Jump to content

Philosophical Instructions (book)

Add links
Without priority, Quality: c
Without navbox
Without redirects
Without references
From wikishia
Philosophical Instructions
AuthorMuhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi
Original titleAmūzish-i falsafa
LanguagePersian
Series2 vol.
SubjectIslamic philosophy
Published1985, Iran
PublisherIslamic Development Organization; International Publishing Company; Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute
English translation
En. titlePhilosophical Instructions


Philosophical Instructions (Persian: آموزش فلسفه, Amūzish-i falsafa) is a book on Islamic philosophy by Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, which includes discussions on the history of philosophy, epistemology, ontology, and theology. The classic educational writing style, as well as its fluency and expressiveness while remaining scientific, has been highly commended.

Content

Amuzish-yi falsafa is a textbook on Islamic philosophy published in two volumes. It consists of seven parts, three of which can be found in the first volume and the other four in the second volume. According to the author, this book does not refer to issues discussed in Western societies and does not answer the new doubts of contemporary atheistic schools.[1]

Content of Volume One

The first volume consists of thirty lessons. The first chapter focuses on preliminary discussions and the history of philosophy, followed by the second, in which Epistemology topics are raised, and the final chapter of this volume covers Ontology.[2] The opening passage of the book reminds us that the history of human thought has advanced along with the development of man throughout history; whenever a human has lived, they have carried thought and reflection as an inseparable characteristic with them wherever they went.[3]

Content of Volume Two

The second volume consists of forty lessons beginning with the fourth chapter, which covers issues related to Cause and Effect, followed by the fifth chapter, which focuses on issues related to abstract (mujarrad) and material (maddi) existence are examined. In the sixth chapter of this volume, the content is organized around fixed and variable existence. The final chapter focuses on issues related to Theology.[4]

The book concludes with discussions on the justification of evils in the universe, emphasizing that the evils and defects of this world are inseparable requirements of its causal system and the good of the world dominates its accidental evils. Abandoning abundant good to avoid minor evil is contrary to wisdom and defeats the purpose. Even these minor, relative and accidental evils have many benefits, and the more human knowledge increases, the more aware one becomes of the wisdom and secrets of this world.[5]

About the Author

Main article: Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi

Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi was born in February 1935 in the city of Yazd. In the sciences of jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence, he studied for eight years under Ayatollah Burujirdi and Imam Khomeini, two years under Muhammad Ali Araki, and fifteen years under Muhammad Taqi Bahjat.[6] He attended the lessons of Allama Tabatabaʾi in Tafsir and philosophy, studying al-Asfar of Mulla Sadra and al-Shifa of Ibn Sina under him. In ethics and 'Irfan (mysticism), he benefited from Allama Tabatabaʾi, Muhammad Taqi Bahjat, and Ansari Hamadani.[7] Muhammad 'Ali Nahwi, Abd al-Husayn 'Ajamin, Sayyid 'Ali Rida Mudarrisi, Muhammad Anwari, Murtada Ha'iri Yazdi, and Abd al-Jawad Jabal 'Amili were among his other teachers.[8]

Motivation for Compilation

The book Amuzish-yi falsafa is a collection of lessons presented by Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi at the Dar Rah-i Haq Institute. It was compiled by some of the students of this institute and was published in 1987.[9] The lack of course content, inadequacy of the content of books in the field of Islamic philosophy,[10] presence of misconceptions regarding philosophical issues, breaking philosophical dogmatism among philosophy enthusiasts and difficulty in explaining philosophical terms are among the issues that provided the author's motivation for compiling this book.[11]

Merits of the Work

According to the publisher, the merit of this work should be sought in two matters: First, the classic educational method in writing this work, where, in each lesson, in addition to a summary of the contents, questions are raised for students to practice. Second, the writing style with a fluent and expressive flow that is free from ambiguities and complex philosophical terms, making it easy to understand while maintaining the scientific nature of the discussions.[12] Today, this book is used as a textbook in some seminaries and university centers, such as the Iranian Institute of Philosophy.[13]

Editions and Translations

The Persian version of this book was published for the first time in 1985 by the efforts of the Islamic Development Organization.[14] Subsequently, in later years it was reprinted multiple times by the International Publishing Company[15] and the publications of the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute.[16]

This book has also been translated into other languages, some of which include:

  • English Translation: Titled Philosophical Instructions: An Introduction to Contemporary Islamic Philosophy, translated by Muhammad Legenhausen and Azim Sarwdalir. It was published by the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, New York, in 1999.[17]
  • Arabic Translation: Titled Al-Manhaj al-jadid fi taʿlim al-falsafa, translated by Muhammad 'Abd al-Mun'im al-Khaqani. It was published by the Islamic Publications Office affiliated with the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom in 1409 AH.[18]
  • Thai Translation: This translation was carried out by the Cultural Center of Iran in Thailand.[19]
  • Bosnian Translation: This translation was published through the joint efforts of the Mulla Sadra Foundation, the Foundation for Heritage of Spirituality, and the Research Institute of Al-Mustafa International University.[20]
  • Spanish Translation: 10 lessons related to the chapter on epistemology have been translated as a master's thesis at Al-Mustafa International University.[21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 1, p. 22.
  2. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 1, p. 7.
  3. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 1, p. 29.
  4. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 2, p. 7.
  5. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 2, p. 525.
  6. ↑ Scientific Dimensions, Website of Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi's works.
  7. ↑ Scientific Dimensions, Website of Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi's works.
  8. ↑ Ṣanʿatī, Guftimān-i Miṣbāḥ, pp. 42-43.
  9. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 1, p. 16.
  10. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 1, p. 21.
  11. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, vol. 1, p. 21.
  12. ↑ Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Amūzish-i falsafa, p. 17.
  13. ↑ Teaching the book Amūzish-i falsafa, Iranian Institute of Philosophy; Teaching the book Amūzish-i falsafa, Al-Thaqalain website.
  14. ↑ Amūzish-i falsafa, National Library and Archives of Iran.
  15. ↑ Amūzish-i falsafa Vol 2, International Publishing.
  16. ↑ Amūzish-i falsafa Vol 2, E-shop of Imam Khomeini Institute Publications.
  17. ↑ Thai translation of the book "Amūzish-i falsafa" published, Website of Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi's works.
  18. ↑ Amūzish-i falsafa, Ketabnak website.
  19. ↑ Thai translation of the book "Amūzish-i falsafa" published, Website of Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi's works.
  20. ↑ Translation of "Amūzish-i falsafa" by Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi received honorary diploma, Mehr News Agency.
  21. ↑ Translation of 10 lessons of Epistemology from the book Islamic Philosophical Instructions by Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi into Spanish, IranDoc website.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Philosophical_Instructions_(book)&oldid=203119"