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political science 302 (section A3) Islamic Political
Philosophy in the Classical Period Fall Term,
2009-10: Weds, 2-5 pm Don
Carmichael (Don.Carmichael@ualberta.ca) Office: 11‑28 Tory Phone: (780) - 492‑5390 Office Hours: Mondays,
4-5:30 and by appointment |
This course is an introduction to the major theorists
and works of Islamic political philosophy in its classical period, that is, in
the period beginning with Al-Kindi (b 182 AH/800 CE) through to Ibn Khaldun (b
732 AH/1332 CE) or the fall of the Abassid Caliphate.
The course has two objectives. The first is to offer a general
understanding of Islamic political philosophy in its classical period through a
survey of its major works and theorists.
But the second (and more important) objective is to appreciate these
works as important and still relevant reflections on some central questions of
political life. Thus students will be encouraged to develop their own
understandings of these questions through critical engagement with the works
and theorists of the course. The course perspective will be analytical and critical,
rather than historical or religious.
Pol S 210 (or equivalent) is a
pre-requisite for the course.
There are no other pre-requisites and, in particular, students are not
expected to have any familiarity with Islam. A general appreciation of Islam, (along with the Qu’ran and
the problem of the caliphate) will be provided for students who need it in the
first weeks of the course.
Each class will be
split into two halves. The first
half will be primarily lecture-based, while the second half will generally be
open to directed discussion.
1. I
should caution prospective students that I have no expertise in this area. I’m teaching the course because it
needs to be taught, and because I am interested in learning more about it (that
is, I’m teaching it as a way of learning it). We’ll be learning together and, on this account, I hope
there will be a lot of discussion.
Students who want a 100% lecture course from an expert are urged not to
take this course.
2. The
philosophers covered in this course share some basic concerns that tend to set
them apart from the theorists ordinarily covered in the 210 course. The 302 philosophers are deeply
spiritual and they are also practicing Muslims; but some of them believe that
the truths of the Qu’ran cannot be literally true (eg, the assertion of God
sitting on a throne). For these thinkers, philosophy provides an opportunity to
use our intelligence to understand the cosmos in its spiritual reality. Other
theorists (Al-Ghazali) will dispute the viability (and pride) of this attempt
while yet others (Ibn Arabi) will endorse the attempt but hold that it requires
less rationalistic (or more mystical) forms of understanding. Thus the central concern is the attempt
(and its legitimacy) to understand ourselves in the cosmos as a spiritual
reality. This is not the only thing going on: there is also enduring ethical
and political reflection, but such reflection is always understood within the
larger spiritual quest.
I
am personally a non-theist but I believe that this spiritual quest is
profoundly important and that we can learn a great deal from the Islamic
philosophers of this period. And I hope it will be clear that to “learn from”
these thinkers is not necessarily to agree with them. Thus the discussions of this course will be open to anyone
-- Islamic, non-Islamic, atheist, etc.—who wants to learn through critical
engagement with the classical Islamic philosophers. But – to state the obvious -- you should only do the
course if you have this interest and respect it.
Supplementary Readings For Political Science 302 – A3 (course pack)
These have
both been ordered through SUB Bookstore.
In addition, a number of public domain readings will be distributed to
students.
Students
will be asked to do a short book review early in the term, plus two essays on
assigned topics.
Book
Review 10% (due in class Sept 30)
Essays
(2 x 30%) 60% (due in class Oct 21 and
Dec 2)
Exam* 30% (provisionally scheduled
for Thurs, Dec 10)
There is no participation grade (ie, students will not
be penalized in this respect) but superior contributions will be recognized.
Any grades determined by the above schema may be revised upward by as much as 20%
to recognize the quality of participation.
* Students in the first
class voted (narrowly) not to have some portion of the exam grade determined by
weekly pop quizzes.
Two short essays
(7 pp) will be required. All essays
should be terse, analytical, and "positional" ‑‑ arguing a definite
thesis in relation to some aspect of the readings.
Topics (with choice)
will be assigned but students are urged to propose their own topics and to use
the essays as an opportunity to develop and explore their own views.
Essay # 1 – Al-Farabi
Students are encouraged to propose additional
topics.
1.
Al-Farabi
declares that the supreme ruler must guide the people “toward happiness”
(Attainment, s 45). Assess
Al-Farabi’s understanding of human happiness (both the nature of happiness and
the means of attaining it).
2.
Al-Farabi
does not refer frequently to the Qu’ran, nor does he routinely use terms like
“Allah” and “God”. On this account, it has been suggested that he may have been
a closet atheist. How, then, might
the relation of his philosophy to Islam be best understood: (i) as a rejection,
or (ii) as a revision, or (iii) as explicating the inner core for those capable
of understanding it?
