torah, Levitucus 25/35) 1.3 Prophet Dawud (David) Dawud (David) was not only an illustrious Prophet of the Israelites but he was also their king. The Holy Qur'an affirms: "And Allah gave him the kingdom! and wisdom and taught him of that which He willed." (2: 251). And it was said unto him: ― 0' Dawud!To! We have set you as a vicegerent in the earth, therefore, judge aright between mankind and follow not desire." (38:26) He lived in Bait-ul-Lahm which was situated at the distance of ten miles from Jerusalem. He prayed: "Our Lord! Pour out constancy on us and make our steps firm and help us against those who are disbelievers." (2:249) Allah revealed the Zabur (Book of Psalms) to Prophet Dawud. It contains lessons for the guidance of his people. 1.4 Buddha The evidence of the early texts suggests that the Buddha was born in a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of fifth century BCE northeast India. This community seems to have had two categories of people, masters and servants. The Four Noble Truths of Budhism: 1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one way or another. 2. Suffering is caused by craving. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness. Craving also has its negative aspect, i.e. one craves that a certain state of affairs not exist. 3. Suffering ends when craving ends. This is achieved by eliminating delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi); 4. Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha. 2. The Greek Philosophers For ancient Greek philosophers the question ‗how should I live?‘ took a fundamentally prudential or self- regarding form. It amounted for them an inquiry searching how a man could secure his own happiness, fulfilment or perfection. Benevolence, altruism, philanthropy, a concern for happiness of others occupied a secondary position in their ethical recommendations. It is conceived as a condition of self-realisation of the individual. In general Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle in particular, found a place for restricted benevolence by emphasising the role of friendship in a fully satisfying life. Aristo somewhat made a disdainful liberality part of his conception of the ethically ideal or ‗magnanimous‘ man. It can be said that utilitarianism, which is a field of moral philosophy, is more directly about utility theory. Utilitarianism can be understood as a movement for legal, political and social reform that flourished in the nineteenth century. It can also be understood as the ideology of that movement. It is also a general ethical theory. As a theory of 477 2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9 2010, Sarajevo ethics, it provides a criterion for distinguishing between the right and wrong action, an account of nature of the moral judgements that characterise action as right and wrong. Utilitarianism can be expressed as the combination of two principles: (i) the consequentialist principle that the rightness, or wrongness of an action is determined by the goodness, or badness of the results that flow from it and (ii) the hedonist principle that the only thing that is good in itself is pleasure and the only thing bad in itself is pain. The doctrine can be expressed in the form of a single principle, the greatest happiness principle: the rigthness of an action is determined by its contribution to the happiness of everyone affected by it. (Quinton, 1973). Greek moralists unreflectively assumed a consequentialist position in developing their more or less prudential life-styles. The only way in which they conceived it to be possible to justify a type of conduct was by reference to the results to which it gave rise (Quinton, 1973). 2.1 Socrates (BC 470-399) Socrates' ethical intellectualism has an eudaemological character in which he asserted that the highest good for any human being is happiness. According to Socrates, people‘s true happiness is promoted by doing what is right. When people‘s true utility is served (tending own soul), people are achieving happiness. Happiness is evident from the long-term effect on the soul. According to him, whatever action a man chooses is motivated by his desire for happiness.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nature in Indian Philosophy and Cultural Traditions Sophia Studies in Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures
    Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures 12 Meera Baindur Nature in Indian Philosophy and Cultural Traditions Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures Volume 12 Series editors Editor-in-Chief: Purushottama Bilimoria The University of Melbourne, Australia; University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA Co-Editor: Andrew Irvine Maryville College, Maryville, TN, USA Assistant to Editor Amy Rayner (Australia) Editorial Board Balbinder Bhogal (Hofstra University) Sheerah Bloor (University of Melbourne) Christopher Chapple (Loyola Marymount University) Vrinda Dalmia (University of Hawaii at Honolulu) Gavin Flood (Oxford University) Jessica Frazier (Kent University) Kathleen Higgins (University of Texas at Austin) Morny Joy (Calgary University) Parimal Patil (Harvard University) Joseph Prabhu (Cal State LA) Carool Kersten (King’s College, London) Richard King (University of Glasgow) Arvind-Pal Mandair (University of Michigan) Rekha Nath (University of Alabama) Stephen Phillips (University of Texas at Austin) Anupama Rao (Columbia University) The Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures fosters critical and constructive engagement of the intellectual and philosophical dimen- sions—broadly construed—of religious and cultural traditions around the globe. The series invites innovative scholarship, including feminist, postmodern, and postcolonial approaches. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8880 Meera Baindur Nature in Indian Philosophy and Cultural Traditions 123 Meera Baindur Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities Manipal University Manipal, Karnataka India ISSN 2211-1107 ISSN 2211-1115 (electronic) Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures ISBN 978-81-322-2357-3 ISBN 978-81-322-2358-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2358-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015934684 Springer New Delhi Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer India 2015 This work is subject to copyright.
