The Incoherence of the Philosophers

by Marmura, Michael E.; Al-Ghazali

• ISBN13: 9780842524667
• ISBN10: 0842524665
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Although Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali lived a relatively short life (1058-1111), he established himself as one of the most important thinkers in the history of Islam. The Incoherence of the Philosophers, written after more than a decade of travel and ascetic contemplation, contends that while such Muslim philosophers as Avicenna boasted of unassailable arguments on matters of theology and metaphysics, they could not deliver on their claims; moreover, many of their assertions represented disguised heresy and unbelief. Despite its attempted refutation by the twelfth-century philosopher Ibn Rushd, al-Ghazali's work remains widely read and influential.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Translator's Introduction---English	xv
Translator's Introduction---Arabic	xxix
Author's Introduction: [The religious preface]	1	(3)
[A first] introduction	4	(1)
[A second] introduction	5	(2)
[A third] introduction	7	(1)
[A fourth] introduction	8	(2)
[Author's table of contents]	10	(2)
[Part One]
On refuting their doctrine of the world's past eternity	12	(35)
The [philosophers'] first [proof]	13	(17)
[The philosophers'] second proof...	30	(9)
[The philosophers'] third proof...	39	(1)
[The philosophers'] fourth proof	40	(7)
On refuting their statement on the post-eternity of the world, time, and motion	47	(8)
On showing their obfuscation in saying that God is the world's enactor and maker..	55	(23)
Regarding the first [aspect]	56	(4)
The second aspect	60	(4)
The third aspect	64	(14)
On showing their inability to prove the existence of the Maker of the world	78	(6)
On showing their inability to prove that God is one...	84	(12)
[On the divine attributes]	96	(14)
On refuting their statement that the existence of the First cannot share with another in terms of genus...	110	(6)
On refuting their statement that the existence of the First is simple...	116	(3)
On showing their inability to sustain a proof that the First is not a body	119	(4)
On their inability to show that the world has a maker and a cause	123	(2)
On showing the impotence of those among them who perceive that the First knows other[s] and knows the genera and species in a universal way	125	(6)
On showing their inability to prove that He also knows Himself	131	(3)
On refuting their statement that God...does not know the particulars divisible in terms of temporal division into what is, what was, and what will be	134	(10)
On their inability to set a proof [to show] that heaven is an animal that obeys God...through its circular motion	144	(5)
On refuting what they mentioned concerning the purpose that moves heaven	149	(4)
On refuting their statement that the souls of the heavens know all the particulars that occur in this world...	153	(13)
[Part Two: The Natural Sciences]
[Introduction]	161	(5)
[On causality and miracles]	166	(12)
On their inability to sustain a rational demonstration [proving] that the human soul is a self-subsistent spiritual substance...	178	(23)
The first [proof]	182	(3)
A second proof	185	(2)
A third proof	187	(1)
A fourth proof	188	(1)
A fifth proof	189	(2)
A sixth proof	191	(2)
A seventh proof	193	(1)
An eighth proof	194	(2)
A ninth proof	196	(2)
A tenth proof	198	(3)
On refuting their statement that it is impossible for human souls to undergo annihilation...	201	(7)
On refuting their denial of bodily resurrection...	208	(21)
The Book's Conclusion	226	(3)
Notes to the English Text	229	(16)
Notes to the Arabic Text	245	(4)
Index	249