Readings in Islamic Theology and Philosophy (ARAM189)
This module description relates to the academic year 2010/1.
| Lecturer(s) | Dr Sajjad Rizvi |
|---|---|
| Module level | M |
| Credit Value | 30.00 |
| ECTS Value | 15 |
| Pre-requisites | None. |
| Co-requisites | None. |
| Duration of Module | One Semester |
| Total Student Study Time | 150 hours (22 hours classtime) |
Aims
The aims of this module are to (a) develop students' ability to read technical philosophical and theological prose in the Islamic tradition; (b) to familiarize students with the overall development (main figures, texts, schools of thought) of the philosophical and theological tradition(s) in the Islamic world; and (c) to develop students' ability to understand, interpret and appreciate key foundational texts in the Islamic philosophical and theological traditions.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Module-specific skills:
Students at the end of this module (a) should be able to read the central texts in the Islamic philosophical and theological traditions; (b) they should be able to situate unfamiliar translated sources and figures in Islamic philosophy and theology within the larger outlines and overall development of those traditions; and (c) they should have developed the ability to read and interpret carefully philosophical and theological sources from the Islamic tradition, through a familiarity with the conventions, procedures and contexts associated with the writings of that tradition.
Discipline-specific skills:
To develop the ability to read critically and carefully and to contextualize in an appropriate, comprehensive manner documents from an unfamiliar subject matter and cultural/historical setting.
Personal and key skills:
To develop fluent analytical writing skills and the ability to sift and synthesize unfamiliar material from many sources. To develop the ability to give a cogent, succinct and effective brief oral public presentation. To develop the ability to relate abstract philosophic, ethical and theological issues and traditions to the corresponding practical issues and challenges in relevant areas of contemporary life.
Learning/Teaching Methods
Classes will be based on careful reading and guided discussion (after brief background lectures) of short, selected primary sources in the Islamic philosophical and theological tradition, combined with background preparation of secondary background materials and supplemented by some longer translated materials. In connection with the texts and figures selected for this module, each student will prepare and present one short oral report on a seminal secondary work connected with one of the major figures we will be studying, as well as one oral presentation on a primary text.
Assignments
Students will prepare (1) a short (1/2 hour) oral class report on an important secondary source concerning one of the major Islamic philosophers covered in the module; and (2) an analytical presentation on a primary source.
Assessment
The assessment comprises:
1) a 4,000 word discussing issues in a major text or texts by a classical figure covered in the module;
2) a 2,000 word essay comprising a critical review of a secondary source; and
3) a 2,000 word essay on literary and stylistic aspects of a philosophical/theological text.
Syllabus Plan
Week 1: Neoplatonic heritage and the Theology of Aristotle
Week 2: Reconciling Plato and Aristotle - al-Farabi
Week 3: Kalam proofs for the existence of God
Week 4: Avicenna's Necessary Being
Week 5: Arguments about the nature of good and evil
Week 6: Theodicy
Week 7: Avicenna's flying man
Week 8: Knowledge and the Active intellect
Week 9: Immediate knowledge - non-propositional and mystical
Week 10: Prophecy
Week 11: Monism
Indicative Basic Reading List
P. Adamson and R. Taylor (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy, Cambridge, 2005.
S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic Philosophy, London, 1996.
M. M. Sharif (ed), History of Muslim Philosophy, Wiesbaden, 1966.
M. Fakhry, A History of Islamic Philosophy, New York, 1983.
Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Edinburgh, 1985.
Abrahamov, Islamic Theology, Edinburgh, 1999.
