''The Incoherence of the Incoherence'' ( ar, تهافت التهافت ''Tahāfut al-Tahāfut'') by Andalusian

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

polymath and philosopher Averroes (Arabic , ''ibn Rushd'', 1126–1198) is an important Islamic philosophical treatise in which the author defends the use of Aristotelian philosophy within

Islamic thought Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as log ...

. It was written in the style of a dialogue against

al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...

's claims in '' The Incoherence of the Philosophers'' (''Tahāfut al-Falasifa''), which criticized Neoplatonic thought. Originally written in Arabic, ''The Incoherence of the Incoherence'' was subsequently translated into many other languages. The book is considered Averroes' landmark; in it, he tries to create harmony between

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

and philosophy.

Background

In ''The Incoherence of the Philosophers'', the

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

-sympathetic imam

("Algazel") of the

Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in th ...

school of Islamic theology argued against

Avicennism Avicennism is a school of Persian philosophy which was established by Avicenna. He developed his philosophy throughout the course of his life after being deeply moved and concerned by the ''Metaphysics'' of Aristotle and studying it for over a ye ...

, denouncing philosophers such as Avicenna (''ibn Sina'') and

al-Farabi Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a renowned early Isl ...

(''Alpharabius''). The text was dramatically successful, and marked a milestone in the ascendance of the Ash'ari within philosophy and theological discourse. It was preceded by a summary of

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ...

titled ''Maqasid al-Falasifah'' ("Aims of the Philosophers"). Al-Ghazali stated that one must be well versed in the ideas of the philosophers before setting out to refute their ideas. Al-Ghazali also stated that he did not have any problem with other branches of philosophy such as

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. His only axe to grind was with

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

, in which he claimed that the philosophers did not use the same tools, namely logic, which they used for other sciences.

Averroes' response defends the doctrines of the "philosophers" and criticizes al-Ghazali's own arguments. It is written as a sort of dialogue: Averroes quotes passages by al-Ghazali and then responds to them.

Summary

Averroes attempted to create harmony between faith and philosophy, between Aristotelian ideas and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

. He claimed that

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

is also right and the words of

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

are also the eternal truth.

Critical reception

In Europe, ibn Rushd's philosophical writings were generally well received by Christian and Jewish scholars and gave rise to the philosophical school of Averroism.

References

External links

full text available
— muslimphilosophy.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Incoherence Of The Incoherence Islamic philosophical texts Works by Averroes

Background

Contents

Summary

Critical reception

References

External links