Averroes, Kant and the Origins of the Enlightenment: Reason and Revelation in Arab Thought

by Saud M. S. Al Tamamy

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786724427
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/17/2014
Series:	Library of Middle East History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	528 KB

About the Author

Saud M. S. Al-Tamamy is Assistant Professor of Political Science at King Saud University (KSU), where he is also the Director of the International Scientific Twinning Program (ISTP). He holds a PhD in Political Theory from the University of Exeter, UK.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Averroes' Relationship to the Debate on Enlightenment in Modern Arab Thought and an
Evaluation of Methodological Approaches in the History of Political Thought

Chapter 2: Averroes' Account of the Relationship between Revelation and Reason and its Political Implications

Chapter 3: The Definition of Enlightenment, and Kant's Account of the Relationship between Revelation and Reason and its Political Implications

Chapter 4: General Comparison: Outlining the Philosophical Projects of Averroes and Kant

Chapter 5: A Comparison between the Philosophical Projects of Averroes and Kant Concerning the Question of the Relationship between Revelation and Reason, and its Political Implications

Chapter 6: Conclusion