    [Show full text]
  • In Peripatetic Islamic Philosophers* ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
    Dini Tetkikler Dergisi ULUM Journal of Religious Inquiries !# ﺠﻣ ﻠ ﺔ تﺎﺳارﺪﻟا ﺔﯿﻨﯾﺪﻟا %$ " www.dergipark.gov.tr/ulum The Concept of ‘Nature’ in Peripatetic Islamic Philosophers* Nuri Adıgüzel ** ABSTRACT In this study, lexical and terminological meanings of the term “nature” were analyzed and some Peripatetical Islamic philosophers’ opinions about this term were included. A comparison was made between the words “ta- biat” and “doğa” which are used in Turkish language to meet the term “nature”. The realm of existence which Peripatetical Islamic philosophers have used “nature” in as a noun was explained. Debate between Ibn Sīnā and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) about the necessity of proving the term “nature” was mentioned. Ibn Sīnā's views on what “nature” portends in terms of being a source of motion and duration in objects were presented in comparison with Aristotle. Later definitions which are made by philosophers for “nature” as a term were presented. Peripa- tetical Islamic philosophers’ definition of the term “nature” which has a critical role in Islamic philosophy and the way they use it differentiates from that of Aristotle’s. The term “nature” which they especially use to explain every kind of becoming and motion enables to connect all reason to Allah in aspects of etymology. And it is also known that the term “nature” serves as a basis for differentiation between physics and metaphysics. The purpose of this article is to clarify the possible usages of the term “nature” in relation to new theories. KEYWORDS Islamic Philosophy, Peripatetic, Ṭabīʻa, Cause, Reason, Principle * This article has been published previously in Turkish: Adıgüzel, Nuri.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophical Criticism of the Hebrew Bible and the Analytic-Continental Divide
    Gericke, “Philosophical Criticism,” OTE 29/1 (2016): 85-99 85 Philosophical Criticism of the Hebrew Bible and the Analytic-Continental Divide JACO W. GERICKE (NORTH-WEST UNIVERSITY) ABSTRACT This article takes a closer look at how the so-called Analytic- Continental divide within meta-philosophy has manifested itself within various forms of “philosophical criticism” of the HB. It is argued that, based on data collected from recent related conferences, there is evidence of influence from both sides of the divide within both broad/narrow and expli- cit/implicit types of philosophical criticism. However, in contrast to tense relations elsewhere in generic philosophy, the interdisciplinary intersection of biblical scholarship, philosophy of religion and Jewish philosophy appears to display a general acceptance of methodological diversity. KEYWORDS: Hebrew Bible (HB), meta-philosophy, Analytic-Continental (A-C) divide, philosophical criticism (PC), philosophy of religion, Jewish philosophy A INTRODUCTION In a recent SBL publication, a proposal was made for introducing “philosophi- 1 cal criticism” (PC) as a new species of biblical criticism. Briefly, the latter was idiosyncratically constructed as a proposal for the introduction into biblical studies of a descriptive form of philosophical exegesis aimed only at the clari- fication of what, if anything, the texts of the HB. Yet despite this seemingly prescriptive specificity as to the form a “philosophical” approach should take, it was nevertheless granted that philosophical interpretation per se cannot be lim- ited thusly. This admission follows necessarily upon recognising the herme- * Article submitted: 16/11/2015; article accepted: 24/02/2016. Jaco W. Gericke, “Philosophical Criticism of the Hebrew Bible and the Analytic-Continental Divide,” OTE 29/1 (2016): 85-99.
