Year two will commence the treatment of the rational sciences, specifically those which aid in sound reasoning and interpretation. These are not merely critical thinking skills; rather, there are important metaphysical issues wrapped up in each discipline. Among the overarching questions we will be addressing are: “Can we know anything with certainty, or is everything relative?” “How is certainty formally obtained?” “Are sacred texts absolute in meaning, completely open to interpretation, or something in between?” “What constitutes a valid critique, objection, or intellectual challenge?”
- Logic (manṭiq): al-Fanari’s Commentary on the Īsāghūjī of al-Abharī
- Is Logic ampliative (producing new knowledge) or non-ampliative?
- Linguistic Assignment (waḍʿ): al-Jurjānī’s Commentary on al-Ījī’s al-Risāla al-waḍʿiyya al-ʿAḍudiyya
- Do words have root linguistic meanings? Theories of literalism and metaphorical interpretation (a key issue related to “Islamic fundamentalism”)
- Dialectic (munāẓara): Abdur Rahman’s commentary on al-Waladiyya
- How can we make the truth manifest through proper debate and argumentation?
- Rhetoric (balāgha): a selection of texts from Majmūʿat al-Mutūn al-dirāsiyya by Muhammad Amin Er
- Can intended meanings of phrases in context be discernable or is every text’s interpretation solely within the domain of the interpreter?
With strong epistemological foundations, shared lexicons, and mastery of the instrumental sciences, ASIPT working group scholars will be among the best equipped to engage with the Big Questions from within a traditional Islamic cognitive framework while being well aware of the contemporary intellectual context and its challenges.