Month: October 2021

The Problem of Evil

Spring 2022 Course: This is an introduction to the problem of evil that examines writings from ancient to present. ‘The problem of evil’ as the challenge of reconciling the existence of an absolutely perfect being (Omnipotent, Omniscient, and omnibenevolent God) with the existence of evil, suffering and sin has been one of the greatest problems of intellectual. The epistemic question posed by evil is whether the world contains undesirable states of affairs that provide the basis for an argument that makes it unreasonable to believe in the existence of God.

Islam

Spring 2022 Course: Islam is simultaneously one of the most frequently discussed and least understood of the world’s major religious traditions. It serves as an introduction to this religious tradition, including the foundational scripture (the Qur’an), the life of the Prophet (Muhammad), and major dimensions of Islamic thought and practice ranging from ethics/law and theology to mysticism and philosophy, as well as contemporary American Muslims. It is designed for any student (of any faith background, or none) who wants to learn about Islam, its essential teachings and its major sources.

The Era of Cooperation and Assistance

The book is a documentary of the agreeable years of constructive cooperation between Khomeini and Montazeri before and after the 1979 revolution. The Assembly of Experts recognized Montazeri as the next leader of the IRI. This hurried action proved to be detrimental to Montazeri, and did not bear any advantage for him at all. These resolutions were the brainchild of Ali Khamenei which were directed and realized with the assistance of Hashemi Rafsanjani. Compared to Khomeini, Montazeri had a relatively liberal mindset regarding domestic politics, public rights, and civil liberties.

Rational Perception in Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra

The article zeroes in on the controversial concept of rational perception in Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra’s receptive oeuvres, defining it as the complex abstraction, combination and production of universals. The role of sense perception, along with its relationship to intuition, features prominently here. The author emphasizes the break with Ibn Sina in his discussion of Mulla Sadra’s view of a certain mutability of the human soul and the three different worlds in which it exists. Emanation is posited as an existentialist relationship mired in activity rather than passivity.

Āqā ʿAlī Mudarris Ṭihrānī

Āqā ʿAlī Mudarris Ṭihrānī (1818-1889) was one of the most distinguished commentators of Mulla Sadra in Qajar period and made a valuable attempt to complete Mulla Sadra’s philosophical project. Although his philosophical writings never became as popular as Sabzawari’s, his scrutiny of philosophical matters is remarkable. As is evident from his writings, Ṭihrānī was familiar with a great deal of what was the current writings on hikma. Although he was an adherent of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy and logic, he used a large number of contemporary philosophical sources in his writings.

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Email: kadivar.mohsen59 (at) gmail.com

About

Mohsen Kadivar is a mujtahid, Islamic theologian, philosopher, writer, leading intellectual reformist, and research professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University.