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Substances (jawāhir), Accidents (aʿrāḍ), and Rental Agreements
The Relation between Atomism in Islamic Theology (kalām) and Islamic Law (fiqh)
By Serdar Kurnaz, Humboldt-Universität
Link: https://doi.org/10.5840/islamicphil202415213
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Tags: #Islam #Theology #Kalam #IslamicLaw
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Ṭabāṭabāʾī on Mental Constructions
By Maryam Olamaiekopaie, University of South Bohemia
Link: https://doi.org/10.5840/islamicphil202415212
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Tags: #Islam #Theology #Metaphysics
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Muṣṭafā Ṣabrī on Waḥdat al-Wuǧūd and its Philosophical Origins
By Muhammad Sami, Pembroke College
This article studies the critique of waḥdat al-wuǧūd penned by Muṣṭafā Ṣabrī (d. 1954), one of the last Ottoman şeyhülislams. Ṣabrī’s critique echoes those written by previous theologians such as al-Taftāzānī while simultaneously criticising their shortcomings. In Ṣabrī’s view, waḥdat al-wuǧūd originates in what he calls “the divinization of existence”: the identification of God’s essence with his existence, a doctrine held by Muslim peripatetics and adopted by several philosophical theologians. It is just because they failed to locate such an origin that Ṣabrī believes previous critiques of the Akbarian doctrine were not adequate.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etae049
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Tags: #Islam #Sufism #Theology #Kalam #IbnArabi
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The Revival of Teleology, After Its Death By Darwin
By Nima Narimani, University, Tehran
Two distinct teleological perspectives emerge from the ancient Greek tradition. (1) Platonic teleology, which represents teleology as the result of intentional agency and is the origin of the idea of design; and (2) Aristotelian teleology, which introduces teleology as the result of natural and intrinsic causes. The preceding framework for understanding nature was superseded by the advent of the modern era and the establishment of the scientific method. Nevertheless, despite the prevailing skepticism regarding the possibility and utility of teleology in the modern era, it is asserted that several prominent scientists of the modern era are staunch defenders of teleology (design). However, with Darwin's proposal of the theory of evolution, the path to the destruction of teleology was initiated. This article examines the interconnection between Darwin's theory of evolution (then neo-Darwinism) and teleology, focusing on how this theory effectively undermines the teleological perspective. However, it seems that recent findings in the field of biology challenge this dominant view and open the way for the revival of teleology.
Link: https://doi.org/10.22091/JPTR.2024.11464.3151
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Tags: #Evolution #Teleology #Design #Darwin
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Systems of Global Meaning in Atheists and Theists: Divergent World Beliefs, Sources of Meaning, and Values
By Crystal L. Park et al, University of Connecticut;
To illuminate the often-reported higher levels of meaning in life by those who believe in God relative to atheists, we examined the extent to which their global meaning (i.e., the beliefs, goals, and values that underlie subjective sense of meaning in life) differed. Study 1 (undergraduate sample of 100 atheists and 447 theists) found that theists endorsed higher levels of beliefs reflecting a more meaningful world (e.g., goodness, control, justice) while atheists endorsed higher beliefs in randomness. Further, atheists found less meaning from almost every source examined (e.g., achievement, self-acceptance). Results of Study 2 (87 atheists and 164 theists in a national U.S. online sample) produced similar results and also found theists more strongly endorsed many values that can facilitate a sense of meaning (e.g., traditionalism, security). Collectively, these results identify multiple divergences in global meaning between atheists and theists that may account for atheists’ lower meaning in life.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12947
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Tags: #Atheism #Religion #Theism #God #Sociology
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Why There Must Be Something Rather Than Nothing: A New Argument from the PSR
By Dylan Shaul, University of California
This article offers a new argument that there must be something rather than nothing, grounded in the PSR. Inspired by the rationalist tradition running from Parmenides to Spinoza and Leibniz, I argue that there must be something rather than nothing because the contrary would constitute a violation of the PSR. In particular, I argue that, if there was nothing, there could be no sufficient reason for it, since nothing at all would exist to serve as a sufficient reason. Therefore, given the PSR, something must exist after all. After presenting and explaining this new argument, I consider a series of objections and replies, and develop some of its broader philosophical implications.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/ejop.13018
