rationalism

rationalism
   A general tendency in Islamic thought that emphasizes the primacy of reason or intellect (‘aql) over tradition (naql). Rationalist theologians and philosophers believe that God’s existence, His unity and attributes, the origin and order of the world and the purpose of human life can all be known via rational means, independently of revelation (wahy). This is because God and the world proceed according to – and in some sense are constrained by – rational laws, which can be grasped by the human intellect. Traditional sources of knowledge such as the Qur’an, sunna (customary practice) and consensus are still considered legitimate, but only insofar as they are confirmed by reason; if a contradiction arises between reason and revelation (or tradition in general), it must be resolved according to the demands of reason. Accordingly, anthropomorphic characterizations of God in the Qur’an must be interpreted figuratively, lest believers end up with an incoherent, all-too-human, insuf- ficiently transcendent conception of God. Traditional reports of the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and actions are sometimes rejected as unreliable due to methodological questions about their collection and transmission, particularly when they appear to be at odds with reason or experience. As a general tendency, rationalism can manifest itself in different degrees. Moderate rationalists (e.g. the Ash‘arites) maintain that our obligation to employ reason comes from revelation (i.e. reason is a principal source of knowledge, but one that is ultimately vouchsafed by tradition), while relatively more robust rationalists (e.g. the Mu‘tazilites, some later Ash‘arite theologians, and a fortiori the Greek-influenced falasifa) believe that our God-given reason is self-legitimating and requires no traditional justification. The Isma‘ili stance on reason is complex and ambivalent: they valorize intellect, but limit its domain to the imams and their authoritative teachings. Pure rationalism, according to which reason is the human being’s sole authority and need not be reconciled with revelation, is relatively rare in the Islamic tradition and typically equated with freethinking and even unbelief. Although one finds numerous examples of rather robust rationalism in the classical period of Islamic philosophy, within the larger context of the Islamic tradition, pure rationalism (e.g. Ibn al-Rawandi and Abu Bakr al-Razi) is perceived as extreme and peripheral.
   Further reading: Abrahamov 1998; Bello 1989; Hourani 1985; Martin et al. 1997; Stroumsa 1999

Islamic Philosophy. . 2007.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
Synonyms:
(of the Scriptures)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rationalism — • Term used in an exact sense, to designate a particular moment in the development of Protestant thought in Germany, or in a broader, and more usual, sense to cover the view that the human reason, or understanding, is the sole source and final… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • raţionalism — RAŢIONALÍSM s.n. 1. Curent în teoria cunoaşterii, care consideră raţiunea ca singurul izvor al cunoaşterii autentice şi certe. 2. Încredere în capacitatea raţiunii de a cunoaşte realitatea. [pr.: ţi o ] – Din fr. rationalisme. Trimis de… …   Dicționar Român

  • Rationalism — Ra tion*al*ism (r[a^]sh [u^]n*al*[i^]z m), n. [Cf. F. rationalisme.] 1. (Theol.) The doctrine or system of those who deduce their religious opinions from reason or the understanding, as distinct from, or opposed to, revelation. [1913 Webster] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • rationalism — index dialectic Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • rationalism — ► NOUN ▪ the practice or principle of basing opinions and actions on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response. DERIVATIVES rationalist noun …   English terms dictionary

  • rationalism — [rash′ən əl iz΄əm] n. [ RATIONAL + ISM] 1. the principle or practice of accepting reason as the only authority in determining one s opinions or course of action 2. Philos. the doctrine that knowledge comes from the intellect in itself without aid …   English World dictionary

  • rationalism — rationalist, n. rationalistic, rationalistical, adj. rationalistically, adv. /rash euh nl iz euhm/, n. 1. the principle or habit of accepting reason as the supreme authority in matters of opinion, belief, or conduct. 2. Philos. a. the doctrine… …   Universalium

  • Rationalism — This article is about the philosophical method, position, theory, or view. For other uses, see Rationalism (disambiguation). In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or… …   Wikipedia

  • RATIONALISM —    European modernist architecture of the 1920s and 1930s was defined as a functional style of construction stripped of applied decoration, whereby the intrinsic characteristics of a building s materials were brought to the forefront of its… …   Historical Dictionary of Architecture

  • Rationalism — a theory or method based on the thesis that human reason can in principle be the source of all knowledge. In the modern period, rationalism was initially championed by René Descartes and spread during the 17th and 18th centuries, primarily in… …   Mini philosophy glossary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”