    [Show full text]
  • Heidegger on Heraclitus: Kosmos/World As Being Itself
    Heidegger on Heraclitus: Kosmos/World as Being Itself RICHARD CAPOBIANCO Stonehill College ABSTRACT: This essay draws on texts previously untranslated into English, and in particular Heidegger's brilliant 1943 lecture course on Heraclitus, to show how Hei­ degger understood kosmos as an early Greek name for Being itself (Sein selbst). The contemporary scholarship has altogether missed the significant role that this Greek Ur-word plays in his later thinking. The "gleaming;' "adorning" kosmos-which the later Heidegger understood to be "world" (Welt) in the fullest and richest sense-is not in the first place any kind of transcendental-phenomenological "projection" ofthe human being; rather, it is the resplendence of the "ever-living" Being-unfolding-way itself from out of which both the gods and human beings come to pass and pass away. The independence ofkosmos/Being itself in relation to the human being is highlighted. An Ode by Pindar and a painting by Andrew Wyeth are also considered. "Beauty belongs to the essential unfolding ofBeing." -Heidegger (GA 73.1: 134) "Kosmos [as physis] shimmers ungraspably through everything." -Heidegger (GA 15: 282) he shining star in the night sky is beautiful. Yet what always struck Heidegger Tas even more beautiful was the "hidden'' motion-the way-wherein and whereby the star comes to shine so brightly. This "way" he named Being in dis­ tinction from beings (the "ontological difference"), and, as he saw it, Being was named kosmos by Heraclitus. In a number of earlier studies, I have elucidated how Heidegger understood the earliest Greek thinkers to have caught sight of the Being-way and named it as physis, aletheia, and the primordial Logos.
    [Show full text]
  • 15. What Is Philosophy of Technology?1
    ANDREW FEENBERG 15. WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY?1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter I will attempt to answer the question posed in my title from two standpoints, first historically and then in terms of contemporary options in the field, the various different theories that are currently under discussion.2 But before I begin, I would like to clear up a common misunderstanding: philosophy of technology is not closely related to philosophy of science. Science and technology share a similar type of rationality based on empirical observation and knowledge of natural causality, but technology is concerned with usefulness rather than truth. Where science seeks to know, technology seeks to control. However, this is by no means the whole story. Our image of premodernity is shaped by the struggles between science and religion in the early modern period. From those struggles we derive the notion that traditional societies restrict questioning of their basic customs and myths. In the premodern West, the principle of authority was the basis not just for church doctrine, but for knowledge of the world as well. Modern societies emerge from the release of the power of questioning against such traditional forms of thought. The 18th century Enlightenment demanded that all customs and institutions justify themselves as useful for humanity. Under the impact of this demand, science and technology become the new basis for belief. Eventually, technology becomes omnipresent in everyday life and scientific-technical modes of thought predominate over all others.3 In a mature modern society, technology is taken for granted much as were the customs and myths of traditional society.
    [Show full text]
  • Western and Indian Theories of Consciousness Confronted a Comparative Overview of Continental and Analytic Philosophy with Advaita Vedanta and Madhyamaka Buddhism
    Western and Indian theories of consciousness confronted A comparative overview of continental and analytic philosophy with Advaita Vedanta and Madhyamaka Buddhism Michele Cossellu Termin: HT13 Kurs: RKT140 Degree Project, Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies, 15hec Nivå: Kandidat Handledare: Katarina Planck Western and Indian theories of consciousness confronted A comparative overview of continental and analytic philosophy with Advaita Vedanta and Madhyamaka Buddhism Abstract The burgeoning field of cognitive studies in the West is motivated by a renewed interest in conscious experience, which arose in the postmodern zeitgeist in response to the positivist, scientific ideal of objectivity. This work presents a historical overview of Western philosophy from its dawn, focusing on the evolution of key concepts in metaphysics, ontology and epistemology, to arrive at the examination of modern theories on consciousness. The monist systems of pre-Socratic philosophers, the empiricism and rationalism of the Humanism, Kant’s critique and the post-Kantian split of traditions in the analytic and continental branches are surveyed. A summary of the key historical concepts of consciousness in the continental tradition, and especially in German idealism and phenomenology is presented. Modern physicalist theories of mind based on epistemological realism, in the analytic tradition are sketched, and critical aspects of the realist viewpoint discussed. The reintroduction of the phenomenal perspective in philosophy of mind, is argued, represents an important turning point in analytic philosophy. In the second part, the philosophic-religious traditions of Advaita Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism, in its Madhyamaka branch, are presented, and their respective notions of self, mind and reality confronted. The concept of consciousness as an ontological substance is, in Buddhism, deconstructed through the analysis of impermanence and interdependent origination of phenomena.
