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Philosophy Notes and Topics on Philosophy

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Old Sunday, July 27, 2014
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Default I need help in philosophy, please!

Aoa!

I have decided to take philosophy for my upcoming CSS exam. I have started with paper two: Schools of Muslim Theology - Mutazilism, Ash' arism...I want to know what should be my next step and how should I go about my preparation. Your advice would be highly appreciated, thank you.
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Old Sunday, July 27, 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aliinaa View Post
Aoa!

I have decided to take philosophy for my upcoming CSS exam. I have started with paper two: Schools of Muslim Theology - Mutazilism, Ash' arism...I want to know what should be my next step and how should I go about my preparation. Your advice would be highly appreciated, thank you.
I am taking Philosophy as well.

The way I am planning my study plan is to cross check all the Past papers, take the key areas of focus, read and study key texts on the major theorists - for example i have got in front of me

Political Thinkers - from Socrates to the Present (2003) Edited by Boucher & Kelly. It's a great book. You could plan your course utilizing it
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Old Friday, August 01, 2014
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Follow this: http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optio...hy-primer.html
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Old Saturday, August 02, 2014
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Can you help me with this please, I don't understand it :/


Ash'ariyya and Mu'tazila

2. Cosmology

Popular accounts of the teaching of the Mu'tazilites usually concentrate on their distinctive theological doctrines. To the philosopher, however, their cosmology, which was accepted by the Ash'ariyya and other theological schools, is a more appropriate starting point.

To the Mu'tazila, the universe appears to consist of bodies with different qualities: some are living while others are inanimate, some are mobile while others are stationary, some are hot and some are cold, and so on. Moreover, one and the same body may take on different qualities at different times. For instance, a stone may be mobile when rolling down a hill but stationary when it reaches the bottom, or hot when left in the sun but cold after a long night. Yet there are some qualities which some bodies cannot acquire; for example, stones are invariably inanimate, never living. How are the differences between bodies, and between one and the same body at different times, to be explained?

The answer given by the Mu'tazilites is that all bodies are composed of identical material substances (jawahir) or atoms (ajza'), on which God bestows various incorporeal accidents (a'rad). This view was first propounded by Dirar ibn 'Amr (d. c.ah 200/ad 815) and elaborated by Abu al-Hudhayl (d. ah 227/ad 841 or later), both of whom were early members of the Basran School. Abu al-Hudhayl held that isolated atoms are invisible mathematical points. The only accidents which they can be given are those which affect their ability to combine with other atoms, such as composition or separation, motion or rest. Conglomerates of atoms, on the other hand, can be given many other accidents such as colours, tastes, odours, sounds, warmth and coldness, which is why we perceive them as different bodies. Some of these accidents are indispensable, hence the differences between bodies, whereas others can be bestowed or withdrawn, thus explaining the differences between one and the same body at different times.

This account of the world gained rapid acceptance amongst Islamic theologians, although to begin with it was rejected by two Mu'tazilites of the Basran School, al-Nazzam (d. ah 221/ad 836) and Abu Bakr al-Asamm (d. ah 201/ad 816?). The former, who was Abu al-Hudhayl's nephew, argued that atoms which were mere mathematical points would not be able to combine with one another and that, rather than being composed of atoms, bodies must therefore be infinitely divisible. Abu al-Hudhayl replied that God's bestowal of the accident of composition on an isolated atom made it three-dimensional and hence capable of combining (see Atomism, ancient). Al-Asamm, on the other hand, objected to the notion of accidents, arguing that since only bodies are visible their qualities cannot have an independent existence.


http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H052

Would be grateful, thanks!
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Old Saturday, August 02, 2014
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Unless you have an academic background in Philosophy, the link you are using is not the best choice. Studies in Islamic Philosophy by M. Saeed Sheikh is a much better option. It's a small book and things are much simpler there. It also covers the entire syllabus of Muslim philosophy (with the exception of sub-continent Philosophers which you can skip).
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Old Thursday, August 14, 2014
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You can ignore Cosmology of Mutazilites. Concentrate on their five points

(1) the unity of God; (2) divine justice; (3) the promise and the threat; (4) the intermediate position; and (5) the commanding of good and forbidding of evil.

that is the main thing. if you read Saeed Sheikh's mini book after reading in detail you ll be able to better understand and retain stuff. If you can cram things well, go straight to Saeed Sheikh's book.
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I want to ask whether Al-Ghazali comes under Ash'arism or Sufism. If under Sufism, then should I just cover Al-Ghazali or Sufism as a whole topic?
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Old Tuesday, August 19, 2014
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Ash'arism, Ghazali and Sufism are three different topics, although Sufism is generally confined to a short note (and can be skipped). Better go through past papers and syllabus outline to have a more clear idea about important topics.
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Old Friday, August 22, 2014
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Okay, just to clear my concept I wanted to ask:

So basically, Ash'arites were moderate. They took a middle road i-e they saw religion both in terms of revelations and reason. But on the other hand, Mutazilites took an extreme approach. For them only reason, was a tool for explaining the mysteries of religion. Am I right so far?
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Old Friday, August 22, 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aliinaa View Post
Okay, just to clear my concept I wanted to ask:

So basically, Ash'arites were moderate. They took a middle road i-e they saw religion both in terms of revelations and reason. But on the other hand, Mutazilites took an extreme approach. For them only reason, was a tool for explaining the mysteries of religion. Am I right so far?
Ash'arite didn't take a middle ground. They only defended the extreme position of traditionalists using reasoning tools like Aristotelian logic and dialectic method. From 11th century Ash'arite main doctrines became synonymous with the Orthodox Sunni theological thought.

They arose basically as an anti-thesis to Mutazilites. They were disposed to believe the Quran in literal sense that the throne of God is actually a physical throne and hand of God is a physical hand as opposed to Mutazilites who considered all these as symbols.

Ash'arites were basically Orthodox scholars using philosophy for defense of their position.
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