ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Why Believe That There Is a God?
This article presents an argument for the existence of God, showing that the evident phenomena are best explained by supposing that a God causes them. The argument is based on the inductive force of four very evident general phenomena: that there is a physical Universe; that it is governed by very simple natural laws; that those laws are such as to lead to the existence of human bodies; and that those bodies are the bodies of reasoning humans, who choose between good and evil.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46544_648af92b294e34391f27f0a34b77622c.pdf
2016-12-01
5
18
natural theology
the Existence of God
Natural Laws
theism
Richard
Swinburne
richard.swinburne@oriel.ox.ac.uk
1
Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Oxford
AUTHOR
1. For the fully developed account of my natural theology (including my treatment of arguments against the existence of God), see my The Existence of God, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2004; for a shorter version, see is There a God? Oxford University Press, 1996, Persian translation published subsequently.
1
2. For a full account of the nature of simplicity, see my Simplicity as Evidence of Truth, Marquette University Press, 1997; or my Epistemic Justification, Oxford University Press, 2001, chapter 4.
2
3. For my defence of the claim that humans have libertarian free will—that is, freedom to make choices, either good or evil, despite all the influences to which they are subject—see my Mind, Brain, and Free Will, Oxford University Press, 2013.
3
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Are Miracles Violations of the Laws of Nature?
Classical theism holds that God rules the world not only indirectly, by the natural laws established with creation, but through actions or direct interventions that interfere with natural processes and human actions. These direct interventions are usually called miracles. Modern Western philosophy, at least starting from Spinoza and Hume, has defined miracles as “violations of the laws of nature” and criticized them on this ground. Actually, if God is the author of the natural laws, it seems contradictory that he violates them performing miracles. In the last decades, analytical philosophy of religion developed a considerable discussion on this topic. This debate has seen, on the one hand, those, like N. Smart and R. Swinburne, who defend the definition of miracle as a violation of natural laws, and those, like K. Ward, R. Larmer, and D. Corner, who reject it and sustain alternative definitions of miracle. In my article, I refer to this debate with the purpose of showing that the notion of miracle as a violation of the natural law is a coherent one from a theistic point of view.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46546_05c8c3bcd4c9d14cb1d7d5e97d90f944.pdf
2016-12-01
19
33
miracle
God
theism
Andrea
Aguti
andrea.aguti@uniurb.it
1
Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion, University of Urbino, Italy
AUTHOR
Archer, J. 2015. “Against Miracles as Law-Violations: A Neo-Aristotelian Approach.” European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 7 (4), 83-98.
1
Aquinas, Thoma. 1888. Summa theologiae. Pars prima. Roma, Ex Typographia Polyglotta.
2
———. 1926. Summa contra Gentiles, in Opera omnia. Liber Tertius. Roma: Typis Riccardi Garroni.
3
———. 1949. Quaestiones disputatae. Vol. II. Torino-Roma: Marietti.
4
Basinger D., and R. Basinger. 1986. Philosophy and Miracle: The Contemporary Debate. Lewiston: Mellen Press.
5
Craig, W. L. 1986. The Problem of Miracles: A Historical and Philosophical Perspective. Accessed January 10, 2007. www.leaderu.com/offices/ billcraig /docs/miracles.html.
6
Corner, D. 2007. The Philosophy of Miracles. London: Continuum.
7
Davies, B. 1993. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
8
Davies, P. 1992. The Mind of God: Science and the Search for Ultimate Meaning. London, Penguin Books.
9
Earman, J. 2000. Hume's Abject Failure: The Argument Against Miracles. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
10
Hick, J. 1973. God and the Universe of Faiths. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
11
Hume, D. 1902. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
12
Jaki, S. 1999. Miracles and Physics. Front Royal: Christendom Press.
13
Larmer, R. A. 1996. Water into Wine: An Investigation of the Concept of Miracle. Montreal: McGill University Press.
14
Larmer, R. A., ed. 1996. Questions of Miracle. Montreal: McGill University Press.
15
———. 2011. “The Meanings of Miracle.” In The Cambridge Companion to Miracles, edited by G. H. Twelftree. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
16
Lewis, C. S. 1974. Miracles. London: Fontana.