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Tags: #PSR #Leibniz #Spinoza
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A Phenomenological Assessment of Mulla Sadra’s View of the Individual Mind
By Tayyebe Gholami, University of Qom; Andrea Altobrando, University of Padua
This article examines the theory of mind proposed by the esteemed Islamic philosopher, Mulla Sadra, through a phenomenological lens. We specifically focus on how Mulla Sadra’s framework addresses the question of the individual human mind and its intricate relationship with the body. While Mulla Sadra presents concepts that resonate with some of Husserl’s ‘monadological-phenomenological’ reflections, we argue that strict adherence to phenomenological methodology precludes acceptance of the metaphysical implications he draws concerning the individual mind’s connection to the totality of existence, including a presumed divine reality. Nonetheless, our comparative analysis with Mulla Sadra’s thought illuminates key aspects of Husserlian monadology and highlights the limitations of a rigorously phenomenological approach to purely metaphysical inquiries.
Link: https://doi.org/10.22091/JPTR.2024.11350.3128
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Tags: #MullaSadra #Islam #Phenomenology
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Dialogue Between Theology and Science: Present Challenges and Future Perspectives
By Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, Pontifical University
In order to consider the natural sciences as a contemporary locus theologicus, I here examine the meaning and implications of the “dialogue between theology and the sciences”. Although widely used, this expression has different meanings. I try to clarify who the interlocutors of the dialogue are, where the dialogue takes place, and what the goals of the dialogue itself are. A coherent agenda to encourage the use of the sciences in theological work should include (a) the design and implementation of interdisciplinary curricula to help those scholars who are seriously interested to be trained in this field; (b) an emphasis on the role of philosophy and philosophical sources in the study of the sciences and theology; (c) going beyond the epistemological level and developing the dialogue also at the anthropological level; (d) the identification of a number of key issues for theological and religious studies that are expected to become more urgent in the coming years. Finally, the use of the sciences as a locus theologicus is expected to bear two main fruits: first, to offer a positive, speculative insight to the work of theologians and, second, to contribute to a responsible development of the dogmatic teachings of the Church.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101253
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Tags: #Theology #Religion #Science
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THE APODOTIC WĀW IN QURʾĀNIC ARABIC
By Tareq Moqbel, University of Oxford
This article discusses the usage and semantic function of the apodotic wāw in Qurʾānic Arabic. It takes as its starting point the usage of the same particle in the Hebrew Bible, and goes on to survey the discourse about it in the classical treatises of Arabic grammar. It then analyses a number of Qurʾānic passages where the exegetical literature discussed whether a wāw is (or could be) marking an apodosis. By demonstrating the interpretive options enabled by the apodotic wāw, the article argues—pace the classical Arabic grammarians and Qurʾān exegetes, many of whom denied its existence outright—that this particle is not simply superfluous. Rather, the article contends that the apodotic wāw creates a space for ambiguity, and thereby expands the range of hermeneutical possibilities. In presenting this argument, the article suggests that the function of the apodotic wāw in the Qurʾān closely resembles its function in the Hebrew Bible.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101253
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Tags: #Islam #Quran #QuranicStudies #Bible
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The Ethics of Weeping in Islam
By Paul L Heck, Georgetown University
Literature on weeping in Islam and emotions in general, although on the rise, is still limited. This article, focusing on Islam’s heritage of lament for sin, seeks to contribute to the study of religiously informed emotions by highlighting the interests in heavenly purposefulness that depictions of weeping seek to convey. Such purposefulness, the data suggests, is not only penitential but also redemptive and bears ethical fruits for the community as a whole. Weeping in Islam is, then, not mere emotional expression; attention must therefore be paid to the spirit or ethical tone accompanying depictions of pious weeping, illustrated here by two works on weeping, one by Ibn Qudāma al-Maqdisī (d. 1223) and the other by Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (d. 894). The study of emotionality in Islam, as illustrated in this article with the example of weeping, can enrich our appreciation of religious subjectivity in Islam and its place in Islam’s overall heritage of ethics.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101253
