Following an earlier, ‘classical’ phase in which philosophy and systematic theology in the Islamic world developed largely independently of each other, the two traditions began to interact intensively from the twelfth century. This interaction was marked around the turn of the century by the influential refutation of philosophy penned by the theologian al-Ghazali (d. 1111), and culminated by the end of the century in the definitive form of philosophical theology developed by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1210), which continued to flourish into the early modern period. Recent work by the speaker has shed light on the gradual transformation of theology between these two key thinkers. In this paper, he will present findings from his current project on the beginnings of this philosophical turn in theology, focusing in particular on engagement with philosophy in the later works of the theologian al-Juwayni (d. 1085) and the early career of his student al-Ghazali.

Ayman S ifiaceh is an intellectual historian specialised in philosophy and theology in the pre-modern Islamic world. His main areas of research interest are the Avicennan philosophical tradition, the tradition of systematic theology known as kalām, and the interaction between philosophy and theology between the 11th-13th c. He is interested in the ideas, especially in metaphysics, ethics, anthropology, epistemology and dialectical practices, as well as the sources and historical contexts in which these ideas originated and developed. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of SOAS, as Section Editor for Philosophy and Theology on the Editorial Board of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, and as the editor of the Islamic Translation Series (Brill, previously BYU Press).

Speakers
Ayman Shihadeh, Senior Humanities Research Fellow, NYUAD