Struggling with the Philosopher. A Refutation of Avicenna's Metaphysics

Wilfred Madelung & Toby Mayer

ISBN 10: 186064693X / ISBN 13: 9781860646935

Verlag: IB Tauris, 2001

8vo. vi, [1],105 pp of English text, 135 pp of Arabic text, biblio, index, original cloth in dust wrapper, copy in mint condition. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 855

Inhaltsangabe:

Muhammad b. Abd al-Karim al-Shahrastani was one of the most learned and enigmatic scholars of medieval Islam. In his work, 'Kitab al-Musara'a' ('Struggling with the Philosopher'), which is published here in English translation (together with its original Arabic text) for the first time, al-Shahrastani gives a detailed critique of the metaphysics of the great Persian philosopher Avicenna. The greater part of his 'intellectual wrestling match' ('musara'a') is devoted to refuting Avicenna's interpretation of the 'Necessary Being' which, he argues, compromises the absolute transcendence of God. For al-Shahrastani, God is beyond human comprehension and above all opposites such as existence and non-existence, unity and multiplicity, good and evil, or truth and falsehood. This work is a strong indication of the rich diversity and eclecticism that characterised intellectual discourse in medieval Islam. 'Struggling with the Philosopher' is an important document of Islamic intellectual history. As such, it is essential reading and a reference text for students of Islamic studies and scholars interested in the medieval Islamic world.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor: Wilferd Madelung was for 20 years the Laudian Professor of Arabic at Oxford and is at present affiliated with The Institute of Ismaili Studies as Senior Research Fellow. Toby Mayer is a researcher in Islamic Philosophy at Oxford and is currently a Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London.

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Struggling with the Philosopher. A ...
Verlag: IB Tauris
Erscheinungsdatum: 2001
Einband: Hardcover
Zustand: As New
Zustand des Schutzumschlags: As New
Auflage: 1st Edition