17
Murphey, N. 1995. “Divine Action in the Natural Order: Buridan’s Ass and Schrödinger’s Cat.” In Chaos and Complexity: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action, edited by R. J. Russell, N. Murphey, and A. R. Peacocke. Notre Dame (IN): Notre Dame Press.
18
Smart, N. 1969. Philosophers and Religious Truth. London: SMC Press.
19
Spinoza, B. 1951. The Chief Works of Benedict de Spinoza. A Theologico-Political Treatise and A Political Treatise, Vol. 1.Edited by R. H. M. Elves. New York: Dover.
20
Swinburne, R. 1970. The Concept of Miracle. London: MacMillan.
21
———. 2004. The Existence of God (first published 1979). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
22
Tennant, F. R. 1925. Miracle & Its Philosophical Presuppositions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23
Tipler, F. J. 2007. The Physics of Christianity. New York: The Doubleday Publishing Group.
24
Twelftree, G. H, ed. 2011. The Cambridge Companion to Miracles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
25
Ward, K. 1990. Divine Action. London: Collins.
26
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Problem of Evil in Taoism
This paper attempts to present the Taoist understanding of evil. In the Taoist tradition, especially in Tao Te Ching, evil is divided into two categories: causal evil and consequential evil. Causal evils are those evils that are said to be the causes of other evils; consequential evils are those that are said to be the consequences of the causal evils. Causal evils originate from human will, and cause suffering. This means that evil is not equal to suffering. Lao Tzu does not clearly talk about natural suffering. He regards all evil and suffering as resulting from human actions that are not in accordance with Tao, which is the source of all life. Therefore, the way to overcome evil is to follow Tao, to actualize wu-wei in life.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46549_ef964fff6dcba3a11a5569138f25c90b.pdf
2016-12-01
35
47
The Problem of Evil
Taoism
Lao Tzu
Causal Evil
Consequent Evil
Qorban
Elmi
gelmi@ut.ac.ir
1
Associate Professor of Religions and Mysticism, University of Tehran, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Mojtaba
Zarvani
zurvani@ut.ac.ir
2
Associate Professor of Religions and Mysticism, University of Tehran, Iran
AUTHOR
Blofeld, John. 1978. Taoism: The Road to Immortality. Boston: Shambhala.
1
ChuangTzu. 1968. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. Translated by Burton Watson. New York: Columbia University Press.
2
Creel, Herrlee Glessner. 1970. What is Taoism? And other studies in Chinese cultural history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
3
Hick, John. 1963. Philosophy of Religion. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
4
———. 1978. Evil and the God of Love. New York, Hagerstown, San Francisco, London: Harper & Row, Publishers.
5
Tao Te Ching. 1963. Translated by Wing-tsit Chan. Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill.
6
———. Translated by Stephen Mitchell. New York Harper & Row Publishers.
7
Lin, Yutang, ed. and trans. 1976. The Wisdom of Laotse. New York: The Modern Library.
8
MacGregoi, Geddes. 1973. Philosophical Issues in Religious Thought. Boston: Houghton Milllin.
9
Mackie, J. L. 1973. “Evil and Omnipotence.” In Philosophy of Religion, edited by W. Rowe and W. Wainwright. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
10
Needham, Joseph. 1956. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11
Pojman, L., 1991. Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
12
Kirkland, Russel, Timothy Barrett, and Livia Kohn. 2000. “Introduction.” In Daoism Handbook, edited by Livia Kohn. Brill: Leiden.
13
Yu-Lan, Fung. 1952. A Hisrory of Chinese Philosophy. Translated by Deck Bodde. Princeton. N.J.: Princeton University Press.
