Question 1

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Question 2

believes that

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Question 3

Islam departs from other religions in stating that the prophets are not divine.

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Islam teaches that prophets, including Muhammad, are human beings chosen by God to deliver His message, but they are not divine or to be worshipped.

Question 4

seems to have developed his fondness for the tactic of reductio ad absurdum by reading an Arabic translation of Euclid's geometrical treatise, the Elements.

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Al-Kindi, an Arab philosopher, was indeed influenced by Greek philosophy and mathematics, including Euclid's "Elements," which he likely accessed through Arabic translations. This exposure helped him develop his philosophical and logical methods, including the use of reductio ad absurdum.

Question 5

believes that the world is eternal.

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Al-Kindi argued against the concept of an eternal world, aligning with the Islamic view that the universe had a beginning and was created by God.

Question 6

According to , the purpose of religion is to enable people who are incapable of philosophy to enter heaven and avoid hell by ensuring that they have right opinions about God, the universe, and the proper way to live.

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Al-Farabi, a prominent Islamic philosopher, argued that religion serves as a means to communicate philosophical truths in a way that is accessible to the general populace, guiding them towards virtuous living and the ultimate goal of achieving happiness or salvation.

Question 7

For  the material world emanates from God

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Question 8

The human intellect grasps universal forms only when the Active Intellect illuminates them.

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This concept is rooted in Aristotelian philosophy and further developed by medieval philosophers like Thomas Aquinas, who posited that the human intellect can only understand universal concepts (forms) when they are illuminated by the Active Intellect, an aspect of the mind that abstracts universals from sensory experiences.

Question 9

For the highest form of knowledge involves scientific demonstrations of truths about abstract universals and the changeable, contingent features of the world.

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Question 10

From an Avicennan perspective, Aristotle takes existence for granted.

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Avicenna (Ibn Sina) criticized Aristotle for not adequately distinguishing between essence and existence, implying that Aristotle took existence as a given without questioning its fundamental nature or its relation to essence.

Question 11

For Avicenna, each person's soul comes into being when the person is born; it does not have pre-existence.

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Avicenna, a Persian philosopher, believed in the concept of the soul's creation at the time of birth, rejecting the idea of its pre-existence.

Question 12

In Avicenna's view, induction can provide the foundations for genuine knowledge.

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Question 13

For Avicenna, as for , the universe is both eternal and created.

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Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and al-Farabi, both medieval Islamic philosophers, reconciled the concept of an eternal universe with the idea of creation by positing that the universe is eternally created by a necessary existent (God), thus integrating Greek philosophical principles with Islamic theology.

Question 14

attack on philosophy successfully put an end to philosophy in the Islamic world.

Accepted Answer

Al-Ghazali's critique of philosophy did not end philosophical thought in the Islamic world; instead, it led to a more nuanced engagement with Greek philosophy and the development of new philosophical schools that sought to reconcile Islamic theology with philosophical inquiry. Philosophy continued to flourish, particularly in areas such as ethics, metaphysics, and logic.

Question 15

The Sufis were people who pursued knowledge of God through practices designed to achieve a higher state of consciousness.

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Sufism is a mystical Islamic belief system focused on the inward search for God and shunning materialism. It emphasizes personal experiences with the divine, often through meditation, chanting, music, dance, and other rituals aimed at achieving spiritual insight and a higher state of consciousness.

Question 16

What is the principle of tawḥīd? How does it differ from the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity?

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Question 17

How does al-Kindī explain the one-many relationship?

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Question 18

How does al-Kindī prove that "multiplicity" is real?

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Question 19

How does al-Kindī square the principle of tawḥīd with claim that the relationship of the one-many underpins all physical things?

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Question 20

What is the role of religion in al-Fārābī's philosophy?

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Quiz 13: Augustine: God and the Soul