Ibn Rushd on religious faith

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Ibn Rushd on religious faith reason

• Ibn Rushd (Averroes) life times
• 1126-1198, known in the West as Averroes
• Spanish Moslem, born in Cordova, Spain, lived
  his life there.
• At the time, Cordova was one of the most civlized
  cities in Europe.
• Was an Aristotelian through and through.

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Ibn Rushd on religious faith reason

• Defended Aristotle agains Moslem theologians,
  esp. Algazel (d.c. 1111) who wrote a treatise
  against Aristotle entitled, The Incoherence of
  the Philosophers.
• Averroes responded with a treatise entitled, The
  Incoherence of the Incoherence.
• Averroes together with Avicenna (980-1037, Arabic
  Ibn Sina) had an immense influence on Western
  philosophers theologians. .

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Ibn Rushd on religious faith reason

• Beginning in the early 1100s, the writings of the
  Greeks Arabs began to be translated available
  to the West. Immensely important. Opened up a
  whole new world to the West.
• By the 13th century, the writings of Averroes
  became available to Western philosophers. His
  influence was so great that Aquinas often refers
  to him simply as The Commentator.

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Ibn Rushd on religious faith reason

• Selection from On the Harmony of Religions and
  Philosophy, in Peterson et al, pp. 71 ff.
• Begins with a prayer
• Issue discussed in the essay Is the study of
  philosophy allowed by the Law (Quran)?
• Averroes Not only is it permitted, one is
  obligated to study philosophy.
• Averroes use of philosophy here.
• Why? Because such study is the the door . . .
  which leads to the truest knowledge of Him (74).

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Ibn Rushd on religious faith reason

• One ought to come to such studies with religious
  integrity and moral virtue (74).
• One ought to use the most perfect type of
  reasoning in studying philosophy.
• Demonstrative reasoning. Meaning for Averroes?
• Truths arrived at by philosophy and those found
  in scripture cannot clash.
• What if the apparent meaning of scripture clashes
  with philosophy?

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Ibn Rushd on religious faith reason

• This is a clue which indicates that we ought to
  interpret the scripture allegorically
  (metaphorically).
• Thus not all of the passages of scripture can be
  taken in their apparent meaning.
• Why has scripture been revealed with both an
  apparent meaning and an inner meaning?
• Averroes Because of the diversity of peoples
  ability to understand.

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Ibn Rushd on religious faith reason

• What if the philosopher makes an error?
• Averroes An error made by a qualified judge is
  excused by God.
• Comments and criticisms
• Remarkable similarity to ideas of Aquinas (may
  have been borrowed) and Galileo (doubtful that he
  knew about Averroes)
• Problems with the ideal of demonstrative
  knowledge