14
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
The Nietzschean Verification of the Missing God and Steps to a Completest Self
This paper aims to present Friedrich Nietzsche’s critique of Christianity as a Western example that reconfirms the necessity for man’s inner development up to the stage of the Completest Self (nafs-i safiyya). With the advent of Christianity and the resultant triumph of its “morality of slave” (1886, sec. 260), the “death of God” (1882) becomes the “fundamental event of Western history” and its “intrinsic law” so far (Heidegger 1977, 67). The central question is how the West shall return the lost God, and so answer adequately to the drive of the eternal return? Nietzsche’s answer is expressed within the concepts of the “death before death,” the “man of Greek tragedy,” the “nomad” (“traveler”), and the “overman,” while this paper identifies their essence in the teachings of Sufism. The “death before death” declared by Prophet Mohammad (s), the Sufi exercise Stop, the background of Sufi teaching, and the seven stages of nafs, including the Completest Self, are juxtaposed to the concepts of the German philosopher. It results that according to Nietzsche, what the West should bring from the state of absence to the state of presence is the summarizing truth of Sufism.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46552_292aa758ace93d43974d9ce208608227.pdf
2016-12-01
49
67
“Death of God
” Nihilism
“Death before Death
” Sufism
Overman
Completest Self
Mirushe
Hoxha
hmirushe@yahoo.com
1
Professor of Philosophy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia
AUTHOR
Almaas, A. H. 1998. Facets of Unity. The Enneagram of Holy Ideas. Berkeley: Diamond Books.
1
Blanchot, M. 1949. Du côté de Nietzsche. ‘La Part du feu. Paris: Gallimard.
2
Clark, M. 1990. Nietzsche on Truth and Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3
Cox, Ch. 1999. Nietzsche, Naturalism, and Interpretation. Berkley: University of California Press.
4
Deleuze, G. 2002. Nietzsche and Philosophy. London, New York: Continuum.
5
Gillespie, M. A. 1995. Nihilism before Nietzsche. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
6
Heidegger, M. 1977. The Questions Concerning Technology and Other Essays. New York: Harper & Row.
7
———. 1991. Nietzsche, Volume III: The Will to Power as knowledge and as Metaphysics. Translated by J. Stambaugh, D. F. Krell, and F. A. Capuzzi. New York: HarperCollins.
8
Hoxha, M. 2001. “Jihad Mujahedin: The Death of the Ego.”Margina 54 (4).
9
———. 2002. “The Transcultural Techniques of Actor’s Self-Development: The Example of Sufi Praxis.” PhD diss., University of Zagreb.
10
———. 2009. Theater Psychology, Skopje: Magor.
11
Hujiwiri, A. 2011. Kafsh al-mahjub. The Revelation of the Veiled. An Early Persian Treatise on Sufism. Gibb Memorial Trust.
12
Jaspers, K. 1997. Nietzsche. An Introduction to the Understanding of His Philosophical Activity. Translated by Ch. F. Wallraff and F. J. Schmitz. Baltimore & London: The John Hopkins University Press.
13
Jung, C. G. 1958. Psychology and Religion: West and East. The Collected Works of Carl Gustav Jung. Vol. 11. New York: Pantheon Books.
14
———. 1995. On Religion and Christianity. Dakovo: UPT.
15
Kaufmann, W. 1974. Nietzsche Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist. Princeton University Press.
16
Landau, R. 1959. The Philosophy of Ibn Arabi, New York: Macmillian.
17
Mathnawi. Translated by Reynold Alleyne Nicholson.
18
Nehamans, A. 1985. Nietzsche. Life as Literature. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
19
Nietzsche, F. 1880. Human, All Too Human. The Wanderer and His Shadow. Accessed January 5, 2016. http://www.lexido.com/EBOOK_TEXTS/ HUMAN_ALL_TOO _HUMAN_BOOK_ONE_.aspx?S=638.
20
———. 2003. Daybreak. Edited by M. Clark and B. Leiter. Translated by R. J. Hollingdale. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
21
———. 1886/2002. Beyond Good and Evil. Edited by Rolf-Peter Horstmann and Judith Norman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Retrieved from: http://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads /Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-and-Evil.pdf).
22
———. 2007. On the Genealogy of Morality. Edited by Keith Ansell Pearson, Translated by Carol Diethe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23
———. 1891. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. A book for All and None. Accessed January 5, 2016. http://4umi.com/nietzsche/zarathustra/.
24
———. 1968. Will to Power. Edited by W. Kaufmann. Translated by Walter Kaufmann and R. J. Hollingdate. New York: Vintage Books Edition.
25
———. 2004. Ecce Homo. New York: Algora Publishing.
26
Rumi, M. J. 2001. Masnavi i Ma’navi: Teachings of Rumi. The Spiritual Couplets of Maulana Jalalu-‘d-din Muhammad i Rumi. Translated by E. H. Whinfield. Omphaloskepsis, Ames, Iowa: Omphaloskepsis.
27
———. 2002. Fihi ma fihi, Omphaloskepsis Books.
