Scholars have come to recognize the importance of classical Islamic philosophy both in its own right and in its preservation of and engagement with Greek philosophical ideas. At the same time, the period immediately following the so-called classical era has been considered a sort of dark age, in which Islamic thought entered a long decline. In this monumental new work, Frank Griffel seeks to overturn this conventional wisdom, arguing that what he calls the ""post-classical"" period has been unjustly maligned and neglected by previous generations of scholars.
The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam is a comprehensive study of the far-reaching changes that led to a re-shaping of the philosophical discourse in Islam during the twelfth century. Earlier Western scholars thought that Islam's engagement with the tradition of Greek philosophy ended during that century. More recent analyses suggest that Islamic thinkers instead integrated Greek thought into the genre of rationalist Muslim theology (kal=am). Griffel argues that even this new view misses a key point. In addition to the integration of Greek ideas into kal=am, Muslim theologians picked up the discourse of classical philosophy in Islam (falsafa) and began to produce books in the tradition of Plato, Aristotle, and AvicennaDLa new and oft-misunderstood genre they called "".hikma""DLin which they left aside theological concerns. They wrote in both genres, kal=am and .hikma, and the same writers argued for opposing teachings on the nature of God, the world's creation, and the afterlife depending on the genre in which they were writing. Griffel shows how careful attention to genre demonstrates both the coherence and ambiguity of this new philosophical approach.
A work of extraordinary breadth and depth, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam offers a detailed, insightful history of philosophy in Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia during the twelfth century. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of philosophy or the history of Islam.
"Introduction Part One: Post-Classical Philosophy In Its Islamic Context First Chapter: Khorasan, the Birthplace of Post-Classical Philosophy: A Country in Decline? The madrasa System The Cities of Khorasan and Its Surrounding Provinces The First Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Seljuq Rule The Second Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Khwrazmshahs and Ghurids Other Patrons: Qarakhanids, the Caliphal Court in Baghdad, and the Ayyubids in Syria Second Chapter: The Death of as a Self-Description of Philosophy Falsafa as a Quasi-Religious Movement Established by Uncritical Emulation (taqlid) Falsafa As Part of the History of the World's Religions Three Different Concepts of Philosophy in Islam Hikma as the New Technical Term For Third Chapter: Philosophy and the Power of the Religious Law The Legal Background of al-Ghazali fatwa on the Last Page of His Tahfut al-falsifa Persecution of Philosophers in the Sixth/Twelfth century 'Ayn al-Qudat's Execution 525/1131 in Hamadan Shihbab al-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi's Execution 587/1191 in Aleppo Was al-Ghazali's fatwa? Ever Applied? Part Two: Philosophers and Philosophies DS A Biographical History of Philosophy in the Sixth/Twelfth Century Islamic East The Principal Sources for Sixth/Twelfth Century History of Philosophy in the Islamic East The Early Sixth/Twelfth Century: Avicennism Undisturbed Avicennism Contested: The Early Decades of the Sixth/Twelfth Century The Outsider as Innovator: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi (d. c. 560/1165) Two Ghazalians of Transoxania: al-Mas' udi and Ibn Ghaylan al-Balkhi (d. c. 585/1190) Majd al-Din al-Jili - Teacher of Two Influential Philosophers Trained In Maragha Al-Suhrawardi (d. c. 587/1192), the Founder of the ""School of Illumination"" Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1210) - Post-Classical Philosophy Fully Developed Part Three: The Formation of ?ikma As a New Philosophical Genre First Chapter: Books and Their Teachings Al-Razi's ""Philosophical Books"" (kutub hikmiyya) What Books of hikma Do: Reporting Avicenna First Perspective: Teachings on Epistemology What Books in hikma Also Do: Doubting and Critizising Avicenna Knowledge as Relation: The Starting Point in al-Ghazali Knowledge as Relation: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi's Key Contribution Knowledge as Relation: Developments in the Second Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century Second Perspective: Teachings on Ontology and Theology A New Place for the Study of Metaphysics Within Philosophy Opposing Avicenna: God's Essence is Distinct From His Existence What Books of ?ikma Mostly Do: Endorsing and Correcting Avicennan Philosophy Second Chapter: Books and Their Genre The Eclectic Career of al-Ghazali's Doctrines of the Philosophers (Maqasid al-falasifa) Al-Ghazali as Clandestine faylasuf- Evaluating His Madnun Corpus The Madnun-Corpus and Forgery-Two Pseudo-Epigraphies Attached to al-Ghazali Between Neutral Report and Committed Investment: al-Mas 'udi's Commentary on Avicenna's Glistering Homily (al-Khutba al-gharra) Post-classical Philosophy and Tolerance For Ambiguity Third Chapter: Books and Their Method Dialectical Reasoning Replaces Demonstration: ""Careful Consideration"" (i'tibar) in Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi The Middle Way Between Avicennism and Ghazalism: How Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Describes His Philosophy Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's Method of ""Probing and Dividing"" (sabr wa-taqsim) A Case Study of the New Method: Al-Razi on God's Knowledge of Particulars The Method in Books of hikma: Implementing the Principle of Sufficient Reason The Method in Books of kalam: Limiting the Principle of Sufficient Reason Conclusions Bibliography Appendices"
Frank Griffel is Professor of Islamic Studies at the Department of Religious Studies at Yale University. He is a Carnegie Scholar and a recipient of a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of Germany's Humboldt Foundation, among others. He is author of Al-Ghaz=al=i's Philosophical Theology.
Reviews for The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam
"It is certain that future research will greatly benefit from the painstaking effort at systematization Griffel undertook, as well as from the refreshing clarity and openness of his interpretations. * Marco Signori, Studi Medievali * Without doubt, Griffel's extensive study is an inspiring and thought-provoking contribution to our understanding of the post-classical era. * Sultan Saluti, Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval * Frank Griffel's The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand post-Avicennan philosophy in Islam. Through the study and contextualization of more than a dozen twelfth-century authors and in particular al-Rāzī's philosophical summae, this elegantly written, profoundly erudite book argues that the Islamic philosophy of the twelfth century ""is no less philosophical than British empiricism or German idealism"" and proposes a bold new assessment of the prevailing understanding of the relationship between philosophy and theology in the post-Avicennan period, both challenging and refining the cutting-edge debates on Islamicate intellectual history * Judith Pfeiffer, Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Islamic Studies, University of Bonn * Islamic thought in the twelfth, thirteenth and later centuries is now a very exciting field, which is attracting many researchers. But Frank Griffel's contribution is outstanding. His magnificent new book on it is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of philosophy, because it both rewrites the standard account with its bold new thesis, and opens up the area to non-specialists * John Marenbon, Honorary Professor of Medieval Philosophy, University of Cambridge * The post-classical period of philosophy in the Islamic world is still underappreciated but is receiving increasing attention from scholars. Griffel's important contribution to this endeavor is insightful in its treatment of major figures like Abū l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī. More generally, he gives a compelling picture of the nature of ""philosophy"" in this period, showing great sensitivity to the methods and goals of the different kinds of writing that should be of interest to the historian of philosophy * Peter Adamson, Professor of Late Ancient and Arabic Philosophy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich *"
- Winner of Winner, Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Arab Culture in Other Languages category.
