1. What is the place of reason in the search for truth for al-Ghazali?
al-Ghazali's aim is to step beyond the traditions of following what he was brought up into. He demonstrates, "I was freed from the bonds of conformity and my inherited beliefs were shattered while I was just a boy," (60). From a universal perspective, there were numerous paths he could have taken, each proclaiming its validity and uniqueness; the only way he could distinguish between these philosophies and lifestyles was through reason in lieu of faith. He says to himself "'Since I seek to know things as they really are, I must first seek out the reality of knowledge itself,'" which epistemologically explains why he describes his journey and examination of the four factions of truth seekers, etc. Relative to the importance of faith and trust in Allah as written in the Qu'ran, "The Rescuer from Error," relies on logos, a demonstration of cognizance to affirm a philosophy. Al-Ghazali values time over theory, which is why empirical evidence is so crucial to his determination of the true path. Although Sufism surrounds the values of inner realization, al-Ghazali finds a connection with mysticism which focuses on the application of philosophies--something that follows al-Ghazali's ideals of "Verification by means of demonstration is knowledge" (82).
al-Ghazali's aim is to step beyond the traditions of following what he was brought up into. He demonstrates, "I was freed from the bonds of conformity and my inherited beliefs were shattered while I was just a boy," (60). From a universal perspective, there were numerous paths he could have taken, each proclaiming its validity and uniqueness; the only way he could distinguish between these philosophies and lifestyles was through reason in lieu of faith. He says to himself "'Since I seek to know things as they really are, I must first seek out the reality of knowledge itself,'" which epistemologically explains why he describes his journey and examination of the four factions of truth seekers, etc. Relative to the importance of faith and trust in Allah as written in the Qu'ran, "The Rescuer from Error," relies on logos, a demonstration of cognizance to affirm a philosophy. Al-Ghazali values time over theory, which is why empirical evidence is so crucial to his determination of the true path. Although Sufism surrounds the values of inner realization, al-Ghazali finds a connection with mysticism which focuses on the application of philosophies--something that follows al-Ghazali's ideals of "Verification by means of demonstration is knowledge" (82).
I also noted how al-Ghazali sets up the relation between sense perception and reason to expand this point. He states that our senses can often deceive us - a celestial body will appear like a small point because of its distance, and we thus use reason to correct the errors of our sense perception (62). Reason develops from first principles, with statements like "ten is greater than three", which we take as absolute truths, while sense perception can be shown to be unreliable (62). However, he then states that "behind rational apprehension there is another judge who, if he were to manifest himself, would disprove the judgment of reason, just as the judge of reason manifested himself to disprove the judgments of sense perception" (62). That is, just as reason can disprove sense perception, there must be a judge that can disprove reason as well, and he uses the notion of ignorance to show how we may not be aware of it. For instance, the simile of being convinced of realness while dreaming, only to wake up and realize that one has been under the illusion of reality illustrates the challenge with taking reason as an absolute (63). He questions, "why are you so sure that everything that you believe in your waking state on the basis of the senses or reason is true in relation to your current state?" (63). He seems to have been able to reconcile this uncertainty of reason only by offering that the light of god can offer the first principles from which we build proofs and employ reason. In this sense, as you described, logos ties in very closely with spiritual belief.
ReplyDeleteThe individualization of Islamic philosophy stems from the the passing of the faith from the religious structure to the individual. This refocusing leads to an amplification of the faith, one that centers on the active individual. Ghazals attests to this “involvement”, proclaiming “... to plumb the depths of this ocean and to plunge into it boldly, now with diffident cowardice. I have attempted to penetrate every obscurity, grapple with every problem, tackle every predicament, examine the beliefs of every faction, and investigate the hidden creed of each sect”. The active role of the follower in shaping the faith estranges it from philosophically based Abrahamic religions and promotes a more interior faith.
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