3.
Could
Al-Farabi’s political philosophy be accepted as true by either (i) a
Christian or (ii) a contemporary agnostic or atheist?
DUE: in class, Wed, Oct 21
Essay # 2 (Due in the last class,
Dec 2):
Students are encouraged to propose additional
topics.
1. Is
human spiritual aspiration – assuming there is such a thing – best expressed
through the texts and rites and rules of organized religion?
2. Critically
assess any one aspect of Miskawayh’s account of friendship in ‘Refinement’
3. Critically
evaluate the positions of al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd on the truth of the Qu’ran.
4. “God, wishing to render intelligible to men the idea of inspiration, has given them a kind of glimpse of it in sleep”. (al-Ghazali, “The Reality of Inspiration” in Deliverance). Is al-Ghazali a political philosopher?
Classes will normally be split into two parts (2-3:20 and 3:35-5
pm). As a rule, the first half
will be a lecture, with directed discussion in the second part. In some cases, however, the two halves
will involve quite separate topics.
All required readings
(along with some of the recommended readings) will be sent to course
participants as an email package, except for those cited as:
Al-Jubouri: the
course textbook by this author.
Coursepack: the course
reader, for sale in SUB Bookstore
Sharif: refers
to A History of Muslim Philosophy Online, edited by M.M. Sharif. Available public domain at http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/hmp/
This
week and next, some readings (marked *) have been assigned as required
background for students who are not familiar with Islam. Students who have such
familiarity may not need to read this material. For all others it is absolutely
essential.
20 *Al-Jubouri,
91-114 (Mohammed)
20 *Ruthven, Islam:
A
Very Short Introduction ch 2 (20-48). Library e-book.
4 *Hooker,
Islam: Overview
10 *The
Qu’ran: Selections
11 Sharif, ch 7: Philosophical Teachings of the Qu’ran
17 Ibn Tufayl, Journey of The
Soul, sections 1-62
recommended: Al-Jubouri, 17-39 (Introduction)
Ruthven,
Islam in the World, 94-121
Sharif,
ch 27 (Tufayl)
17 *Sharif,
ch 9: ThePolitical-Economic
Teachings of The Qu`ran
14 Hooker, 11-24 (The Caliphate) or
Al-Jubouri, 115-65 (the Caliphate)
11 Al-Jubouri, 77-87 (Neo-Platonism)
13 Al-Jubouri, 199-222 (al-Kindi)
10 Ibn Tufayl, Journey of The
Soul, sections 63-98
8 Plato, Republic 507-519 (the sun,
line and cave; Books 6-7)
recommended: Al-Jubouri, 58-76 – review of Plato
and Aristotle
Al-Jubouri, 166-85
(Movements and Schools)
Al-Kindi, On Dispelling
Sorrows
Sharif,
ch 8, The Ethical Teachings of The Qu`ran
15 Al-Jubouri,
pp 219-33
30 The
Attainment of Happiness, sections ii-iv
6 Ibn
Tufayl, Journey of The Soul, sections 99-121
Sept 30 Al-Farabi
(2) [K Short Report due]
9 The
Virtuous City (al-Madina), chs 1-3 (coursepack)
9 Al-Jubouri,
233-41
14 Fakhry,
“Emanation vs Creation” (coursepack)
11 The
Political Regime, 32-42 (stop
at i. The Indispensable City)
(coursepack)
recommended:
Sharif,
chs 23 & 35
Goodman,
Avicenna, 49-61(coursepack) (for
next week)
Oct 7 Al-Farabi
(3)
27 The
Virtuous City, chs 10, 13, 15-17 +
“Al-Farabi’s Summary” (coursepack)
11 The
Political Regime, 42-57 (coursepack)
Oct 14 Ibn
Sina (1)
15 Al-Jubouri,
261-77 (first half of the chapter)
23 Goodman,
“Ibn Sina’s Synthesis” Avicenna, 61-83 (coursepack)
6 The
Metaphysics of The Healing pp 1-6
(coursepack)
recommended: Al-Jubouri,
276-99 (rest of the chapter – assigned for next wk)
Oct 21 Ibn
Sina (2) [K Essay #1 due]
24 Al-Jubouri,
277-99 (rest of the chapter)
12
The
Metaphysics of The Healing, pp 7-18
(coursepack)
8 selections
from Sharif, ch 25
20 Al-Jubouri,
The whole chapter (331-70) is recommended, but only pp 331-40 and 360-72 are
required
24 Deliverance
from Error
7 Incoherence
of The Philosophers (Tahafut):
“Problem 20, Conclusion”
recommended: Sharif,
chs 30 & 39
17 Al-Jubouri,
373-90
10 Hillier,
Ibn Rushd
13
Decisive
Treatise on The Relation between Philosophy and Religion
3 Selections
from The Incoherence of The Incoherence: “Bodily Resurrection”
Nov 11 No
Class: Remembrance Day
14 Sharif,
ch 20 (Ibn al`Arabi)
3 Rumi,
Selections from the Masnavi.