28
Shah, I. 1971. The Sufis New York: Anchor Books.
29
———. 1982. Thinkers of the East. London: The Octagon Press.
30
———. 1992. Seeker after Truth. London: The Octagon Press.
31
———. 1998. Knowing How to Know. London: The Octagon Press.
32
The Holy Qur’an. 1992. The Noor Foundation – International Inc.
33
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
The Origin of Islamic Mysticism in the Light of the Personal Unity of Existence
The question of the origin of Islamic mysticism has been one of the major concerns of many researchers in the field of mysticism in the recent decades. Some have maintained that Islamic mysticism is an imported product: a combination of Eastern spiritual traditions or a mixture of Manichaeism and Alexandrian philosophy. However, in order to find out the real origin of Islamic mysticism, the best way is to investigate the main questions of Islamic mysticism and to trace them in the Islamic culture and tradition. Reflecting on the personal unity of existence, the most important principle of Islamic mysticism, the author shows that Muslim mystics have been so inspired by the teachings of the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet and the Imams that there remains no need to look for the origin of Islamic mysticism outside the Muslim tradition.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46556_e96e4c45463360d46d19bf619fc0783b.pdf
2016-12-01
69
84
Personal Unity of Existence
manifestation
Islamic mysticism
The Oneness Of God
Encompassing Distinction
Ebrahim
Rezaei
e.rezaei@ahl.ui.ac.ir
1
Assistant Professor of Ahl al-Bayt and Quranic Studies, University of Isfahan, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Jafar
Shanazari
j.shanazari@ltr.ui.ac.ir
2
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Islamic Theology, University of Isfahan, Iran
AUTHOR
Attar, Farid al-Din. n.d. Tadhkirat al-awlia (“Biography of the Saints”). Tehran: Dil Agah Publication.
1
Badawi, Abd al-Rahman. 1381 Sh. Tarikh al-tasawuf al-islami min al-bidaeh hatta nihayat al-qarn al-thani (History of Islamic Mysticism from the Beginning to the End of the Second Century). Kuwait: Publication Agency.
2
Dawani, Jalal al-Din Mohammad. 1381 Sh. Seven Treatises. Tehran: Mirath-e Maktoob.
3
Ibn Arabi, Muhyiddin. 1370 Sh. Fusus al-hikam.
4
———. n.d. Al-Futuhat al-makkiyya. 4 vols. Beirut: Dar Sadir.
5
Ibn Turka, Sa’in al-Din. 1360 Sh. Tamhid al-qawaid. Introduced and edited by Sayyid Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani. Tehran: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
6
Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub. 1365 Sh. Al-Kafi. Edited by Ali Akbar Ghafari. Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyeh.
7
Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir. 1404 AH. Bihar al-anwar. Beirut: Al-Wafa Publication.
8
Nahj al-balaghah (The Path of Eloquence). Translated into Farsi by Sayyid Jafar Shahidi.
9
Qaysari, Dawood. 1381 Sh. Sharh Fusus al-hikam (“Commentary on Fusus al-hikam”). Edited by Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani. Tehran: Bostan-e Kitab Publication.
10
Qushayri, Abu al-Qasim. 1379 Sh. Risalah Qushayriyyah (“Qushayri Treatise”). Translated by Abu Ali Hasan ibn Ahmad Uthmani. Edited and annotated by Badi al-Zaman Forazanfar. Tehran: Ilmi va Farhangi Publication.
11
Saduq, Muhammad b. Ali. 1389 AH. Al-Tawhid. Qom: Intisharat-i Jami’a Mudarrisin.
12
The Holy Qur’an.
13
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
A Historical Analysis of the Quranic Concept of Lapidating Devils with Meteors
The Quranic concept of lapidating devils with meteors has received a variety of interpretations throughout Islamic history. In the past, it was interpreted to mean heavenly meteors thrown at devils in order to prevent them from giving ear to heavenly tidings. However, in the fourteenth century AH and as a result of modern scientific achievements, different non-literal interpretations were suggested. These interpretation and their place in the contemporary Quranic exegesis will be studied in this article.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46557_60aa8bce08ad026d0be6ad7ee5afb54c.pdf
2016-12-01
85
95
Meteor
Star
Devils
Jinn
allegory
Jafar
Nekoonam
jnekoonam@gmail.com
1
Associate Professor of Quran and Hadith, Qom University, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Fatemeh Sadat
Moosavi Harami
saba3711@gmail.com
2
PhD Candidate in Comparative Exegesis, Qom University, Iran
AUTHOR
Afandi, Muhibb al-Din. n.d. Tanzil al-ayat ‘ala al-shawahid min al-abyat. Qom: Sharikat Matba‘at wa Maktabat Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi wa Awladih.
