The muʿtazila's arguments against divine command theory
The Muʿtazilī theologians, particularly the later Imāmī ones, developed numerous interesting arguments against divine command theory. The arguments, however, have not received the attention they deserve. Some of the arguments have been discussed in passing, and some have not been discussed at all. I...
| Published in: | Religious studies |
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| Subtitles: | Special issue: "The Existence and Nature of Deities" |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
2022
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| In: |
Religious studies
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Motazilites
/ Voluntarism
/ Theology
/ Metaethics
/ History 1200-1500
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism BJ Islam FA Theology NCA Ethics TG High Middle Ages TH Late Middle Ages |
| Further subjects: | B
The Ashāʿira
B Morality B Divine Command Theory B The Imāmī B The Muʿtazila B Sharia B God B The Late Kalām Period B Reason |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The Muʿtazilī theologians, particularly the later Imāmī ones, developed numerous interesting arguments against divine command theory. The arguments, however, have not received the attention they deserve. Some of the arguments have been discussed in passing, and some have not been discussed at all. In this article, I aim to present and analyse the arguments. To that end, I first distinguish between different semantic, ontological, epistemological, and theological theses that were often conflated in the debate, and examine the logical relation among them. Then I go over the Muʿtazila's arguments determining, among other things, which of the theses was targeted by each argument. In presenting the arguments, I focus mainly on the late kalām period, the period falling roughly between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries of the common era, as the arguments were at their most sophisticated level by this time. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-901X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religious studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0034412521000172 |