Recognized as one of the leading philosophers and Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century, Emil Ludwig Fackenheim has been widely praised for his boldness, originality, and profundity. As is well-known, a striking feature of Fackenheim's thought is his unwavering contention that the Holocaust brought about a radical shift in human history, so monumental and unprecedented that nothing can ever be the same again. Fackenheim regarded it as the specific duty of thinkers and scholars to assume responsibility to probe this historical event for its impact on the human future and to make its immense ramifications evident. In Emil Fackenheim's Post-Holocaust Thought and Its Philosophical Sources, scholars consider important figures in the history of philosophy - including Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, and Strauss - and trace how Fackenheim's philosophical confrontations with each of them shaped his overall thought. This collection details which philosophers exercised the greatest influence on Fackenheim, and how he diverged from them. Incorporating widely varying approaches, the contributors in the volume wrestle with this challenge historically, politically, and philosophically in order to illuminate the depths of Fackenheim's own thought.

The exceptional intellectual richness of seventeenth-century Safavid Iran is epitomised by the philosophical school of Isfahan, and in particular by its ostensible founder, Mir Damad (d. 1631), and his great student Mulla Sadra (aka Sadr al-Din Shirazi, d. 1636). Equally important to the school is the apophatic wisdom of Rajab 'Ali Tabrizi that followed later (d. 1669/70). However, despite these philosophers' renown, the identification of the 'philosophical school of Isfahan' was only proposed in 1956, by the celebrated French Iranologist Henry Corbin, who noted the unifying Islamic Neoplatonist character of some 20 thinkers and spiritual figures; this grouping has subsequently remained unchallenged for some fifty years. In this highly original work, Janis Esots investigates the legitimacy of the term 'school', delving into the complex philosophies of these three major Shi'i figures and drawing comparisons between them. The author makes the case that Mulla Sadra's thought is independent and actually incompatible with the thoughts of Mir Damad and Rajab Ali Tabrizi. This not only presents a new way of thinking about how we understand the 'school of Isfahan', it also identifies Mir Damad and Rajab Ali Tabrizi as pioneers in their own right.

The Horizons of Being explores the teachings of Ibn al-'Arabi by examining Dawud al-Qaysari's (d. 751/1350) Prolegomena to his commentary on the Fusus al-hikam, popularly known as the Muqaddimat al-Qaysari. A masterpiece of Sufism, the Muqaddima is both a distillation of the Fusus and a summary of Ibn al-'Arabi's entire metaphysical worldview. As such, it is a foundational text that delves into the most important subjects characterizing the philosophical Sufi tradition: Being, God's attributes, divine knowledge, the universal worlds, unveiling, creation and the microcosm, the perfect human, the origin and return of the spirit, prophethood and sainthood. The present work is a complete translation of the Muqaddima and a commentary that incorporates the ideas of the main exponents of this tradition.

This volume presents the first complete edition of Oxford, MS Marsh 539, a hitherto unpublished philosophy reader compiled anonymously in the eastern Islamic world in the eleventh century. The compilation consists of texts on metaphysics, physiology and ethics, providing excerpts from Arabic versions of Greek philosophical works (Aristotle, Plotinus, Galen) and works by Arabic authors (Qusta ibn Luqa, Farabi, Miskawayh). It preserves fragments of Greek-Arabic translations lost today, including Galen's On My Own Opinions, the Summa Alexandrinorum, and Themistius on Aristotle's Book Lambda. The philosophy reader provides a unique insight into philosophical activity of the place and time of the well-known philosopher Miskawayh, showing us which works had entered the mainstream and were considered necessary for philosophers to know. Elvira Wakelnig's volume includes a new facing-page English translation and a rich commentary which identifies the source texts and examines the historical and philosophical context of each passage.

