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William Of Auxerre And Thomas Aquinas On Simultaneous Faith And Knowledge, Jacob Joseph Andrews

Dissertations

In this dissertation I will consider how two 13th century theologians, William of Auxerre (1156-1231) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274), explored the question, "Whether the same thing can be known (demonstratively) and (believed by faith)" (utrum idem sit scitum et creditum). Both denied that this was possible, but they differed in the relative epistemic priority of faith and knowledge. Aquinas thought that demonstrative knowledge has epistemic priority over faith: for example, if someone knows a proof for God's existence, then they know that God exists, and it is impossible for them to have faith that God exists. Aquinas is a …

Two Paths To Illumination In Islamic Mysticism: Self-Annihilation Versus Higher Self, Mahdieh Mirmohammadi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Islamic mysticism has been the main focus of many Muslim philosophers and theologians. Great philosophers such as Avicenna and al-Ghazālī have dedicated part of their works to Islamic mysticism. They strove to clarify the meaning, goals and framework of Islamic mysticism. Avicenna presents Islamic mysticism as an intellectual journey that begins with the human and advances toward the Truth. The Truth for Avicenna is absolute being (wujūd muțlaq), which is equivalent with his philosophical definition of the Truth. This philosophical-mystical journey is a kind of psychological-mental journey. By psychological-mental I mean that the journey takes part and …

Avicenna, Jon Mcginnis

Jon McGinnis