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Tags: #Islam #Ethics #Shariah
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Classical Theism, Interpersonal Relations, and the Receptivity of God
By James Kintz, Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology
A central tenet of classical theism is that God is Pure Act, and thus many classical theists reject the notion that there is any receptivity in God. This is to say, while God can act on creatures, he cannot be acted on by those creatures. While such a view is commonplace for classical theists, in this project, I challenge the claim that there is no receptivity in God by drawing on a Thomistic philosophical anthropology. Highlighting the intrinsically reciprocal second-person relation, I note that persons must be both active and receptive in this bidirectional relation. Insofar as God is a person who enters into second-person relationships with his creatures, it follows that there must be receptivity in God. Nevertheless, I suggest that this receptivity is, in fact, a feature of God’s Pure Activity, and thus, it ultimately poses no serious problem for classical theism.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101253
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Tags: #God #Theism #anthropology
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God and Time
By Natalja Deng, Yonsei University
This article introduces the reader to contemporary philosophical research on God and time, without presupposing any familiarity with either philosophy of religion or philosophy of time. To start with, aspects of the topic are compared to some structurally similar ideas in secular philosophical thought about time and ethics. The article then introduces timeless versus temporal conceptions of eternity and discusses positions intending to combine elements of both. There is a brief interlude on relevant background in temporal metaphysics regarding A- and B-theories. The final two sections then examine recent developments in the timeless and temporal camps, with a particular emphasis on the role that temporal metaphysics is playing in discussions of the timeless approach.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.2.1
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Tags: #God #Time #Religion
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A New Aesthetic Argument for Theism
By Noah McKay, University of Edinburgh
I outline and defend a version of the aesthetic argument for the existence of God, according to which theism explains our capacity for subjective aesthetic experience better than its major competitor, naturalism. I argue that naturalism fails to adequately explain the nature and range of our aesthetic experiences, since these are amenable neither to standard Darwinian explanation nor to explanation in terms of more complex sociobiological mechanisms such as sexual selection or between-group selection. “I concede that aesthetic experience may be an evolutionary spandrel but argue that the conjunction of this thesis with naturalism is highly improbable given the prevalence of beauty in the natural
world.” Theism, on the other hand, furnishes a robust personal explanation of aesthetic experience, since on theism God has both good reasons to bring such experiences about and the power to do so. I address an objection to the theistic explanation from broadly negative aesthetic experiences, arguing that God plausibly has many reasons to allow these. I contend that this formulation of the argument is superior to other extant versions, since it does not depend on controversial probability judgments, dubious analogies between natural
phenomena and human artifacts, or objectivism about aesthetic values.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.2.4
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Tags: #God #Naturalism #EoG
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Free will, transworld depravity, and divine omniscience
By Alessandro Fiorello, University of Ottawa
In this essay I am going to attempt to resuscitate the logical problem of evil. Since the problem is well known I will be brief in motivating it. It is widely held within the field of philosophy of religion that the problem of evil in its logical form is a dead end. That is, it is accepted that there is no logical incoherence in supposing that a perfectly loving and all-powerful god exists alongside the existence of evil. One of the accepted arguments for the dissolvement of this issue is Alvin Plantinga’s Free Will Defence. I believe that Plantinga’s defence is not the successful argument that scholars in the field have taken it to be. I attempt a demonstration of an inner conflict in Plantinga’s argument that thoroughly undermines the strength of his argument. I show that Plantinga’s argument attempts to smuggle in the possibility of middle knowledge through his concept of transworld depravity. The conclusion of my argument is that Plantinga’s status as solving the logical problem is not warranted and it should be given serious attention.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-024-09930-4
