Sie sind auf Seite 1von 6

Ahmed Haseeb Ahmed Professor William C.

Chittick RLS 380: Islamic Classics: Philosophical Psychology

According to al-Ghazali: The Goal of Studying the Soul

The primary goal of philosophy in general, is to achieve true wisdom. Philosophers have attempted to attain this wisdom of the truth of the world through various intellectual means. Muslim Philosophers have particularly understood this intellectual struggle predominantly through the faculty of the soul. These philosophers have divided the soul and its encompassing sub-faculties in various ways. They generally all came to the consensus that the soul was the innermost essential human faculty and in it lay the connection to the truth and wisdom. The soul due to its very nature had the potential to become actualized and turn into the intellect; the highest actualized potential and closest to the perfect or divine state. This can be better explained with the common philosophical dichotomy of form vs. matter. The soul is the matter of the intellect as the intellect is the form of the soul. Although Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), was highly critical of the philosophers means of investigating the soul (he wrote The Incoherence of the Philosophers, in an attempt to refute many approaches and conclusions made by his

Ahmed preceding philosophers), he himself was highly knowledgeable and learned in their methods. He also shared with them the principle of the souls potential, and

its faculties. And al-Ghazali agreed with all of these interpretations of the faculties and their relation to the soul in terms of his own religious belief and doctrine as there is nothing in what they have mentioned that must be denied in terms of the religious law 1. Al-Ghazali also agreed with the philosophers view of the grand attainable reward from actualizing the soul. His criticisms lie particularly to their claim that reason alone is sufficient for attaining wisdom. Nonetheless, Al-Ghazali held firm to his beliefs that through gaining knowledge of the highest faculty of the rational human soul, true understanding and ultimate knowledge can be attained. Like his preceding Muslim philosophers, the soul was understood to be the highest faculty. Al-Ghazali confirmed that the philosophers notion of the subfaculties of the animal and human faculties2. He methodically explained each subcategory of all the faculties in the Eighteenth Discussion of The Incoherence of the Philosophers. The animal faculties were divided into motive and apprehending. The motive faculties were motor-inducing, while the apprehending faculties were more perceptual. These were subdivided into internal and external apprehending faculties. The external faculties referred to the five senses: touch, sight, hearing,

1 2

Packet, 34 Packet, 35

Ahmed

smell, and taste; and the internal faculties: imaginative, sense intuitive, cogitative, and retentive. The highest faculty that only humans have is the rational human soul. AlGhazali divides the soul into two faculties as well; a practical and cognitive faculty. The practical faculty, or intellect moves the body of man toward the ordered human arts whose order is drawn out by deliberation, [the activity] proper to man3. In other words, this faculty guards the practical soul and relates it to all worldly matters. Just as human beings are comprised of the body, soul, and spirit; the practical intellect of the soul refers to the relationship between the soul and the body. Therefore, the practical intellect is the part of the soul is receptive from below. It controls are all other bodily faculties, and is ultimately the dominant source of all bodily affairs. Whereas the practical intellect refers to the faculty of the soul that relates the body to the soul, the cognitive intellect relates the body to the spirit. Therefore, it is receptive from above. Also known as the theoretical intellect, the cognitive intellects function is to apprehend the true natures of the intelligibles stripped from matter, place, and [spatial] direction4. The theoretical intellect is the part of the soul that can receive knowledge of the divine and all the true sciences. This is the soul that can understand and grasp Reality.

3 4

Packet, 34 (lines 1-3) Packet, 34 (lines 4-5)

Ahmed Therefore the complete rational human soul has both practical and cognitive/theoretical intellects, or faculties. Both are necessary to define the complete soul. The practical intellect is responsible for the body, and all worldly affairs; including rectifying moral character and disciplining and controlling the sub-bodily faculties. The practical intellect must take control over all bodily desires and not let the lower wishes dictate the human being. This is what is meant by controlling the lower self. Yet the practical faculty of the soul is limited to bodily affairs. The theoretical intellect is necessary to delve into the nature of the Divine; to understand God. The theoretical soul, being oriented towards the intelligibles, is the only means by which matters beyond the world can be

understood. It is the use of the theoretical faculty of the soul that must be studied to achieve the true goal of knowing the Divine, or of understanding Reality. However, al-Ghazali differs from other philosophers in attesting that studying the soul by oneself itself is not by itself a sufficient means of attaining this goal. To attain the desired cognitive reception from above, a certain amount of information must be unveiled to the human being from a higher source. This notion distinguishes al-Ghazali from most other philosophers; as philosophy in general contends that man is fully self-sufficient to achieve full wisdom, and attain all humanly potential goals. Al- Ghazali believes that there is a limit of what can be understood without divine intervention, and the goals cannot be achieved without it.

Ahmed In The Niche of Lights, al-Ghazali, systematically explains the true meaning

of light. The true meaning of light can only be defined only by terms of its source, which is The Light ( ,)or one of the divine names that define God. The light

of knowledge must be unveiled from God Himself to human beings. Therefore he clearly explains that there is a limit to how much can be gained without the unveiling of light from God, and only with Gods light can one reach the potential goals of the soul; of understanding Reality. The source of all knowledge is the source of all light, and only when the Light or Reality is unveiled to the slave5, or guided by God, can man achieve the goals of the soul, to fulfill the highest level of knowledge attainable through the highest faculties, to the understanding of Reality.

God is the light of the heavens and the earth Light upon light: God guides whomever God will to divine light; and God gives people examples. And God is cognizant of everything6.

5 6

Packet, 43 Quran 24:35

Ahmed Works Cited Al-Ghazali, The Incoherence of the Philosophers Translated by Michael M. Marmura (Prove 1997) Packet pp. 33-36

Al-Ghazali, The Niche of Lights Translated by David Buchman (Provo 1998) Packet pp. 37-44

The Quran: A New Translation by Thomas Cleary (Starlatch Press 2004)

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen