Averroës and the Enlightenment

Averroës and the Enlightenment

Averroës, 1126-1198 -- Influence -- Congresses
Enlightenment -- Congresses
Islam and humanism -- Congresses
Philosophy -- Developing countries -- Congresses
Developing countries -- Civilization -- Congresses

One of the most influential thinkers of the Middle Ages was the Muslim philosopher and jurist Ibn Rushd (1126-1198), known in the West as Averroes. Averroes's emphasis on critical reasoning as a tool for discovering the truth and his attempt to harmonize philosophy and religion, reason and faith, led to a rethinking of the tenets of Christianity. His work spurred on some of the great rational syntheses of Christian thought, such as Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica. In this fascinating volume, twenty-nine scholars from both East and West assess the historical significance of Averroes and his possible role as a bridge between the divergent cultures of the modern secular West and contemporary Islam. Averroes, with his appeal to reason and his respect for philosophy, may be viewed as a medieval precursor of the European Enlightenment and as a rallying point for dialogue between East and West.

Averroes and the Enlightenment brings together papers from two conferences, the first held in Cairo, Egypt, and the second at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York.

Edited by Mourad Wahba & Mona Abousenna ; foreword by Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Foreword / Boutros Boutros-Ghali -- pt. 1: The First Special International Philosophy Conference on Ibn Rushd (Averroës)* and the Enlightenment. Opening addresses / Amir Moussa, Essmat Abdel-Maguid, Farouk Hosni, Ioanna Kuçuradi, Mourad Wahba ; Intellectual freedom, rationality, and enlightenment: the contributions of Averroës / Paul Kurtz ; Medieval scholasticism and Averroism: the implication of the writings of Ibn Rushd to western science / Vern L. Bullough ; Averroës and the West / Oliver Leaman ; Averroës and inquiry: the need for an enlightened community / Timothy J. Madigan ; Understanding religion: the contribution of Ibn Rushd / Iman Sodibjo ; Ibn Rushd in the Islamic context / Mokdad Arfa Mensia ; The Averroistic ethos beyond the enlightenment / Joe Teffo ; The politics of logic / Mourad Wahba ; Ibn Rushd, founder of hermeneutics / Mona Abousenna ; Ibn Rushd's use of allegory / Alfred Ivry ; Reason and action in Africa / Odera Oruka ; Ibn Rushd, European Enlightenment, Africa, and African philosophy / Ernest K. Beyaraza ; Between Ernest Renan and Ernst Bloch: Averroës remembered, discovered, and invented, the European reception since the nineteenth century / Stefan Wild ; Secularization in Turkey / Ioanna Kuçuradi ; Enlightenment in the Islamic world: Muslims -- victims of mneumonic success / Ghazala Irfan ; Fundamentalism in India / Ramjee Singh ; The Islamic perspective on enlightenment: principles and implementation / S.M.A. Shahrestani ; The Third World and enlightenment / Mahmoud Osman ; Islam and enlightenment (abstract) / Yehia Howeidy ; Religious truth and philosophical truth according to Ibn Rushd (abstract) / A. El Ghannouchi -- pt. 2: Five dialogues on Averroës and his influence: remembering George Hourani. Free inquiry and Islamic philosophy: the significance of George Hourani / Paul Kurtz ; The philosopher and the understanding of the law / Jorge J.E. Gracia ; Averroës on the harmony of philosophy and religion / Thérèse-Anne Druart ; The "future life" and Averroës's Long commentary on the De Anima of Aristotle / Richard C. Taylor ; Some remarks on Averroës's statements on the soul / M.E. Marmura.

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