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Tags: #PoE #Evil #Plantinga #God #FreeWill
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Spinoza on the parts of God
By Kay Malte Bischof, University of Notre Dame;
I defend Spinoza's claim that extension is an attribute that an indivisible substance, such as God, could have. However, in order to explain why, we must abandon two long held orthodoxies in Spinoza scholarship. First, Spinoza acknowledges only parts that do not depend on their whole. Second, God, considered as natura naturans, has no parts of any kind. Against these orthodoxies, I show that having parts which depend on their whole, for Spinoza, does not entail divisibility and that God, considered as natura naturans, must have such parts in order to be extended. Along the way, we will have a closer look at Spinoza’s mereology and address apparently conflicting statements that Spinoza makes about the relation of part and whole that have long vexed commentators.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101197
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Tags: #Spinoza #God #Mereology
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Gadamer, Ibn Sīnā, and the Aesthetics of Self-Transformation
By Syeda Maryam Fatima Taqvi, University of California
By expanding on Hans-George Gadamer’s critique of contemporary formalist approaches to art, wherein the artist pursues an artwork with a “disinterested” self, this paper endeavors to underline the transformative aspect of aesthetic experience. Even though it acknowledges the epistemological difference between Gadamer’s phenomenological approach and the Arab-Islamic one, particularly Ibn Sīnā’s treatment of arts and aesthetics, it nonetheless discovers some subtle similarities between the two. Consequently, it articulates artistic endeavor as an act of askesis (spiritual exercise) aimed at theosis (becoming like God).
Link: https://doi.org/10.5840/islamicphil202415212
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Tags: #Islam #Theology #Avicenna
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Measuring Muslim Lifestyle Using a Halal Scale
By Ulrich Riegel et al, University of Siegen
The background and motivation of the research presented in this article is the obligation of Public Theology to do justice to young Muslim refugees as a minority group in German society regarding the role of religiosity in the way they are coping with life. In the research process, the authors became increasingly aware that most instruments to measure religiosity have a Western and/or Protestant bias in that they are more interested in religious attitude than in religious practice and/or religious lifestyle, which is very important for Muslim religiosity. Therefore, this article focuses on the distinction between halal and haram as indicators of religious practice according to Muslim benchmarks. Both the concept and the operationalization of a two-dimensional instrument of living a halal life are described. The instrument distinguishes between the individual importance of halal goods (food, medicine, cosmetics) and services (doctors) and their availability in the local environment. Each of the two dimensions comprises four items. Construct validity is shown by confirmatory factor analysis (CFIrobust = 0.934, TLIrobust = 0.902, RMSEArobust = 0.114 [0.073; 0.156]) of a sample of N= 155 Muslim adolescents who have fled to Germany from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. External validity is tested by analyzing the correlation of the measurement instrument developed by the authors with the Centrality of Religiosity Scale. The presented halal instrument offers an approach to Muslim lifestyle that meets the orthopractic character of this religion. At the same time, it addresses the consequential dimension of religion within quantitative research.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etae049
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Tags: #Islam #Muslim #Sociology #Religion
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‘The Caliphate Will Last for Thirty Years’: Polemic and Political Thought in the Afterlife of a Prophetic Ḥadīth
By Han Hsien Liew, Arizona State University
The Prophetic ḥadīth ‘The caliphate will last for thirty years, then it will be kingship’ is one of the key proof texts for the Sunni doctrine of the ‘rightly guided caliphs’. While modern scholarship has examined its origins and transmission during the first two centuries of Islam, the political discussions that emerged from it after the crystallization of Sunnism in the third/ninth and fourth/tenth centuries have not received adequate attention. By examining ḥadīth compilations and commentaries, theological treatises, and historical chronicles, this article maps out the various ways in which Sunni Muslim scholars have engaged with the ḥadīth. It argues that in addition to employing the ḥadīth as a polemical tool against Shiʿi political claims, most Sunni scholars through the Mamluk period sought to circumvent its literal meaning out of reluctance to concede that a legitimate caliphate was limited to the first four caliphs. But in doing so, they were also hard-pressed to define what a true caliphate entailed. The ensuing discussions surrounding the ‘thirty-year ḥadīth’ often revolved around the political ideals of consensus, justice, and piety. They also shed light on the intricate connection between historiographical considerations and political thought in medieval Islam.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etae049
