Philosophy in the Islamic World

“Ibn Taymiyya has been blamed, or praised, for launching an anti-rationalist traditionalism which inspires radical Islamists today.”

“Echoing al-Ghazālī’s opinion that Avicenna’s theories made him an apostate, Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ urged that the death sentence would be appropriate for anyone who refuses to give up on the study of logic and philosophy.”

“Surely I would be speaking the truth if I were to say, “This sentence I’m now uttering is in English,” and saying something false if I said, “This sentence I’m now uttering is in German.” So banning truth and falsehood in the case of self-referential statements looks not just arbitrary, but downright wrong.”

“Naṣr al-Dīn is sitting by a river and sees a traveler arrive at the far shore. The traveler looks around, and then calls out, “How do I get across?” “What do you mean?” asks Naṣr al-Dīn. “You’re already across!”

“As already suggested by Aristotle (Politics 1252a–53a), philosophy’s contribution to our practical affairs is divided into three parts, concerning the individual, the household, and the city. Thus, the title Ethics (Akhlāq)—a more literal translation would be Character Traits—really only applies to the first major section of the work, on individual action.”