Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Alhassanain (p) Network for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Comparative Study of Shared Views of Muslim and Non-Muslim Scholars on Philosophy and Education

We live in a world where everything is always about me: my religion, my house, my phone..etc., forgetting on many occasions that there is a world beyond our own petty existence.

In this context, the content of this book is a refreshing reminder that everything is not always about me but about us. Us, who believe, regardless of birth place, descend, religion or gender, that there is a God, a higher power that we all strive to know and to Whom we will all return in the end.

We, as a whole, can always find things that unite us despite all out differences. This applies to how we think about philosophy and education.

Author(s): Hamid Reza Alavi

Publisher(s): Ansariyan Publications – Qum

www.alhassanain.org/english

Table of Contents

Preface 6

Chapter 1: Comparative Study of Tusi and Aristotle’s Shared Views on Philosophy 7

Introduction 7

Ontology 7

Tusi 7

Anthropology 7

The superiority of human being 8

The truth of human being 8

The faculties of the soul 8

Free will and authority 8

Rationality 8

Being sociable 8

Complimentary and evolutionary movement 8

Achieving the Position of nearness to God 9

Aristotle 9

Epistemology 9

Tusi 9

Aristotle 10

Axiology 10

Tusi 10

Ethics 10

Aristotle 12

Conclusion 13

References 14

Chapter 2: Comparative Study of Ghazali and Augustine’s Shared Views on Philosophy 15

Introduction 15

Ontology 17

Ghazali 17

The essence of God 19

Augustine 20

Anthropology 21

Ghazali 21

Augustine 23

Epistemology 24

Ghazali 24

Augustine 27

Axiology 28

Ghazali 28

Augustine 30

Conclusion 33

References 34

Chapter 3: Comparative Study of Ibn Miskawayh and Aquinas’s Shared Views on Philosophy 36

Introduction 36

Ibn Miskawayh's views on Ethics 37

Natural and ordinary Ethics 38

Man’s original nature 38

Virtues and vices 38

Pleasure and its kinds 39

Happiness and its kinds 39

Thomas Aquinas's Views on Ethics 40

God and Happiness 40

Moderation and four cardinal virtues 42

The problem of evil 43

Conclusion 43

References 44

Chapter 4: Comparative Study of Farabi and Spinoza's Shared Views on Philosophy 45

Introduction 45

Ontology 45

Farabi 45

Spinoza 46

Anthropology 48

Farabi 48

Freedom and Authority 49

Spinoza 50

Epistemology 51

Farabi 51

Spinoza 52

Axiology 53

Farabi 53

Virtue 53

Ethics and Morality 54

Spinoza 55

Conclusion 58

References 59

Chapter 5: Comparative Study of Ibn Sina and Edwards’s Shared Views on Philosophy 60

Introduction 60

Ontology 62

Avicenna 62

Edwards 62

Anthropology 64

Avicenna 64

Edwards 64

Epistemology 65

Avicenna 65

Axiology 66

Avicenna 66

Changeability of Morality 66

Standard of Virtue, and Principle of Virtues and Vices 67

Pleasure and Pain 67

Superiority of Inner Pleasures to Sensory Pleasures 67

Intellectual and Sensory Pleasures 67

Suffering of the Soul from Ignorance 68

Happiness 69

The Way of Acquisition of Happiness 69

Rank of those who have attained happiness 69

Rank of the Atrocious 70

Edwards 70

Conclusion 71

References 72

Chapter 6: Comparative Study of Rumi, Saadi, Rousseau, Dewey’s Shared Views on Moral Education 74

Introduction 74

A Brief Biography of Rumi, Saadi, Rousseau, Dewey 74

A. Rumi's Views on Moral Education 76

Goals of Education 76

Annihilation in God 77

Voluntary death 77

Intuition or knowledge by heart 77

Immediate receiving of God’s bounty or emanation 77

Cultivation and guidance of intellect and thought 78

Solving the existential problems 78

Individual Differences 79

Real Knowledge 79

Educational Principles 81

1. Submission to God 81

2. Following the Educator 82

3. Motivation and Request 82

4. Effort and Activity 82

5. God’s bounty and grace 82

6. Esteem or the dignity of man 82

7. Sociability 82

8. Individualism 82

9. Simplification 82

Educational Methods 83

Methods for educating students 83

1. Suggestopedia or mimesis method 83

2. Affection Method 83

3. Encouragement or punishment Method 83

4. Good Admonishment or Positive Advice Method 83

5. Counseling Method 83

6. The Method of taking an object lesson 83

7. Storytelling Method 83

8. Exemplum Method 84

Methods for training Self 84

1. Fulfillment of Knowledge 84

2. Loving God 84

3. Watching over the soul and self- examination 84

4. Reciting the Quran 84

5. Remembrance and Thinking 84

B. Saadi's Views on Moral Education 85

Educational Goals 85

1. Detachment 85

2. Cultivation of spirit 85

3. Health of Body 85

4. Social Adjustment 85

Teaching and Instructional Methods 86

Educational Contents 87

Individual Differences 89

Real Knowledge 89

1. Intellectual Education 90

2. Religious Education 90

3. Mystical Education 90

4. Moral Education 91

C. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Views on Moral Education 92

Paying Attention to Individual Aptitudes and Differences 93

Method of Observing the Measure of Individuals’ Aptitude in their Moral Education 93

Principle of Making Environmental Conditions Sound 94

Preparation Method 94

Method of Travel 94

Patterning Method 95

Principle of Responsibility 95

Method of Confrontation with the Results of One’s Deeds 95

Method of Bearing Hardship 96

Principle of Showing Affection and Not Showing Affection 96

Principle of Not Following Community 97

Method of Keeping Children Away from Community 97

Method of Natural Punishment 98

Method of Negative Education 98

D. John Dewey's views on moral education 100

Conclusion 103

References 106

General Conclusion 108

Preface

Throughout the history, there have been some philosophers and thinkers who have generously given the product of their philosophical thinking to the society. These works have initiated and inspired behavior of many people living in the society because in general, a person’s philosophical foundation can influence their behavioral and educational bases.

Although there have been many books and writings regarding the thoughts of such philosophers, the writings in which the viewpoints of the philosophers of different schools and religions have been compared are rarely seen. With such a comparison, that emphasizes the shared aspects of philosophical theories, it might be possible to generate philosophical theories that are comprehensive and global in their impact. This is the main aim of this book.

Philosophy, in the present book, has been considered as a discipline, which consists of branches such as - ontology, epistemology, and axiology. Anthropology has been considered as the subset of ontology.

Each chapter, of the book has a short introduction about the personality and biography of the two (or four) philosophers investigated in that chapter. Then their views about the branches of philosophy or their philosophical viewpoints have been explained. A conclusion about the comparison of their views has been reached at the end of each chapter. Finally the book is concluded with a general summary and conclusion.

The philosophers studied and compared in this book are as follows: Tusi and Aristotle, Ghazali and Aquinas, Ibn Miskawayh and Aquinas, Farabi and Spinoza, Avicenna- Ibn Sina and Edwards and Rumi, Saadi, Rousseau, and Dewey. Thus in all, the viewpoints of 14 philosophers and thinkers have been explained and compared in this book.

It should be noted that the chapters about Farabi, Ibn Miskawayh and a part about the ethics of Ibn Sina have been selected from Persian books titled: Theories of Muslim scientists about Education and its Principles - volumes 1 and 2, which have been written by Howzeh-University Co-operation Center and M. Beheshti, M. Abujafari and A. N. Faqihi respectively. These were then translated into English by the author of the present book (Dr H. R. Alavi).