1
‘Ali, Jawad. 2001. Al-Mufassal fi tarikh al-‘arab qabl al-Islam. Dar al-Saqi.
2
Alusi, Mahmud. 1415 AH. Ruh al-ma‘ani fi tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘azim. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya.
3
Baghawi, Husayn ibn Mas‘ud. 1992. Ma‘alim al-tanzil fi tafsir al-Qur’an. Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi.
4
Darwaza, M. 1961. Al-Tafsir al-hadith. Cairo: Dar Ihya’ al-Kutub al-‘Arabiyyah.
5
Farahidi, Khalil. 1410 AH. Kitab al-‘Ayn. Qom: Hijrat Press.
6
Ibn al-Jawzi, Abu l-Faraj. 1994. Zad al-masir fi ‘ilm al-tafsir. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi.
7
Ibn Hajar. n.d. Fath al-bari. Beirut: Dar al-Misriyyah.
8
Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad. 2008. Musnad Ahmad. Beirut: Dar Sadir.
9
Ibn Kathir. 1419 AH. Tasfir al-Quran al-‘azim. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah.
10
Ibn Manzur, Muhammad. 1995. Lisan al-‘Arab. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
11
Javadi Amoli, A. 1932. Tafsir Sura Saffat, Session 10. Accessed February 20, 2015. http://portal.esra.ir/Pages/Index.aspx?kind=2&lang=fa&id=NzQ0MQ%3d%3d-4i02Adg8KXU%3d&admin=200&SkinId=66.
12
Maraghi, Ahmad. n.d. Tafsir al-Maraghi. Beirut: Dar Ihia’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi.
13
Misbah Yazdi, Muhammad Taqi. 2013. Ma‘arif Qur’an. Qom: Imam Khomeini Institute of Education and Research.
14
Najafi, Ruhullah. 2011. “Bazkawi guzara Qur’ani rajm shayatin ba shihab-ha.” Mutala‘at Islami ‘ulum Qur’an wa hadith 86 (3): 135-64.
15
Qummi, ‘Ali. 1367 Sh. Tafsir al-Qummi. Qom: Dar al-Kitab.
16
Qutb, Sayyid. 1991. Fi zilal al-Qur’an. Beirut: Dar al-Shuruq.
17
Saduq, Muhammad. 1405 AH. Kamal al-din wa tamam al-ni‘ma. Edited by Ali Akbar Ghaffari. Qom: Mu’assasa Nashr Islami.
18
Samarqandi, Nasr. 1416 AH. Bahr al-‘ulum. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
19
Shami, Yahya. 1993. Tarikh al-tanjim ‘ind al-‘arab wa atharih fi al-mujtama‘at al-‘arabiyyah wa al-islamiyyah. Beirut: Mu’assasat ‘Izz al-Din.
20
Shawkani, Muhammad. 1993. Fath al-qadir. Damascus: Dar Ibn Kathir.
21
Tabari, Ibn Jarir. 2002. Jami‘ al-bayan an ta’wil ay al-Qur’an. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
22
Tabatabai, Muhammad Husayn. 1995. Al-Mizan fi tafsir al-Qur’an. Qom: Daftar Intisharat Islami.
23
Tha‘labi, Ahmad. 1994. Al-Kashf wa al-bayan ‘an tafsir al-Qur’an. Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi.
24
The Quran. Translated by M. M. Pickthal.
25
Zaydan, Jurji. 2011. Tarikh-i tamaddun-i Islam. Translated by Ali Javaherkalam. Tehran: Intisharat Amir Kabir.
26
[1]. See also Ibn Kathir (1419 AH, 7:5), Maraghi (n.d., 29, 98), and Tabari (2002, 23:46-47).
27
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
the complete version of this issue
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_50307_eab5b0a9eeeee82caac44b55c60177b1.pdf
2016-12-01
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96