Kierkegaard's God and the Good Life focuses on faith and love, two central topics in Kierkegaard's writings, to grapple with complex questions at the intersection of religion and ethics. Here, leading scholars reflect on Kierkegaard's understanding of God, the religious life, and what it means to exist ethically. The contributors then shift to psychology, hope, knowledge, and the emotions as they offer critical and constructive readings for contemporary philosophical debates in the philosophy of religion, moral philosophy, and epistemology. Together, they show how Kierkegaard continues to be an important resource for understandings of religious existence, public discourse, social life, and how to live virtuously.

Assuming no prior knowledge, The Qur'an: A Philosophical Guide is an introduction to the Qur'an from a philosophical point of view. Oliver Leaman's guide begins by familiarizing the readers with the core theories and controversies surrounding the text. Covering key theoretical approaches and focusing on its style and language, Leaman introduces the Qur'an as an aesthetic object and as an organization. The book discusses the influence of the Qur'an on culture and covers its numerous interpreters from the modernizers and popularizers to the radicals. He presents a close reading of the Qur'an, carefully and clearly presenting a variety of philosophical interpretation verse-by-verse. Explaining what the philosopher is arguing, relating the argument to a particular verse, and providing the reader with the means to be part of the discussion, this section includes: - Translated extracts from the text - A range of national backgrounds and different cultural and historic contexts spanning the classical and modern period, the Middle East, Europe and North America - Philosophical interpretations ranging from the most Islamophobe to the extreme apologist - A variety of schools of thought and philosophers such as Peripatetic, Illuminationist, and Sufi. Written with clarity and authority and showing the distinct ways a variety of thinkers have sought to understand the text, The Qur'an: A Philosophical Guide introduces readers to the value of interpreting the Qur'an philosophically.

This is a textual and contextual study of an early Arabic mirror for princes. 'Mirrors for princes' offer advice to rulers on the ethical and practical aspects of statecraft. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach to an early Arabic mirror, the 'Counsel for Kings' of Pseudo Mawardi, this study evokes the mentality of the distinctive environment - the border region of eastern Iran - in which, it is argued, the text originated. Exploring the 'Counsel for Kings' as the product of a specific cultural milieu at a particular historical moment, as a substantial and influential work of Arabic literature, and as a critical commentary on the political and social conditions of the author's time, this book restores this multi faceted mirror for princes to history. The first volume in this two part study covers the literary, cultural, political and historical contexts and their confluence in Pseudo Mawardi's Nasihat al muluk. The second volume gives direct access to a substantial portion of the text through translation and commentary.

The twelfth-century philosopher Averroes is often identified by modern Arab thinkers as an early advocate of the Enlightenment. Saud M. S. Al-Tamamy demonstrates that an historical as well as comparative approach to Averroes' thought refutes this widely held assumption. The philosophical doctrine of Averroes is compared with that of the key figure of the Enlightenment in Western thought, Immanuel Kant. By comparing Averroes and Kant, Al-Tamamy evaluates the ideologies of each thinker's work and in particular focuses on their respective political implications on two social groups: the Elite, in Averroes' case, and the Public, in the case of Kant. The book's methodology is at once historical, analytical and communicative, and is especially relevant when so many thinkers - both Western and Middle Eastern - are anxious to find common denominators between the formations of Islamic and Western cultures. It responds to a need for comparative analysis in the field of Averroes studies, and takes on the challenge to uncover the philosopher's influence on the Enlightenment.

A unique introductory guide to the rich, complex and diverse tradition of Islamic philosophy.

"Islamic Philosophy A-Z" comprises over a hundred concise entries, alphabetically ordered and cross-referenced for easy access. All the essential aspects of Islamic philosophy are covered here: key figures, schools, concepts, topics, and issues. Articles on the Peripatetics, Isma'ilis, Illuminationists, Sufis, kalam theologians and later modern thinkers are supplemented by entries on classical Greek influences as well as Jewish philosophers who lived and worked in the Islamic world. Topical entries cover various issues and key positions in all the major areas of philosophy, making clear why the central problems of Islamic philosophy have been, and remain, matters of rational disputation.

This book will prove an indispensable resource to anyone who wishes to gain a better understanding of this fascinating intellectual tradition.

