The Author’s Voice

Contributed By: events coordinator
Organizing Institution: Institute for Advanced Study
Start Date: December 13, 2021 (12:00am)
End Date: December 13, 2021 (1:30pm +03)
Cost: Free
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Description:

The Author’s Voice: Ash‘arism Encounters Avicennism: Sayf Al-Dīn Al-Āmidī (d. 631/1233) on Creation, Laura Hassan, Associate Faculty Member, Faulty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford.  Competing theories about the origins of the cosmos have always entailed distinctive and often antithetical conceptions of who, or what, caused it. Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī developed his doctrine of creation at a particularly poignant moment in Islamic intellectual history, in which the traditions of theology (kalām) and Hellenised philosophy (falsafa) were forced into an encounter which would permanently alter the theological landscape. In this talk, taking impetus from the case of al-Āmidī, I consider the options available for intellectuals who, like him, encounter a system of thought which is both rationally and theologically compelling, but which also threatens to undermine entrenched convictions. Register in advance for this event here.

Hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS).

All meetings via Zoom, from 12:00 to 1:30 pm.