PHIL 084 PZ -Islamic Philosophy

Institution: Pitzer

Description: This course is a survey of the history of philosophy in the Islamic world. As a historical evolution of Greek Philosophy, Islamic philosophy synthesizes both the Aristotelian and the Post-Plotinian traditions in an independent way. From the ninth century to the present day, a set of philosophical topics has been systematically discussed and developed by philosophers in the Islamic world. We will discuss topics including the divine attribute and essence, the origin and the nature of the universe, the relation between philosophy and religion, the existence and faculties of the soul, the idea of the philosopher king, Skepticism, what is Islam, the concept of humanity in Islam, mysticism, the problem of good and evil, the end of postcolonialism, women and the Quran. Through selective readings of philosophical texts, we will introduce the main figures, including al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Averreos, al-Razi, Ibn Tufayl, Arkoun, Shari’ati, Nasr Abu Zayd, Amina Wadud, and ‘Abd al-Raziq, Hamid Dabashi.

Prerequisite(s): Please check course schedule for requirements.

For up-to-date information on current course offerings and details, please refer to the Pitzer class schedule on MyCampus2 Portal.