[lit-ideas] Re: The 'Near-Eastern' influences on the Greek philosophy, sc...

  • From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 21:41:22 -0700 (PDT)

--- Robert Paul <Robert.Paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>> Mr. Paul, in Lake Oswego, replies:
> 
> Although this is certainly sloppy writing, I'm not
> certain Which part of it
> astonishes Mike. That Avicenna was a pantheist was
> no secret, although
> apparently his major writing on the subject wasn't
> available to 'the West' until
> his other writings had been introduced and
> discussed. 

The Catholic Encyclooedia mentions "a fairly outspoken
system of pantheism which Avicenna is said to have
elaborated in a work, now lost, entitled "Philosophia
Orientalis."
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02157a.htm

However, it is probably better to be skeptical about
the claims of the Catholic Church in the matter,
especially when they are based on a non-extant text.
Avicenna appears to have thought that the only real
(necessary) Being is God, but this does not
necessarily lead to pantheism. Ghazali's critique of
Avicenna from a purportedly orthodox Islamic point of
view does not involve charges of Pantheism. The
foremost objections are to the philosophers' belief in
the eternity of the world, to their belief that God is
ignorant of the particulars, and to their (alleged)
view of God as: "a simple unqualified Being:. 

The charges of Pantheism were later imputed to some of
the Sufis, such as Ibn Arabi, but I cannot say with
how much justice.

O.K.





        
                
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