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Occasionalism And The Debate About CausATIon In Early Modern Germany Original PublicATIon 2021 By Christian Henkel Your 2025 2026 Academic Edge

Embark on a profound philosophical journey into Occasionalism and the intricate historical discourse surrounding causation in Early Modern G

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Incoherence of the Philosophers

Essay written as extra credit for Sociology class, it is about Incoherence of the Philosophers and Al-Ghazali

The Incoherence of the Philosophers was written by Al-Ghazali. It gained traction during the 11th century, a time that falls during the period known as the Golden Age of Islam. This book has long since been revered as the beginning of Occasionalism in Islam, and the reason for many Islamic philosophical beliefs. The Incoherence of the Philosophers was a turning point in Islamic thinking and many questions and answers can be gleaned from the book.

Abu-Hamid Al-Ghazali

Al-Ghazali was a Persian Philosopher, he was born in Tus, Greater Khorasan, Seljuq Empire, in the year 1058. Al-Ghazali was considered a Mujaddid by some of the Muslims of his time, this is because he was well known for his works being very well written and having good arguments. He was known as a student of the Asharite school of Islamic theology, and a supporter of Occasionalism. He had written a total of around 70 works, most written in Arabic but a few written in Persian.

Al-Ghazali was educated by a man known as Al-Juwaynī. Al-Juwaynī was a well-known imam who earned the title of imām al-ḥaramayn. When his teacher died, Al-Ghazali was appointed to the court of Niẓām al-Mulk, the powerful vizier of the sultans. Al-Mulk was impressed by Al-Ghazali and his scholarship. In 1901, Al-Ghazali was appointed as chief professor in the Niẓāmīyah college in Baghdad by the vizier. Although reports vary, it can be assumed that either while studying under Al-Juwayni or while teaching at the college, he was also studying Neoplatonist (the belief that people can reach perfection in this life before returning to God, they seek God and perfection in finite experiences) philosophies of Al-Fārābī and Avicenna. In 1095, Al-Ghazali abandoned his career due to a spiritual crisis, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

He later adopted the life of a Sufi and, after traveling a bit, decided to settle in Ṭūs. There he lived a monastic communal life with his disciples. In 1106 he was persuaded to return to teaching at the Niẓāmīyah college. A “renewal” of the life of Islam was expected at the beginning of each century, and his friends argued that he was the “renewal” for the century beginning in September 1106, that is why he decided to go back. He continued lecturing in Nishapur at least until 1110, that is when he returned to Tus, and died the following year. Al-Ghazali was known to have written 400 works, however, many of these works were falsified or have doubtful authenticity, the most we know of is 70 works that have been proven to be his.

Incoherence of the Philosophers

The Incoherence of the Philosophers was a group of 20 chapters trying to refute selective Avicenna's doctrines. In 17 of those chapters he lists 17 heresy’s he believes Avicenna and his followers have made, in the last 3 he accuses them of being atheist or irreligious. The Incoherence of the Philosophers is an Occasionalist writing, as well as clearly motivated by Ashari beliefs. The book favors faith over philosophy in matters specifically concerning metaphysics or knowledge of the divine. He places the idea that God is rational, therefore all rational turn of events is because he chooses them to happen. Basically, he argues that everything is by the will of God as opposed to natural law.

Occasionalism originated in France by philosopher Louis de la Forge. But it was al-Ash’ari who was the first of the Islamic occasionalist, and it was his school that first began looking into what such a philosophy could mean for the intellectual world. Even though al-Ash’ari was the first to introduce this idea to the Islamic world, it was Al-Ghazali who wrote the most influential and significant works, the most famous being The Incoherence of Philosophers. Occasionalism is the metaphysical theory which maintains that finite things have no efficient causality of their own, but that whatever happens in the world is caused by God, this definition, although simplified, can be seen in both the Islamic and Catholic views of religion. Catholic occasionalism first opened in Descartes’ Meditations. However, this type of occasionalism is far from the original doctrine rather it has everything to do with the interests, problems, and concerns of philosophy in the late and postmodern periods. In fact, some of these thoughts laid the foundation for the development of modern science itself.

