Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Nepal (8)
- Islam (6)
- Himalaya (4)
- Islamic law (3)
- Tibet (3)
-
- Ahmad A. Ahmad (2)
- Annapurna Conservation Area Project (2)
- Atlas (2)
- Bernard G. Weiss (2)
- Buddhism (2)
- Christianity (2)
- Environment (2)
- Macalester Islam Colloquium (2)
- Orientalism (2)
- Paula Cooey (2)
- Qur'an (2)
- Abdul Rahman (1)
- Afghanistan (1)
- Apatani (1)
- Apostasy (1)
- Arunachal Pradesh (1)
- Association for Nepal and Himayan Studies (1)
- British colonialism (1)
- CPN (1)
- Carnap (1)
- Causal theory of names (1)
- China (1)
- Christian (1)
- Christian women (1)
- Conservation (1)
Articles 1 - 30 of 65
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
The Evolution Of Persian Thought Regarding Art And Figural Representation In Secular And Religious Life After The Coming Of Islam , Mashal Saif
Macalester Islam Journal
This paper argues that, although Islam never succeeded in completely wiping out the use of figural representation in Persian arts, it did manage to have a significant effect on Persian artistic forms and their appreciation. The Islamic prohibition on figural representation resulted in a shift from artistic emphasis being placed almost solely on figural representation (as was the case in pre-Islamic Persia) to a greater emphasis being placed on abstract, geometrical vegetal and floral art.
The Problem Of Ambiguity And Moral Luck For Qur’Anic Absolutism, Jake Sinderbrand
The Problem Of Ambiguity And Moral Luck For Qur’Anic Absolutism, Jake Sinderbrand
Macalester Islam Journal
This paper argues that the Qur’an succeeds in presenting a basic structure of morality, centered upon faith and charity, but it ultimately lacks the necessary specificity to form a clear picture of righteous conduct to which modern readers can reasonably aspire. More significantly, the dualism of action, belief, and consequence that gives the text its force and certainty does not seem compatible with the recognition that circumstance plays a role in determining what is good and what is bad action.
Apostasy And The Notion Of Religious Freedom In Islam, Sherazad Hamit
Apostasy And The Notion Of Religious Freedom In Islam, Sherazad Hamit
Macalester Islam Journal
This paper will argue that the Afghan Government’s sentencing to death of native Abdul Rahman as an apostate goes against Qur’anic decrees on apostasy and is therefore un-Islamic, given the context of the apostate in question.
Reifying Religion While Lost In Translation: Mirza Mazhar Jan-I-Janan (D.1781) On The Hindus, Sherali Tareen
Reifying Religion While Lost In Translation: Mirza Mazhar Jan-I-Janan (D.1781) On The Hindus, Sherali Tareen
Macalester Islam Journal
This paper examines the life and thought of one of the leading Muslim revivalist thinkers in 18th century India, Mirza Mazhar Jan-i-Janan (1699-1781) in an effort to understand the relationship, if any, between the structures of knowledge that informed colonial conceptions of India’s religious topography and 18th century projects of intra-religious and cross-religious interpretation (such as that conducted by Jan-i Janan)? In addition, the project aims at informing the inquiry as to the extent to which the process of reification that led to the development of a unified notion of ‘Hinduism’ in the modern era already was underway in the …
In The Shadow Of Man: Questioning The Absence Of Muslim And Christian Women's Voices In Medieval Polemic Writings, Kim Wortmann
In The Shadow Of Man: Questioning The Absence Of Muslim And Christian Women's Voices In Medieval Polemic Writings, Kim Wortmann
Macalester Islam Journal
The purpose of this paper is to show how the rigid social structures in which both Muslim and Christian women found themselves in the middle ages prevented them from influencing the Christian-Muslim polemics of the time. The absence of women’s voices has left modern scholars unsure of their sentiments regarding their encounters with one another and with one another’s culture. In order to get an accurate account of such cross-cultural perceptions as those which may have formed between Muslims and Christians, it is necessary to hear the arguments and observations from all sides, including women and others who may have …
This Journal, Ahmad A. Ahmad
Primary Goods, Germ-Line Enhancements, And Children, Grant Maki
Primary Goods, Germ-Line Enhancements, And Children, Grant Maki
Macalester Journal of Philosophy
Germ-line genetic engineering procedures may influence the lives of untold millions of people far into the future. These techniques change the genetic material that is passed on to offspring and thus have the potential to change the human race as we know it. Because the effects are so enduring, this powerful technique must be used with caution. We must decide how to ethically evaluate potential changes to the germ-line consistently and effectively so that future generations are not harmed. I will show that a concept of traits that any rational person would find desirable in themselves and others (whatever the …