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept Of'nature'in Aristotle, Avicenna and Averroes
    doi: 10.1590/0100-512X2015n13103cb THE CONCEPT OF ‘NATURE’ IN ARISTOTLE, AVICENNA AND AVERROES* Catarina Belo** [email protected] RESUMO O presente artigo trata da ‘natureza’ enquanto objeto da física, ou da ciência natural, tal como descrita por Aristóteles na “Física”. Também trata das definições da natureza, especificamente a natureza física, fornecidas por Avicena (m. 1037) e Averróis (m. 1198) nos seus comentários à “Física” de Aristóteles. Avicena e Averróis partilham da conceção da natureza de Aristóteles enquanto princípio de movimento e repouso. Enquanto para Aristóteles o objeto da física parece ser a natureza, ou aquilo que existe por natureza, Avicena defende que é o corpo natural, e Averróis afirma que o objeto da física, ou ciência natural, consiste nas coisas naturais, apresentando uma ênfase algo diferente. Palavras-chave Natureza, física, substância, Aristóteles, Avicena, Averróis. ABSTRACT This study is concerned with ‘nature’ specifically as the subject-matter of physics, or natural science, as described by Aristotle in his “Physics”. It also discusses the definitions of nature, and more specifically physical nature, provided by Avicenna (d. 1037) and Averroes (d. 1198) in their commentaries on Aristotle’s “Physics”. Avicenna and Averroes share Aristotle’s conception of nature as a principle of motion and rest. While according to Aristotle the subject matter of physics appears to be nature, * An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Medieval Congress 2008, University of Leeds, United Kingdom, 7-10 July 2008. I am grateful for the comments on my paper by the other congress participants. ** Associate Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy – The American University in Cairo.
    [Show full text]
  • 29.Philosophy of Liberation.Pdf
    CONTENTS Preface viii Chapter 1 HISTORY 1.1 Geopolitics and Philosophy 1 1.2 Philosophy of Liberation ofthe Periphery 9 Chapter 2 FROM PHENOMENOLOGY TO LIBERATION 2.1 Proximity 16 2.2 Tota1ity 21 2.3 Mediation 29 2.4 Exteriority 39 2.5 Alienation 49 2.6 Liberation 58 Chapter 3 FROM POLITICS TO ANTIFETISHISM 3.1 Politics 67 3.2 Erotics 78 3.3 Pedagogics 87 3.4 Antifetishism 95 Chapter 4 FROM NATURE TO ECONOMICS 4.1 Nature 106 4.2 Semiotics 117 4.3 Poietics 126 4.4 Economics 140 vi Chapter 5 FROM SCIENCE TO PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERATION 5.1 Science 153 5.2 Dialectic 156 5.3 The Analectical Moment 158 5.4 Practice 160 5.5 Poietics 163 5.6 Human Sciences 165 5.7 Ideological Methods 167 5.8 Critical Methods 169 5.9 Philosophy of Liberation 170 Appendix PHILOSOPHY AND PRAXIS A. Philosophy and Ideology 181 B. Dialectic between Philosophy and Praxis 183 C. Exigencies for a Philosophy of Liberation 188 D. Toward an International Division of Philosophical Labor 195 Notes 197 Glossary of Concepts 201 Glossary of Non-English Terms 213 vii PREFACE What follows is addressed to neophytes in philosophy of libera- tion. It does not claim to be an exhaustive exposition. It is a discourse that proceeds by elaborating one thesis after another, using its own categories and its own method. It is a provisional theoretical philosophical framework. Except in the Appendix, this work has few footnotes and no bibliography. Writing in the sorrow of exile (in Mexico), I did not have access to my personal library (in Argentina).
    [Show full text]
  • Reading Heidegger on Science
    WHY READ HEIDEGGER ON SCIENCE? Trish Glazebrook Heidegger wrote extensively concerning science for more than sixty years. Four aspects of his analysis in particular demonstrate the breadth and scope of his sustained critique of science, and indicate specific trajectories for its further development. First, he has much to say to traditional philosophers of science concerning the experimental method, the role and function of mathematics and measurement, the nature of paradigms and incommensu- rabilty, and realism versus antirealism. Second, his assessment of technol- ogy is incipient in and arises from his reading of the history of physics, so theorists who overlook this aspect of his work may find they are working with a deficient theoretical framework when attempting to come to terms with his critique of technology. Third, he offers rich conceptual resources to environmental philosophers, especially those who work at the intersection of environment and international development. Fourth, his arguments for reflection on science support a renewed sense of social obligation on the part of the sciences that should be of especial interest to science, technol- ogy, and society theorists. I have examined these first two issues elsewhere.1 Rather than repeat- ing that work here, I situate this volume against traditional philosophy of science only by showing briefly how his concern with science begins with a tension in his thinking between realism and idealism. On the second issue, I show here only how Heidegger’s thinking concerning Ge-stell arises directly from his prior thinking about basic concepts and the mathemati- cal in science. The issues of ecophenomenology and the social obligations of the sciences are continuations of fertile and promising lines of thinking Heidegger opened.
