Does the thought of a multicultural medieval philosophy surprise you? Do you believe those "dark ages" were mostly focused on religion and predominantly concerned with Christian theological discussions? If yes, it may well be that your views were shaped by historical narratives that are still, unfortunately, not that uncommon. It was after taking courses in …
Continue reading Spreading the Word: Multicultural Medieval Philosophy
In philosophy, questions about the nature of knowledge are some of the oldest. They have kept philosophers busy for well over 2,000 years and continue doing so today. The branch of philosophy that tries to answer questions about knowledge - epistemology - is considered one of the core building blocks of philosophical thinking. However, philosophy …
What can the 11th-century Islamic polymath, theologian and philosopher al-Ghazali tell us about artificial intelligence and the possibility of conscious machines, long before Alan Turing developed his imitation game, also known as the Turing test? It is impossible, moreover, to create knowledge in inanimate matter. For we understand by the inanimate that which apprehends. If …
As promised, here comes my review of philosophy professor Peter Adamson's 2007 book on al-Kindi, the 9th-century Arabic polymath and philosopher. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. And enjoy the read! The book was published in 2007 as part of the series 'great medieval thinkers'. Al-Kindi is a ninth-century Islamic thinker and he …
The first Arabic philosopher, 9th century thinker al-Kindī, said that truth and wisdom are valuable regardless of where they come from. What did he mean?
Considered the first philosopher in the Islamic tradition and the first to write philosophy in Arabic, 9th-century thinker al-Kindī held that philosophy can help solve Islamic theological dilemmas. Philosophy professor and a life-long researcher of al-Kindī's works, Peter Adamson has written a book on this pioneering Islamic thinker (my review of it is coming soon) …
Continue reading Spreading the Word: “Philosopher of the Arabs”
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