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Tags: #Islam #Hadith #Politics
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Basic religious certainty and the New Testament
By Neil O’Hara, King’s College London
Are there basic religious certainties? That is, are there any beliefs which religious people legitimately hold without the need for rational justification? The question has been tackled, in different ways, by both Hinge Epistemologists and by Reformed Epistemologists. For the former, discussion has revolved around very general religious beliefs such as ‘God exists’ (e.g. Pritchard, 2000; Helm, 2001; Hoyt, 2007; Ariso, 2020). Reformed Epistemologists, like Alvin Plantinga, argue that Christian theism and particular Christian beliefs are ‘properly basic’ in that ‘I don’t believe them on the basis of any other propositions’ (Plantinga, 1981, p. 42). In this paper I want to do two things. First, I give an account of what basic religious certainty is from a Wittgensteinian, Hinge Epistemology point of view. On this account I will argue that the clearest examples of basic religious certainties are found in local, historical and more narrow expressions of religious belief, as opposed to the very general acontextual religious beliefs usually discussed. Secondly, I challenge the Reformed Epistemological notion that Christian doctrine can be ‘properly basic’, mainly by showing that the New Testament writers did not treat very general religious beliefs, such as ‘God exists’ or God is good’, as properly basic in either the Hinge or Reformed Epistemological ways. I will conclude by drawing out some implications for contemporary Christian epistemology.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-024-09935-z
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Tags: #ReformedEpistemology #Religion #Christianity #God #Plantinga
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Parental Sanctification, God Images, and Parental Happiness and Satisfaction in the United States
By Laura Upenieks, Baylor University; Christopher G. Ellison, University of Texas
The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between non-theistic parental sanctification and well-being among parents, and whether parents’ primary images of God (authoritative, benevolent, critical, and distant) modified this relationship among American parents. Drawing on nationally representative data from the 2014 Baylor Religion Survey (N = 1078), our cross-sectional results suggest that non-theistic sanctification was linked to greater overall happiness and satisfaction in the parental role. We also found consistent evidence that the relationship between non-theistic parental sanctification and greater happiness and parental satisfaction was stronger for individuals with either an authoritative or benevolent God image, and weaker among those with parents with a distant God image. The study of sanctification in conjunction with images of the divine offers one fruitful approach to understanding both the benefits and risks of integrating religion/spirituality into daily life.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12945
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Tags: #God #Religion #Psychology #Spirituality
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Meaning, purpose, and narrative
By Michael Zhao, University of Notre Dame
According to many philosophers, “the meaning of life” refers to our cosmic purpose, the activity that we were created by God or a purposive universe to perform. If there is no God or teleology, there is no such thing as the meaning of life. But this need not be the last word on the matter. In this paper, I ask what the benefits provided by a cosmic purpose are, and go on to argue that thinking of our lives in a particular way—in terms of a unified life narrative—can supply us with many of those benefits. We might lose little if there is no such thing as the meaning of life, since there is still something that can provide much of what is valuable about it.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/nous.12532
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Tags: #God #Teleology #Purpose
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Ethics of Artificial Intelligence a Purposeful and Foundational Study in Light of the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad
By Abdel Aziz Shaker Hamdan Al Kubaisi, United Arab Emirates University