32 Miskawayh,
The Refinement of Character: 5th Discourse on Friendship: pp 123-54 (coursepack) (note, this selection is about 6 pages
into the Miskawayh section in the course pack, after “the Third Discourse”
25 Al-Farabi,
The Virtuous City, chs 15-17 + “Al-Farabi’s Summary” (coursepack)
30 Miskawayh,
2nd Discourse on
Character (will be emailed to participants)
recommended:
Sharif, ch
24 (on Miskawayh)
6 Ibn
Sina, Power of Love (reading directory)
8 Ibn
Sina, The Metaphysics of The Healing, Book 10, chs 2 & 5 (pp 11-18)
(review)
7 Miskawayh,
1st Discourse – pp 11-17 (will be emailed to participants)
12 Miskawayh,
3rd Discourse – The Good and Its Divisions (course pack)
recommended: Al-Jubouri, 405-413,
and 425-45 (on Ibn Khaldun)
The final exam for this section of Pol S 302
will have two parts. In part one, you
will be asked to answer 5 short answer questions from a choice of 8, drawn from
the 15 questions listed below. In
part two, you will be asked to write one essay with a choice of two topics
drawn from the list below.
With this kind of exam, there should be no need
to refer to the course materials during the exam but you may, if you wish, may
bring any of the course readings into the exam. That is, you may bring the readings – but no notes or
laptops. If you don’t have a paper
copy of the course readings, you may bring your them on a laptop and then set
up the laptop in a different part of the room for occasional use if
necessary.
There are 15 short answer questions listed
below. In the exam you will be
asked to answer 5 of them from a choice of 8. Answers should be brief and to the point. Some questions require more detail (and
are worth more) than others, as indicated by the numbers in parentheses
following each question.
As a rough guide to length: all questions should
be answered in a single paragraph. Eg, question 1 should be answered in a short
paragraph of 3 sentences.
Questions with a higher value should still be answered in a single
paragraph, but it might be slightly longer.
General
1.
define
or briefly distinguish: Mutazalites – Asharites - Sufism (1)
al-Farabi
2.
define:
form, matter, soul (1)
3.
define:
active intellect (2)
4.
list
the types of cities (names, and what distinguishes them) (2)
5.
why
is religion an imitation of philosophy? (1)
6.
what
is the difference between the First and the Active Intellect? (1)
Ibn Sina
7.
how
does Ibn Sina reconcile emanation and creation? (2)
8.
state
the famous argument that shows the soul as a separate substance (1)
al-Ghazali
9.
what
are the worst 3 of the 20 views he attacks? (1)
Ibn Rushd
10.
give
the 2 arguments for existence of God (1)
11.
define: exoteric, esoteric; state where
“interpretation” is and is not permitted and why (2)
Ibn ‘Arabi:
12.
what
is the significance of the word “bezels” (Fusus) in the title of his work, The
Bezels of Wisdom? (1)
13.
why
is man’s sense of God the (imperfect) mirror of God’s own knowledge? (2)
Miskawayh
14.
list
the 4 types of friendship,
(1)
15.
explain
his image of a man on a horse with a hunting dog or panther (1)
In the exam you will be given 2 of the topics
below and asked to write on one of them.
1. Compare al-Farabi, ibn Sina, al-Ghazali, and Ibn
Rushd on resurrection: consider who (if anyone) is resurrected, in what form,
and how the theorists justify any deviation from a literal reading of the
Qu’ran on this point. (If this
question is used, you’ll be asked to compare two of them, with no choice)
2. What
is the political message of Journey of The Soul? Does al-Farabi’s political theory
exemplify this message?
3. Compare
and assess the views of al-Ghazali, and Ibn Rushd on the proper relation
between philosophy and religion.
4. Compare
emanation and creationism with respect to their theoretical advantages and
disadvantages. Your answer should include reference to the eternity (or
otherwise) of the world.
5. Should
our 210 course have a section (say, 1-2 weeks) on classical Islamic
philosophy? Feel free to answer
either yes or no as outlined below.
Remember that the 210 course at this university does not try to be a
historical survey: theorists/works are included on the course only if students
can learn from them in a major way.
So that’s what is at issue in this question. Thus,
(a)
If
your answer is “yes” – outline the theorists and ideas which you would include
and explain why they should be on the course: what students might learn from
them;
(b)
If
your answer is “no” – outline the three best candidates for inclusion in the
210 course, again indicating what students might learn from them, and then
explain why they should not be included.