Search results for ""Author Sophia Vasalou""
Oxford University Press Ibn Taymiyyas Theological Ethics
Book SynopsisIcon of modern-day fundamentalist movements, firebrand religious purist, tireless polemicist against the intellectual schools of his timeâthe Ibn Taymiyya we know is a thinker we often associate with hard attitudes and dogmatic stances. Yet there is another Ibn Taymiyya that stands out from the pages of his work, the thinker who fashions himself as a master of the via media and as a defender of the harmony between human reason and the religious faith. The aim of this book is to shed fresh light on Ibn Taymiyya''s intellectual identity by a close investigation of his ethical thought. Earlier Muslim thinkers debating ethical value had been exercised by a number of core questions. What makes actions right or wrong? How do human beings know it? And what is God''s relationship to the evaluative standards discerned by the human mind? An investigation of Ibn Taymiyya''s engagement with such questions has much to teach us about his intellectual program and particularly about the role of reason and the linchpin concept of human nature (fitra) within this program. It also has much to teach us about Ibn Taymiyya''s relationship to the intellectual landscape of his time, bringing us up against a rich tapestry of ethical discussions unfolding within theology, philosophy and legal theory in the classical period. At the same time, a close reading of Ibn Taymiyya''s ethics invites us to confront not only the content of his thought but its form, and more particularly those features of his writing that fracture our efforts to unify his thought.Trade ReviewSophia Vasalou's book sets very high standards for future scholarly research on Ibn Taymiyya's intellectual legacy. The book proposes an alternative story of Ibn Taymiyya's relationship to the classical debates about ethics. * Caterina Bori, Quaderni di Studi Arabi *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; Introduction ; 1 Ethical value between deontology and consequentialism ; 2 Ethical knowledge between human self-guidance and the revealed Law ; 3 Ibn Taymiyya's ethics and its Ash'arite antecedents ; 4 The aims of the Law and the morality of God ; 5 Broader perspectives on Ibn Taymiyya's ethical rationalism ; 6 Return to the present ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index
£122.01
Oxford University Press AlGhazal299 and the Ideal of Godlikeness
Book Synopsis
£73.15
New York University Press The Philosopher Responds
Book SynopsisQuestions and answers from two great philosophersWhy is laughter contagious? Why do mountains exist? Why do we long for the past, even if it is scarred by suffering? Spanning a vast array of subjects that range from the philosophical to the theological, from the philological to the scientific, The Philosopher Responds is the record of a set of questions put by the litterateur Abu ?ayyan al-Taw?idi to the philosopher and historian Abu ?Ali Miskawayh. Both figures were foremost contributors to the remarkable flowering of cultural and intellectual life that took place in the Islamic world during the reign of the Buyid dynasty in the fourth/tenth century.The correspondence between al-Taw?idi and Miskawayh holds a mirror to many of the debates of the time and reflects the spirit of rationalistic inquiry that animated their era. It also provides insight into the intellectual outlooks of two thinkers who were divided as much by their distinctive temperaments as byTrade ReviewTawhidi’s questions are often epigrammatic essays; they assert the limits of human reason and dwell on man’s 'deficiencies,' while evincing a Johnsonian keenness towards observing the contradictions of the human character, the fortunes of life and the spirit of the age. . . . There was no better recorder of his distempered century than Tawhidi; but there was also no other thinker of his time whose disillusioned and restless spirit is more modern, or whose character comes across more strongly in his writings. * Times Literary Supplement *A fascinating read, particularly for the aspiring scholar of classical Arabic texts, who will benefit from a solid English translation alongside the original Arabic. * Al Jadid *...Through an elegant and fluent English translation, makes this unique work accessible to an audience of non-specialists. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies *A marvel of literary finesse, of an English style seemingly able to match the often ornate prose of the Arabic... A pleasure to read throughout. * Journal of Near Eastern Studies *
£12.34
Princeton University Press Moral Agents and Their Deserts
Book SynopsisMust good deeds be rewarded and wrongdoers punished? Would God be unjust if he failed to punish and reward? And what is it about good or evil actions and moral identity that might generate such necessities? This book presents a study of Mu'tazilite ethics.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2009 Albert Hourani Book Award, Middle East Studies Association "This is an impressive and original contribution to the knowledge of Islam's intellectual history."--M. Swartz, Choice "Vasalou's [book] is a lively and often labyrinthine analysis of thinkers who have received little attention in Western intellectual circles... Readers ... who wish to engage the Islamic tradition of moral thought, ... if they have sufficient background, will find it a rich interpretive resource that may be of great use to them in their own endeavors."--Jamie Schillinger, Philosophy in Review "Sophia Vasalou's book provides an important window into the moral economy of Mu'tazilite thinking... Vasalou has deftly brought to the fore a much misread ethical viewpoint of the Islamic intellectual tradition. Her book stands as an invaluable contribution to the study of Islamic theology in general and Basran Mu'tazilism in particular."--Martin Nguyen, Review of Middle East Studies "Vasalou has written an impressive book, one evidencing extensive reading in Mu'tazilite (and Ash'arite) sources and extensive thinking about the questions of moral theory with which it deals... Deserving of emulation is the thought and imagination that she has put into her work. This is in many respects a brilliant work, one that stands out from the (admittedly small) crowd. It has set me thinking harder about Mu'tazilite moral theory, and for that I am grateful."--Aron Zysow, Journal of the American Oriental SocietyTable of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*Preface, pg. ix*Acknowledgments, pg. xiii*1. The Framework: The Mu'tazilites, pg. 1*2. Reading Mu'tazilite Ethics, pg. 12*3. Theology as Law, pg. 38*4. The Basran Mu'tazilite Approach to Desert, pg. 67*5. Moral Continuity and the Justification of Punishment, pg. 116*6. The Identity of Beings in Basran Mu tazilite Eschatology, pg. 157*Appendix. Translation From Mankdim Shashdiw, "The Promise And The Threat," In Sharh Al-Usulal-Khamsa, pg. 181*Notes, pg. 197*Bibliography, pg. 239*Index, pg. 247
£49.30
Interlink Publishing Group, Inc The Old Woman And The River
Book Synopsis
£999.99