This study represents an attempt to establish the ethics of artificial intelligence in light of the second legislative source in Islam: the Sunnah of the Prophet. This study adopted the descriptive, analytical, and deductive approach through content analysis based on inferences from the Prophet’s hadiths with the aim of clarifying the underlying approach to these ethics in light of this. It concluded with a set of ethics related to artificial intelligence, which were rooted in the light of the Prophet’s Sunnah in a way that ensures its correct and disciplined use and achieves the integrity of the desired means and goals. These ethics were represented in the legitimacy of design and function; neutrality and impartiality; safety, control, and responsibility; respect for privacy; setting codified systems and regulations; environmental sustainability; respect for individual, institutional, and intellectual property; consideration of humanity; and achieving balance. The research established its roots in the honorable Sunnah of the Prophet and in light of the objectives of Islamic law.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15111300
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Tags: #Islam #IslamicLaw #AI #Ethics
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Transcending Ibn Rushd’s methods of reasoning
By Abbas Ahsan, University of Birmingham
Ibn Rushd presents different methods of reasoning. Each method differs in terms of its construction, level of assent, and the cognitive state it ultimately produces. Despite these technical variations, notable authors suggest that they are all equally valid and sound. I analyse this claim, and argue that although demonstrative and dialectical arguments are both valid and sound, there is a theoretical discrepancy between the two. Subsequently, I explore how underscoring this issue would motivate a non-classical/many-valued logic and a plurality of truth in being able to make sense of the theoretical discrepancy.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101253
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Tags: #Islam #IbnRushd #Logic #Truth
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The Pursuit for Cosmic Wisdom and ‘Promethean’ Leadership in the Pythagorean and Al-Fārābīan Political Philosophy
By Michail Theodosiadis, University of Kurdistan Hewlêr
This study reflects on aspects of the Pythagorean political philosophy and compares them to those of Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Fārābī’s thought. Both share a key assumption: excellent rulers must be political scientists who seek divine guidance to ensure the prevalence of reason over passions in public life while reconciling society with the harmony and wisdom of the cosmos. By imitating God’s perfection and incorporating divine wisdom into governance, virtuous rulers promote felicity, prosperity and peace within a city. We highlight al-Fārābī’s emphasis on the role of religion in enabling citizens to internalize the wisdom of the cosmos, thereby minimising the need for coercion in the pursuit of order and social concord. In addition, the populace leverages the superior knowledge of each governor while observing their behaviour. Thus, the people have a share in the exercise of political power. This insistence on the involvement of the populace in politics aligns with the concept of ‘political Prometheism’.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101253
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Tags: #AlFarabi #God #Politics #History
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‘The Caliphate Will Last for Thirty Years’: Polemic and Political Thought in the Afterlife of a Prophetic Ḥadīth
By Han Hsien Liew, Arizona State University
The Prophetic ḥadīth ‘The caliphate will last for thirty years, then it will be kingship’ is one of the key proof texts for the Sunni doctrine of the ‘rightly guided caliphs’. While modern scholarship has examined its origins and transmission during the first two centuries of Islam, the political discussions that emerged from it after the crystallization of Sunnism in the third/ninth and fourth/tenth centuries have not received adequate attention. By examining ḥadīth compilations and commentaries, theological treatises, and historical chronicles, this article maps out the various ways in which Sunni Muslim scholars have engaged with the ḥadīth. It argues that in addition to employing the ḥadīth as a polemical tool against Shiʿi political claims, most Sunni scholars through the Mamluk period sought to circumvent its literal meaning out of reluctance to concede that a legitimate caliphate was limited to the first four caliphs. But in doing so, they were also hard-pressed to define what a true caliphate entailed. The ensuing discussions surrounding the ‘thirty-year ḥadīth’ often revolved around the political ideals of consensus, justice, and piety. They also shed light on the intricate connection between historiographical considerations and political thought in medieval Islam.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101253
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Tags: #Islam #Hadith #History
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Rethinking contemporary schooling in Muslim contexts: An Islamic conceptual framework for reconstructing K-12 education
By Farah Ahmed
& Safaruk Chowdhury, University of Cambridge
