An Examination of Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s Critiques of the Peripatetic View on Divine Foreknowledge

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Ph.D. Graduate in Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology and Ahl-al-Bayt (Prophet's Descendants) Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Divine foreknowledge is one of the most significant and complex issues in theology. How did God, the Exalted, have knowledge of things prior to creation? Did He possess knowledge through imprinted forms (suwar murtasimah), or through acquired knowledge (ʿilm ḥuṣūlī), or through presentational knowledge (ʿilm ḥuḍūrī)? Or, as some believe, should such knowledge be denied altogether? Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī critiques the Peripatetic view on divine foreknowledge on five key points. On the other hand, Mullā Ṣadrā, though disagreeing with the Peripatetic position and offering his own theory on the matter, has responded to all of Ṭūsī’s objections. Using an analytical-logical method, this study re-examines and evaluates all five of Ṭūsī’s critiques in terms of their foundational and structural aspects. The main objective of this paper is to analyze Ṭūsī’s criticisms of Avicenna’s theory of divine foreknowledge. It will further be shown that Mullā Ṣadrā’s theory of divine foreknowledge — known as “detailed knowledge within the very mode of indistinct comprehension” (al-ʿilm al-ijmālī fī ʿayn al-kashf al-tafṣīlī) — is, in its foundations, partially adopted from certain principles upheld by Ṭūsī.

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References

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