Signs of Skepticism in Early Abbasid Literature: The Case of al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255/869)

The well-known littérateur, al-Jāḥiẓ, was heavily invested in the theological controversies of his time. A chief object of dispute was anthropomorphism (tashbīh). For al-Jāḥiẓ, who had great confidence in the mind to discover all truths and also in the language of the Arabs to express these truths w...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Heck, Paul L. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Brill 2015
In: Journal of Abbasid Studies
Year: 2015, Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: 220-244
Further subjects:B Anthropomorphism (tashbīh) Arabic literature Islamic theology pedagogy polemics
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)

MARC

LEADER 00000caa a22000002 4500
001 1561882283
003 DE-627
005 20220604141229.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 170808s2015 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1163/22142371-12340019  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1561882283 
035 |a (DE-576)491882289 
035 |a (DE-599)BSZ491882289 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rakwb 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 0  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |0 (DE-588)1060031914  |0 (DE-627)799173401  |0 (DE-576)184603137  |4 aut  |a Heck, Paul L. 
109 |a Heck, Paul L.  |a Heck, Paul 
245 1 0 |a Signs of Skepticism in Early Abbasid Literature: The Case of al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255/869) 
264 1 |c 2015 
300 |a Online-Ressource 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a The well-known littérateur, al-Jāḥiẓ, was heavily invested in the theological controversies of his time. A chief object of dispute was anthropomorphism (tashbīh). For al-Jāḥiẓ, who had great confidence in the mind to discover all truths and also in the language of the Arabs to express these truths with clarity, anthropomorphist belief amounted to muddled thinking. In his view, the partisans of anthropomorphism simply did not understand how to interpret the language of scripture, nor did they grasp the rational criteria on the basis of which claims to knowledge could be satisfactorily made. Al-Jāḥiẓ attacked anthropomorphist belief (and related topics) in varied theological treatises, but he also took on anthropomorphism in some of his literary treatises, notably The Superiority of the Belly to the Back and The Book of Squaring and Circling. These two literary treatises not only bear the marks of theological controversy, they are also “teaching” tools indicating that al-Jāḥiẓ deployed a skeptical strategy in quasi-satirical form as a way to inculcate in the partisans of anthropomorphism doubts about their own beliefs. 
601 |a Abbasiden 
601 |a Literatur 
650 4 |a Anthropomorphism (tashbīh)  |x Arabic literature  |x Islamic theology  |x pedagogy  |x polemics 
773 0 8 |i In  |t Journal of Abbasid Studies  |d Leiden : Brill, 2014  |g 2(2015), 2, Seite 220-244  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)791558711  |w (DE-600)2779360-6  |w (DE-576)410285269  |x 2214-2371  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:2  |g year:2015  |g number:2  |g pages:220-244 
856 4 0 |u http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22142371-12340019  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
935 |a mteo 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 2976737983 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1561882283 
LOK |0 005 20170808150447 
LOK |0 008 170808||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a bril 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REL |a 1 
SUB |a REL