Reflected Words: Meaning And Silence In Language And Translation, Melanie Sard
Reflected Words: Meaning And Silence In Language And Translation, Melanie Sard
Macalester Journal of Philosophy
What role does translation play in philosophy of language? Recent development in the field has drawn parallels between theories of translation and theories of meaning, evident primarily in the work of Davidson and Quine. Communication has often been viewed as an act of translation or interpretation between speakers, particularly by Davidson in later writings. I think it is equally useful to view translation as an act of communication, and this approach is particularly valuable because it leads us to the conclusion that meaning is created through dialectic processes. Although translation studies has recently emerged as a new and promising academic …
Too Strong For Principle: An Examination Of The Theory And Philosophical Implications Of Evolutionary Ethics, Sam Rayner
Too Strong For Principle: An Examination Of The Theory And Philosophical Implications Of Evolutionary Ethics, Sam Rayner
Macalester Journal of Philosophy
Evolutionary ethics is a discipline that has formed around the belief that human-kind’s conception of morality was developed through the evolutionary process of natural selection. Various mechanisms concern-ing the evolution of morality have been proposed within the theory of natural selection, and I believe that many authors in the field focus too narrowly on one or a few of them in their efforts to model the origins of morality. In this paper I hope to present a broader review of many potential evolutionary mechanisms and the evidence supporting them, in an effort to show that they are not mutually exclusive …
Table Of Contents, Jamie M. Schmeits
Table Of Contents, Jamie M. Schmeits
Macalester Journal of Philosophy
No abstract provided.
On How To Refer To Unobservable Entities, Gregory P. Taylor
On How To Refer To Unobservable Entities, Gregory P. Taylor
Macalester Journal of Philosophy
In order for us to associate a word with an object it might seem that we would need to have direct experience with both. Given the present technology, however, there are some objects with which we can have no direct experience, namely the unobservable entities postulated by scientific theories. The problem taken up here is how to refer to those entities. There are two prominent attempts to explain reference in scientific theories – the first is Ramsey and Carnap’s proposal that we exchange theoretical terms for variables and existential quantification. The second is Kripke and Evan’s causal theory of names …
Genetic Modification And Future Generations, David Sackris
Genetic Modification And Future Generations, David Sackris
Macalester Journal of Philosophy
One of the most difficult issues to sort out morally is our obligation to future generations. Most individuals feel that they do indeed have some kind of obligation, but face difficulty in explaining the exact nature of the obligation. For one, it seems impossible to know the wants and desires of future generations, and furthermore the existence of the persons we are obligated to is entirely dependent upon the choices that we in fact make. In essence, we could shape future generations so that they desire exactly what we provide for them. It seems that no matter what principle we …
Polygyny In Islam, Rachel Jones
Polygyny In Islam, Rachel Jones
Macalester Islam Journal
Polygyny is an institution that has been misinterpreted, misunderstood, and misused. These faults have been with both Islamic communities and with their Western critics. However, the actual practice of polygyny itself does not seem to be as much of an issue as does the way in which it is applied. In Western literature, polygyny is often depicted as a cruel and repressive custom that sacrifices women’s freedom for men’s pleasure. Ideas of harems and tyrannical husbands are evoked. Yet, the reality of polygynous households is a far cry from these fantasies. As anthropologist Lila Abu-Lughod explains, “polygyny is an institution …
Shari‘A And Fiqh: Embodiments Of The Theoretical And The Practical, Margaret Pettygrove
Shari‘A And Fiqh: Embodiments Of The Theoretical And The Practical, Margaret Pettygrove
Macalester Islam Journal
