Causality, Rationality, and Mysticism: An Inquiry into Ghazali’s Theory of Knowledge.
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2020-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Philosophers have largely and unceasingly disputed the epistemological place of rationality and the relationship between observational causes and effects. The purpose of this study is to examine the epistemological relationality between Ghazali’s critique of the necessitarian notion of causality as well as pure rationality. Building upon, his emphasis in underlining the compatibility of the rational knowledge with the religious one, along with his introducement of secondary theory of causality, this study argues that, Ghazali never nullified observable causal relations and the role of reason in one’s epistemological search. Nevertheless, his critique of necessitarian causal nexuses resulted from his belief of creating an epistemic space for miracles on the one hand, and he also challenged the totalitarian place of rationality to create an epistemic space for the Sufi’s mystical experiences, on the other. This thesis will provide that, following his/her achievement of the hard task of polishing the heart, the Sufi saint could possibly acquire an epistemic state that transcends rationality and became able to perform some miracles that trespass the observable causal connections. Therefore, I situated the Sufi saints as a pivotal point within which the epistemological relationality takes place.
Keywords: Causality, Miracles, Rationality, Sufi-experiences, Epistemic-relationality
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Keywords
Causality, Miracles, Rationality, Sufi-experiences, Epistemic-relationality