    [Show full text]
  • The Question Concerning Technology
    The Question Concerning Technology Martin Heidegger In what follows we shall be questioning concerning technology. Questioning builds a way. We would be advised, therefore, above all to pay heed to the way, and not to fix our attention on isolated sentences and topics. The way is one of thinking. All ways of thinking, more or less perceptibly, lead through language in a manner that is extraordinary. We shall be questioning concerning technology, and in so doing we should like to prepare a free relationship to it. The relationship will be free if it opens our human existence to the essence of technology. When we can respond to this essence, we shall be able to experience the technological within its own bounds. Technology is not equivalent to the essence of technology. When we are seeking the essence of "tree," we have to become aware that what pervades every tree, as tree, is not itself a tree that can be encountered among all the other trees. Likewise, the essence of technology is by no means anything technological. Thus we shall never experience our relationship to the essence of technology so long as we merely represent and pursue the technological, put up with it, or evade it. Everywhere we remain unfree and chained to technology, whether we passionately affirm or deny it. But we are delivered over to it in the worst [288] possible way when we regard it as something neutral; for this conception of it, to which today we particularly like to pay homage, makes us utterly blind to the essence of technology.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Islamic Philosophy Henry Corbin
    History of Islamic Philosophy Henry Corbin Translated by Liadain Sherrard with the assistance of Philip Sherrard KEGAN PAUL INTERNATIONAL London and New York in association with ISLAMIC PUBLICATIONS for THE INSTITUTE OF ISMAILI STUDIES London The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London The Institute of Ismaili Studies was established in 1977 with the object of promoting scholarship and learning on Islam, in the historical as well as contemporary context, and a better understanding of its relationship with other societies and faiths. The Institute's programmes encourage a perspective which is not confined to the theological and religious heritage of Islam, but seek to explore the relationship of religious ideas to broader dimensions of society and culture. They thus encourage an inter-disciplinary approach to the materials of Islamic history and thought. Particular attention is also given to issues of modernity that arise as Muslims seek to relate their heritage to the contemporary situation. Within the Islamic tradition, the Institute's programmes seek to promote research on those areas which have had relatively lesser attention devoted to them in secondary scholarship to date. These include the intellectual and literary expressions of Shi'ism in general, and Ismailism in particular. In the context of Islamic societies, the Institute's programmes are informed by the full range and diversity of cultures in which Islam is practised today, from the Middle East, Southern and Central Asia and Africa to the industrialized societies of the West, thus taking into consideration the variety of contexts which shape the ideals, beliefs and practices of the faith. The publications facilitated by the Institute will fall into several distinct categories: 1 Occasional papers or essays addressing broad themes of the relationship between religion and society in the historical as well as modern context, with special reference to Islam, but encompassing, where appropriate, other faiths and cultures.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tragic Double Bind of Heidegger's Techne
    The Tragic Double Bind of Heidegger’s Techne DAVID EDWARD TABACHNICK I. Despite the fact that “the tragic” is an important theme in Heidegger, there are few specific discussions of tragedy in his work. While he often refers to tragic poets and playwrights, he nowhere explicitly analyzes the concept of the tragic or provides a theory of tragedy (Gelvin 555). Nonetheless, some scholars have had success locating the larger significance of tragedy in Heidegger (e.g., see Gelvin; Schürmann; McNeill; Schmidt). Schürmann, for one, understands Heidegger’s description of human existence as indicative of a tragic “double bind,” suggesting an irreconcilable denial and embrace of fate. In this paper, I further explore this “double bind” in Heidegger’s discussion of techne, technical knowledge, as it relates to the revealing of technology.1 On the one hand, Heidegger identifies Plato’s articulation of techne as the foundation upon which contemporary technology builds. And, according to Heidegger, technology is “the extreme danger” that “threatens man with the possibility that it could be denied to him to enter into a more original revealing and hence to experience the call of a more primal truth” (“The Question” 333). Yet, on the other hand, technology also holds within it a “saving power” that may push us to recapture the “original Greek essence of science” which, I will argue, is akin to a pre-Platonic techne that may allow us to return to a more authentic way of being, free of the aforementioned danger of technology. “Thus,” Heidegger decides, “the essential unfolding of technology harbors in itself what we least suspect, the possible rise of the saving power” (“The Question” 337).
    [Show full text]