When
study philosophy (probably in college, not before), we usually focus on "western"
philosophers, believing they were the ones who gave us Modern Philosophy. However,
most of the things we know nowadays about philosophy, were preserved and
improved by "eastern" philosophers (like Averroes), when Western Europe
was uninterested on it. In this case, the author, Robert Pasnau, gave us the
example of Morocco, one of many Islamic countries, where almost everyone, from pharmacists
to cab drivers, have a basic grasp of what philosophy is . On the other hand,
in the United States, even well-educated persons just have vague ideas of what
philosophy actually consists.
I
consider this last example, as the best description of what philosophy is on
these days. On one side, we have Islamic countries, where people actually live philosophically
(they know about philosophy, and sometimes is part of their religion), because
it has been there since the beginning of time. In the other side, we have the
"occidental world" (Western Europe and North and South America),
where for centuries we paid to attention to preserve ancient philosophy, and
for that reason, we are currently suffering the consequences.
There
is where I wanted to get, to review one of the greatest Islamic philosopher,
Averroes (or Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rushd). He was
born in 1126 at the far western edge of the Islamic world, in Cordoba Spain.
He
was a brilliant person; however, he had little influence in the Islamic world.
Moreover, he wanted (in his own way) to mix philosophy with religion, and, in
particular, he promoted logic as the key to a true understanding of religion. The
three Averroes's heterodox views are:
ü He contends that both philosophy and
the text of the Qur'an point toward the conclusion that the world has always
existed in some form or another (the world has eternally existed, just as God
himself has)
ü He contends that although our souls
survive death, our bodies do not, and will not be resurrected.
ü He denies that we each posses our
own intellect (Intellect is something separate from our souls, some singular,
immaterial thing that we are able to access when we think, and that we all
share)
Each
of these views was disputed, and widely regarded as heretical. Furthermore, he
disagrees with Al-Ghazali (a muslin theologian, philosopher, and jurist of
Persian descent), he insists that there can be no conflict between philosophy
and faith: "Truth does not contradict truth."
Averroes
make an interesting and subtle concession-he accepts that not everyone is
suited to pursue religious questions in the way that philosophy demands.
Following Al-Ghazali, he distinguishes between "the people of
demonstration" and "the people of rhetoric"-that is, between the
few who are able to pursue philosophical reasoning, and the vast majority, who
can only follow simple and superficial teachings.
Finally, one of the most important philosophers of all times, Thomas Aquinas, was against Averroes's ideas. He argued that the world has not always existed, but was brought into existence anew God, that the very bodies we posses now will be resurrected in the life to come, and that we reach posses our own intellect, making us distinct individuals with our own individual destiny.
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