Without the notes, Erasmus said, the texts of the Scripture were 'naked and defenceless,' open to criticism by uncomprehending readers and corruption by careless printers. The Annotations represent not only Erasmus' defence of the New Testament against such abuss, but also a reflection of his own philosophy, objectives, and working methods. In establishing the text and defending it against his opponents, Erasmus drew on manuscript sources, classical literature, patristic writings, scholastic exegesis, and the work of his immediate forerunners, Valla and Lefevre. He did not hesitate to point out the errors of illustrious writers like Jerome and established medieval authorities like Peter Lombard. In general he was appreciative of the early church Fathers and contemptuous of medieval commentators. As well as discussing the contents and aims of the Annotations, Erika Rummel investigates Erasmus' development from philologist to theologian and traces the prepublication history of the New Testament. She examines the critical reaction of conservative theologians to Erasmus' work and his replies, incorporated in later editions of the Annotations. The book ends by suggesting a wider field of research: the relationship between the Annotations and the corpus of Erasmian apologetic works.

"In one fashion or another, the question with which this introduction begins is a question for every serious reader of Plato's Republic Of what use is this philosophy to me? Averroes clearly finds that the Republic speaks to his own time and to his own situation. . . . Perhaps the greatest use he makes of the Republic is to understand better the shari'a itself. . . . It is fair to say that in deciding to paraphrase the Republic, Averroes is asserting that his world the world defined and governed by the Koran can profit from Plato's instruction." from Ralph Lerner s Introduction

An indispensable primary source in medieval political philosophy is presented here in a fully annotated translation of the celebrated discussion of the Republic by the twelfth-century Andalusian Muslim philosopher, Abu'l-Walid Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd, also know by his his Latinized name, Averroes. This work played a major role in both the transmission and the adaptation of the Platonic tradition in the West. In a closely argued critical introduction, Ralph Lerner addresses several of the most important problems raised by the work."

The renaissance of Shi'i Islam began in the 9th/15th century when the Ismailis experienced the Anjudan revival and Twelver Shi'i traditions were also renewed. This renaissance gained further strength when the Safavids succeeded in establishing a state in the early decades of the 10th/16th century, making Ithna'ashari Shi'i Islam their official religion. The chapters in this open access book represent the most recent scholarship on the intellectual and spiritual life of the age and discuss what prepared the ground for its appearance as well as its achievements. Although the political and artistic developments of the Safavid era of the 10th-12th/16th-18th centuries have been extensively studied, the complexities of the different groups, movements and strands of thought in the renaissance of Shi'i Islam still remain largely unexplored. The major themes that characterised the Shi'i renaissance are explored, including: popular reactions to messianic movements; the development of legal theories and concepts; the investigation of theological and philosophical problems, above all by the 'School of Isfahan'; Shi'i-Sufi interactions and intra-Shi'i relations; the collection of Shi'i hadith and its application in Shi'i exegesis; and the interplay between political considerations and religious beliefs. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Late antique Corinth was on the frontline of the radical political, economic and religious transformations that swept across the Mediterranean world from the second to sixth centuries CE. A strategic merchant city, it became a hugely important metropolis in Roman Greece and, later, a key focal point for early Christianity. In late antiquity, Corinthians recognised new Christian authorities; adopted novel rites of civic celebration and decoration; and destroyed, rebuilt and added to the city's ancient landscape and monuments. Drawing on evidence from ancient literary sources, extensive archaeological excavations and historical records, Amelia Brown here surveys this period of urban transformation, from the old Agora and temples to new churches and fortifications. Influenced by the methodological advances of urban studies, Brown demonstrates the many ways Corinthians responded to internal and external pressures by building, demolishing and repurposing urban public space, thus transforming Corinthian society, civic identity and urban infrastructure. In a departure from isolated textual and archaeological studies, she connects this process to broader changes in metropolitan life, contributing to the present understanding of urban experience in the late antique Mediterranean.