The relationship between law and morality is such that it is not easy to separate the two concepts. Generally in Islam, law and morality are one and the same, and speaking of them as distinct ideas is not really possible. It is largely a problem of language, in that English distinguishes between law and morality, whereas Arabic does not clearly do so. It is, nevertheless, possible to parse the Shari‘a into aspects that resemble morality and those that resemble law, as Bernard Weiss does in The Search for God’s Law. The Shari‘a is the “totality of ‘divine categorizations of human …
Reason In Islamic Law, Emma Gallegos
Reason In Islamic Law, Emma Gallegos
Macalester Islam Journal
Different words and concepts in cultures do not necessarily always translate perfectly or adequately to others. This truism provides a perfect starting point to attempt an understanding of classical Islamic law. In trying to understand the different concepts of reason, belief and knowledge in that realm, we have come to understand something that would vex many Americans given their own definitions of these concepts: that the law of Islam held to be divine by its practitioners puts an incredible amount of stress on its rational basis. In trying to understand a seeming paradox, we have discovered how closely interwoven rationality …
Conversion, Passing, And Covering: Christian Assimilation In Early Medieval Spain, Jackie Deluca
Conversion, Passing, And Covering: Christian Assimilation In Early Medieval Spain, Jackie Deluca
Macalester Islam Journal
A historical examination of the interactions between Islam and the West during the early medieval period leads one to Spain. Muslim groups began invading southern Spain as early as the eighth century and by the ninth century they had established military and political control over many formerly Christian communities. The Christian individuals living in these newly conquered regions had options; they could accept Islam on any number of different levels or they could resist it completely, engaging in dangerous and often futile conflict with Muslim authority. For the sake of this paper I am solely concerned with the various ways …
War Between Islam And The West Then And Now, Hannah Popish
War Between Islam And The West Then And Now, Hannah Popish
Macalester Islam Journal
I’ve been intrigued by examining what it takes to make someone propose and enlist in a war. Often individuals seem to use ethics, morality, or religion to bond together and assert their own perspective in a world perceived as devoid of ethics, morality, or the right religion. Looking to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and his approach to ruling and warring with a religiously different minority and comparing this example with that of the ongoing contentious relationships between Islam and the West as played out by the war in Iraq, provides firm starting grounds for exploring the issues of …
The Approaches Of Christian Polemicists Against Islam, Jessica Ferree
The Approaches Of Christian Polemicists Against Islam, Jessica Ferree
Macalester Islam Journal
When studying the writings of early Christian authors, it is intriguing to explore the various arguments and accusations they made against the Islamic religion. Each writer relayed his unique understanding of this new religion and did his best to convey the message that he felt Christians should realize. Although each polemicist had his own approach to the issue, when reading multiple texts that reference the same subject it is difficult for me to identify the subtle differences buried among the many similarities. From the origins of Islam to apocalyptic predictions to miraculous conversion stories, the same ideas were continuously recycled …
Patterns Of Cross-Cultural Tolerance And Intolerance In Medieval Christian Depictions Of Islam, Muslims, And Mohammad, Jenn Henry
Macalester Islam Journal
This paper will address similarities in moments of tolerance, moments of intolerance, and the events that spark the change in Christian perceptions of Islam. These patterns support a regularly fluctuating model of history akin to Ibn Khaldun’s theory of the rise and fall of civilizations. The paper will conclude by offering the value of such a model, also proposing ways in which the model might be used to break the cycle of history.
The Macalester Islam Colloquium, Zoe Whaley
The Macalester Islam Colloquium, Zoe Whaley
Macalester Islam Journal
This article summarizes the first Macalester Islam Colloquium and presents a list of the MIC meetings 2005-2006.
This Journal, Ahmad A. Ahmad
Don Quixote As World Emperor: Cervantes, Titian And Luca Cambiaso, Frederick A. De Armas
Don Quixote As World Emperor: Cervantes, Titian And Luca Cambiaso, Frederick A. De Armas
Macalester International
No abstract provided.
Response To Gossy - 2, Scott Morgensen
Response To De Armas, Nishad Avari