Ibn 'Arabi and Modern Thought: The History of Taking Metaphysics Seriously

216 Pages·2002·14.53 MB·English

by  Peter Coates

Ibn ¡Arabi and
Modern Thought
the history of taking
metaphysics seriously
Also available from Anqa Publishing
The Seven Days of the Heart: awråd al-usb¬¡, by ibn ¡arab¨
translated by pablo Beneito and stephen hirtenstein
Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries: mashåhid al-asrår, by ibn ¡arab¨
translated by cecilia twinch and pablo Beneito
Divine Sayings: 101 ±ad¨th Quds¨, by ibn ¡arab¨
translated by stephen hirtenstein and martin notcutt
The Universal Tree and the Four Birds: al-itti¢åd al-kawn¨, by ibn ¡arab¨
translated by angela Jaffray
A Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection: al-dawr al-a¡lå,
by ibn ¡arab¨
study, translation, transliteration and arabi text by
suha taji-farouki
The Four Pillars of Spiritual Transformation: ±ilyåt al-abdal,
by ibn ¡arab¨
translated by stephen hirtenstein
The Unlimited Mercifier: the Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn ¡Arab¨
stephen hirtenstein
The Nightingale in the Garden of Love: the Poems of Üftade
paul Ballanfat; translated from french by angela culme-seymour
Beshara and Ibn ‘Arabi: A Movement of Sufi Spirituality in
the Modern World
suha taji-farouki
Ibn ¡Arabi and
Modern Thought
the history of taking
metaphysics seriously
peter coates
anQa puBlishing • oXforD
published by anqa publishing
po Box 1178
oxford oX2 8ys, uk
www.ibn-arabi.com
© peter coates 2002
first published 2002
reprinted 2008, with amendments
peter coates has asserted his moral right under
the copyright, Designs and patents act, 1988,
to be identified as the author of this work.
all rights reserved. no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, without
the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
a cip catalogue record for this book is available
from the British library
isBn 978 09534513 7 1
cover by iota Design
printed in the usa by Quebecor World eusey press,
leominster, massachusetts
To Barbara, Ursula and Paul
Acknowledgements
my deepest gratitude and debt to the late Bulent rauf for his patience
and encouragement, and for providing a wonderful opportunity for
me, and many others, to be introduced to the study of ibn ¡arabi.
to Barbara for her unfailing support and role as sounding-board.
i also dearly thank mrs elizabeth roberts and Dr michael cohen
for their helpful and insightful suggestions, and Dr niels Detert for
his diligent and overall comments on much of the material. there
are many others, students and friends, too numerous to mention,
who have contributed, wittingly or unwittingly, to many of the ideas
contained in this book. for introducing me, very many years ago,
to the whole area of the study of religion, philosophy and modern
thought, i would like to thank, in particular, the late professor ninian
smart and his inaugural department at lancaster.
and last but not least, my thanks to stephen hirtenstein, michael
tiernan and Judy kearns for all their help in the production of this
book.
Contents
1 The orientation of this study 1
introduction 1
ibn ¡arabi’s picture of reality 3
the question about questions: knowledge and
its essential direction 4
metaphysics, historically positioned discourses
and human aspiration 10
Degrees of knowledge: the principle of immanencing 20
ibn ¡arabi and modern thought: a recon¥gured
topography 23
notes 33
2 Ibn ¡Arabi: philosophy and reason 37
ibn ¡arabi, averroës and philosophy as demonstrative
science 37
philosophy, reason and metaphysics 43
reason and essential contestability 50
reason and commitment 54
scienti¥c philosophy 59
philosophy of the subject 68
Wahdat al-wujud, wisdom and reason 74
notes 78
3 Ibn ¡Arabi and the era 81
the metaphysics of the era: creation and change 81
social science and the emergence of the modern era 88
the reorientation of the self: science, technology
and industrialization 98
modernity, postmodernity and relativism 108
notes 120
viii ~ contents
4 Ibn ¡Arabi and the self 123
the metaphysics of self-knowledge 123
modern psychology and the self 135
the treatment of the self in modern scienti¥c psychology 135
the relative invisibility of the self under the searchlight
of experimentalism 137
self and experience beyond the experimentalist paradigm 141
the turn towards a discursive–critical perspective 146
further comments on the treatment of subjectivity and
self in psychology and computational models of mind 148
Wider perspectives on the mind and self in the early
history of psychology: the case of Wundt and James 156
psychology, post-empiricist views of science and the self 165
psychology and essential contestability 169
the self as sui generis 170
psychology, therapy and the self 172
feminism and the self 177
postscript 181
notes 183
Bibliography 187
Name index 193
Subject index 195
“god never commanded his prophet to seek increase of anything except
knowledge, since all good (khayr) lies therein. it is the greatest charismatic
gift. idleness with knowledge is better than ignorance with good works …
By knowledge i mean only knowledge of god, of the next world, and of
that, which is appropriate for this world, in relationship to that for which
this world was created and established. then man’s affairs will be ‘upon in-
sight’ wherever he is, and he will be ignorant of nothing in himself and his
activities.”
ibn ¡arabi, Futuhat al-Makkiyah; trans. W. c. chittick, The Sufi Path of Knowledge, p.|148.
“the possessor of consideration is delimited by the ruling power of his
reflection, but reflection can only roam in its own specific playing field, which
is one of many fields. each faculty in man has a playing field in which it roams
and beyond which it should not step.”
ibn ¡arabi, Futuhat al-Makkiyah; trans. W. c. chittick, The Sufi Path of Knowledge, p.|165.