This paper presents a conceptual framework drawn from philosophies of education underpinned by an Islamic worldview. The framework offers an interconnecting network of Islamic educational concepts that can be used by contemporary educators in Muslim contexts think through how they might reconstruct preK-12 education in a more authentic and culturally coherent manner for their communities. This work of reconstruction and renewal is needed to decolonise schooling in Muslim contexts and offers scope for intercultural pedagogical discourse amongst philosophers of education.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.2.1
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Tags: #Islam #Religion #Pedagogy
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An Alternative to the Privation Theory of Evil
By Alexander R. Pruss, Baylor University
The privation theory of evil was developed by St. Augustine largely as a response to the Metaphysical Problem of Evil: If all things that exist are God or come from God, how can there be evil? I begin by noting that the simple theory that all evil is a privation is subject to decisive counterexamples, and that a refined theory due to Avicenna and Aquinas requires an implausible “Goldilocks ontology”: bloated by including certain odd items like tokens of truth or authorization, but not so bloated as to include privations. Instead, I shall argue that we can drop the privation theory of evil and still answer the Metaphysical Problem of Evil in the same spirit, by denying that evils really exist, albeit without insisting that they are privations. The result puts much less pressure on one’s ontology.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.2.1
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Tags: #God #PoE #Evil
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Spinoza's Contributions to Descartes's Ontological Argument
By Christopher Martin, University of Toledo
Spinoza revises his early Cartesian arguments for God in three important respects. By defining God in terms of conceptually distinct attributes, he has an argument for God’s actual possibility. By defining God in terms of conceptual independence, he has an argument for the mind-independence of God’s nature. By including reason and power as features of God’s nature, he provides a mechanism by which God’s nature necessitates God. Each of these address important objections to Descartes’s ontological argument. Given his similarities with Descartes and familiarity with these objections, Spinoza may have had Descartes’s critics in mind, and regardless, Cartesians may benefit by examining Spinoza’s ontological arguments more closely.
Link: https://doi.org/10.37977/faithphil.2023.40.2.6
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Tags: #Descartes #Spinoza #OntologicalArgument #God
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Al-Ḫūnaǧī on essentialist and externalist propositions and inferences from the impossible
By Behnam Zolghadr, LMU Munich
Afḍal al-Dīn al-Ḫūnaǧī (d. 1248) is one of the most influential Arabic logicians who departed from and argued against Avicenna in various places in his logical works. This paper is about al-Ḫūnaǧī’s account of inferences from the impossible. In this paper, we will overview his formulation of inferences about three main occurrences of impossibility in logic and language: propositions with impossible subjects, syllogism about impossible situations, and implications from a contradictory pair. All these are based on a distinction between two ways of reading the subject term of a proposition which al-Ḫūnaǧī borrowed from Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, namely the essentialist and the externalist. Later Arabic logicians raised a crucial objection to al-Ḫūnaǧī’s account of the essentialist reading. They argued that all universal propositions are false in this reading. If that is true, many of al-Ḫūnaǧī’s proofs will be trivially valid and redundant. I will argue that the falsity of these propositions does not preclude their truth.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101197
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Tags: #Logic #AlRazi #Avicenna
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“To err is human, to forgive, divine”: religious doubt, psychological well-being and the moderating role of divine forgiveness
By Laura Upenieks, Baylor University; Christopher G. Ellison, University of Texas; Neal M. Krause, University of Michigan
A significant amount of research to date has been done to study the effects of forgiveness on mental health and well-being, but less research has been conducted on divine forgiveness. The main purpose of the current study is to examine the possible moderating role of divine forgiveness. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of 1,500 older adults, regression results suggest that greater divine forgiveness exacerbated the relationship between high religious doubt and greater depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction. We did not document similar moderation patterns between religious doubt and forgiveness of others and self-forgiveness. Understanding the impact of divine forgiveness for those experiencing uncertainty in their faith is crucial to gaining a more complete picture of religion’s “dark side, and we hope future research continues to pursue these objectives.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101197
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Tags: #Religion #God #Sociology
