PY4676 Islamic Philosophy
Academic year
2024 to 2025 Semester 2
Curricular information may be subject to change
Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.
Key module information
SCOTCAT credits
30
SCQF level
SCQF level 10
Planned timetable
TBC
Module coordinator
Dr D N Ball
Module description
Is reason always opposed to faith? Is prophecy incompatible with a naturalistic account of knowledge? Must we believe in God without having rational proof? Between the 9th and 12th centuries, a powerful tradition of philosophy and rational theology developed in the Islamic world which took the answer to each of these questions to be ‘no’. This module will explore some of the central philosophical problems of this tradition, along with solutions to those problems offered by its most influential thinkers, such as al- Kindī, Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), al-Ghazālī, and Ibn Rushd (Averroes). Topics may include: reason and revelation, essence and existence, arguments for God’s existence, knowledge, logic, the constitution of material objects, the eternity or non-eternity of the world, causality, the self, the properties of God, prophecy, miracles, free will and determinism, the problem of evil, the possibility of moral knowledge, the nature of moral properties, philosophy of law, and mysticism.
Relationship to other modules
Pre-requisites
BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS PY1012
Assessment pattern
Coursework - 100%
Re-assessment
Coursework - 100%
Learning and teaching methods and delivery
Weekly contact
One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar weekly
Scheduled learning hours
33
Guided independent study hours
259
Intended learning outcomes
- demonstrate an awareness of some of the central thinkers and ideas of the Islamic philosophical tradition.
- interpret primary texts (in translation) of Islamic philosophy and evaluate whether those texts offer plausible solutions or insights to problems in contemporary philosophy.
- critically engage with secondary literature to inform their interpretations of Islamic philosophical texts.
- articulate and defend their own views of philosophical problems and solutions offered by Islamic writers both orally and in writing.