The Philosophy of the Kalam

Front Cover
Harvard University Press, 1976 - Philosophy - 779 pages

Harry Wolfson was renowned throughout the world for the depth, scope, and wisdom of his monumental volumes on the structure and growth of philosophic systems from Plato to Spinoza. It was not only his extraordinary erudition that commanded respect, his awesome mastery of all the primary sources, Greek, Christian, Judaic, and Muslim; it was also his penetrating insight and his original and groundbreaking interpretations.

In this long-awaited volume, on which he worked for twenty years, Wolfson describes the body of doctrine known as the Kalam. Kalam, an Arabic term meaning "speech" and hence "discussion," was applied to early attempts in Islam to adduce philosophic proofs for religious beliefs. It later came to designate a system of religious philosophy which reached its highest point in the eleventh century; the masters of Kalam, known as Mutakallimum, were in many respects the Muslim equivalent of the Christian Church Fathers. Wolfson studies the Kalam systematically, unfolding its philosophic origins and implications and observing its repercussions in other religions. He scrutinizes the texts of Muslim writers for their treatment of such crucial problems as the attributes of God, the Creation, causality, predestination and free will. In the process he shows how the teachings of the Koran were constantly interwoven with ideas from Greek and Oriental philosophies, Judaism, and Christianity as Islamic thought developed.

As lucidly written and intellectually stimulating as all the author's earlier books, this volume is a fitting capstone to a notable career.

 

Contents

CHAPTER I
1
differed in their views with regard to the inlibration of
3
1 View of The Early Muslims 8
8
WHAT IS NEW IN THE KALAM
19
THE KALAM ACCORDING TO MAIMONIDES
43
ORIGIN STRUCTURE DIVERSITY
70
that of the Kalam 57
79
Halevis statement on Karaite followers of the Kalam 86
86
second question 377 Reconstruction of the original form
382
Asharī as quoted by Shah
388
Bāķillānī 393 Ibn Suwar
400
How the various presentations of this argu
408
ARGUMENT FROM PARTICULARIZATION
434
As presented by Juwayni in his Irshād 434 As presented
443
How the argument from preponderation is presented by
451
CHAPTER VI
466

Discussion of that statement 87 References by other
108
64
115
88
128
DENIAL OF THE REALITY OF ATTRIBUTES
132
CREATED ATTRIBUTES
143
68
147
70
180
tion of Modes
183
OPPOSITION TO ABŪ HASHIM
197
THE SEMANTIC ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM
205
CHAPTER III
235
The two questions 244 a The question concerning
245
The Hanbalite Asharī
254
THE CREATED KORAN
263
THE FORMAL CREEDS ON INLIBRATION
279
CHAPTER IV
304
TRINITY AND INCARNATION IN THE KALAM
310
Kindis three arguments against the Trinity the first
318
AN UNKNOWN SPLINTER GROUP OF NESTORIANS
337
MUSLIM ATTRIBUTES IN MEDIEVAL CHRISTIANITY
349
CHAPTER V
355
THE KALAM CONTROVERSY OVER THE NON
359
Suggestion that underlying this controversy is the problem
372
AN UNKNOWN PSEUDODEMOCRITEAN FRAGMENT
472
Problem of the origin of the unextendedness of atoms
483
Existence position or turning shape order or intercontact
490
CHAPTER VII
518
ITY AND OF THE THEORY OF CUSTOM
551
AFFIRMATION OF CAUSALITY
559
IMPOSSIBILITIES
578
REPERCUSSIONS IN CHRISTIANITY
589
279
594
CHAPTER VIII
601
THE LIBERTARIANS
613
ites to man 620 Differences among the Libertarians with
622
referred to as motivating man to good and evil 624
628
GENERATED EFFECTS almutawalladāt
644
FREE WILL AND THE APPOINTED TERM ajal
657
THE THEORY
663
the relation of Gods power to mans freedom 664 Shaḥ
672
Nashi 676 Jub
679
How Asharis views on acquisition are in agreement with
694
His first discussion
705
CONCLUSION
739
291
768
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

About the author (1976)

Harry Austryn Wolfson was Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy, Emeritus, Harvard University.

Bibliographic information