The Divine Knowledge in Relation to Determinism in the Philosophy of Avicenna

Sophia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Suciadi Chia
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Martti Nissinen

This chapter lays the theoretical foundation of the book, defining prophecy as a non-technical, or inspired, form of divination, in which the prophet acts as an intermediary of divine knowledge. It is argued that prophecy is as much a scholarly construct as a historical phenomenon documented in Near Eastern, biblical, as well as Greek textual sources. The knowledge of the historical phenomenon depends essentially on the genre and purpose of the source material which, however, is very fragmentary and, due to its secondary nature, does not yield a full and balanced picture of ancient prophecy. The chapter also discusses the purpose of comparative studies, arguing that they are necessary, not primarily to reveal the influence of one source on the other, but to identify a common category of ancient Eastern Mediterranean prophecy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 251-264
Author(s):  
Ursula Renz ◽  
Barnaby R. Hutchins
Keyword(s):  

1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Hunt

According to the thesis of divine ‘middle knowledge’, first propounded by the Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina in the sixteenth century, subjunctive conditionals stating how free agents would freely respond under counter-factual conditions (call such expressions ‘counterfactuals of freedom’) may be straightforwardly true, and thus serve as the objects of divine knowledge. This thesis has provoked considerable controversy, and the recent revival of interest in middle knowledge, initiated by Anthony Kenny, Robert Adams and Alvin Plantinga in the 1970s, has led to two ongoing debates. One is a theoretical debate over the very intelligibility of middle knowledge;1 the other is a practical debate over its philosophical and theological utility.2


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinaj Valangattil Shamsudheen ◽  
Saiful Azhar Rosly ◽  
Syed Abdul Hamid Aljunid

Purpose This study aims to examine the decision-making behaviour of Islamic banking practitioners of the United Arab Emirates with special reference to the operational line heterogeneity by employing factors that are religious in nature such as intellect, satanic force and divine knowledge as encapsulated in al-Ghazali’s ethical philosophy. Design/methodology/approach A total of 337 samples were collected from the Islamic banking practitioners in the United Arab Emirates using a purposive sampling technique, and the empirical analysis was conducted with the measures of model fit and bootstrapping technique using Partial least square Structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis. Findings The empirical findings reveal that the dedicated use of intellect in making decisions related to ethical issues where desires and emotions tend to overwhelm reason and human choices. While divine knowledge is found ineffective guidance of the intellect, the element of satanic force is found significantly impacting decision-making. As the lack of religious consciousness is evident among respondents, higher exposure to operational risk is expected. These findings were found identical across the Islamic banking practitioners in different lines of operations. Research limitations/implications The span of the study is limited to a single country. Future studies are recommended to replicate the study to more markets where the share of Islamic finance is significant. Practical implications Findings of the study highly suggest respective authorities of Islamic financial institutions to intensify the capacity-building programs on the foundation of faith which includes Islamic thought and worldview, to enhance the corporate ethical decision-making. Moreover, equal importance should be given to all the banking practitioners regardless of line of business operations. Originality/value With undue emphasis is given to the juristic (fiqh) aspects of Shariah compliance in the Islamic banking and finance industry, less has been attempted to explore its ethical dimension (akhlaq) in the compliance parameters that leave a relatively large gap to address prevailing unethical practices in Islamic finance institutions. Findings from this study can be useful as a warning to the Islamic banking firms to enhance the sense of God-fearing and improve existing measures in the organisation in mitigating operational risks that may arise from people or system and consequently ensure the smooth governance of the Islamic banks.


2009 ◽  
pp. 168-193
Author(s):  
Benjamin Osborn
Keyword(s):  

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