Ash'arism or Ashʿari theology is the theological belief that a person must use and speculation to argue their religious beliefs. It is the school that pushes research and finding things out for yourself. For example, Al-Ghazali asks followers to look and see for themselves whether the Prophet Muhammed was really a Prophet by looking at his deeds and actions. Ashʿarism became the main school of early Islamic philosophy, Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari founded the school in the 10th century based on the teachings of his teacher Abdullah ibn Sa'eed ibn Kullaab. However, the school underwent many changes throughout history, resulting in a much broader meaning to the world, just as we see now. It was originally a bridge between rationalism and faith, al-Hassan was both a hater for overuse of rationality, while also being a hater of the overuse of faith.

Al-Ghazali was known to write for and against things that he had in the past despised or loved. In his works, he both recommends and criticizes rationalism, faith, and many other things. It was often believed that Al-Ghazali was irresolute in his beliefs, many believing he took the side of the people directly around him. This is something that is often used against his writings, and in many cases is the main argument against his character. Al-Ghazali's own beliefs are indeed hard to surmise, however due to this we get a wide variety of writings, most very well argued, for and against different beliefs.

Ibn-Sina and Al-Farabi

Ibn Sina was a well-known polymath and father of modern medicine. He was one of the greatest ambassadors of the Islamic Golden age, reawakening Europe’s loss of philosophical debate. He used the science and philosophy of the Greeks and Muslims to create an explanation for all things in life. He tries to prove the metaphysical through rational thinking and science. That was Al-Ghazali's main concern with him. Al-Ghazali believed that no philosopher should try to explain the metaphysical through science, but rather to accept it. He bashed Ibn-Sina for being too western and for basing his studies on Aristotle's teachings as opposed to Islamic thought.

Al-Farabi was considered the founder of philosophy in the Islamic world. There is little known about him and most of his writings are lost or untranslated. However, we do know a little about his beliefs. We know that he incorporated Greek philosophy into his works, which is a part of the reason Al-Ghazali denounces him. Al-Ghazali argues that Al-Farabi follows these philosophies even if they contradict, in his opinion, Islamic beliefs. The issue with this is that we are unsure of how true this is. Al-Farabi was known to have written for his audience, he was far from a copier of Aristotle. We know that he believed that God was the center of the world, we also know that he believed logic must be reinvented in order to truly be logical. So, while, yes, he put a lot of faith into reason, he was far from teaching Greek philosophy to his audience. Due to the loss of his work, we truly are unable to see how true Al-Ghazali's claims are.

Incoherence of the Incoherence

The most well-known rebuttal to The Incoherence of the Philosophers comes from Ibn-Rushd and his writing, The Incoherence of the Incoherence. Ibn-Rushd better known as Averroes was born 15 years after al-Ghazali's death. He came at a time in which philosophy had begun to be a negative in the Islamic world. He came to be regarded as the most influential Muslim philosopher, bringing back interest of Ancient Greek philosophy in Europe, while also defending philosophy in the Muslim world. He had challenged anti-philosophers in the Sunni tradition that had arisen from Al-Ghazali's attack on old philosophers.

In his book he argues that the idea that philosophy, especially that of the west, were outside the beliefs of Islam was wrong. He used the Quran to prove that there are three paths in which one could conclude with on Islamic truths. He argues that philosophy is the best of these paths and should therefore be taught. The Incoherence of the Incoherence is written in a dialectic way, meaning he quotes Al-Ghazali's works, then responds to them. Ibn-Rashid's works were not well received in the Islamic world, however in Europe, he was reversed by Christians and Jews alike. He gave rise to a school of philosophy known as Averroism. These people believed that there were two truths, religious truths and hard truths, which is different to what Ibn-Rashid's teachings were, which was that there was one truth that was reached in two different ways.

The Islamic Golden Age

The Islamic Golden Age was a period of rapid growth in science, philosophy and economy. It is generally dated to be from the 8th century to the 13th century, starting under Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. It was a time in which curiosity and debate ran rampant, while Europe and most of the world lay ignorant to such topics. During the Golden Age, the major Islamic capital cities became the main intellectual centers for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. The government heavily patronized scholars and literature was of high demand. Outside of philosophy, there were heavy changes to science and technology under the Islamic Golden Age. These changes such as Algebra, are important parts of math and medicine today. There was also an increase in art, like calligraphy, tile work, and architecture.

Fall of the Golden Age

It's hard to say when exactly it fell, however some historians believe it was when the Mongols sacked Baghdad and destroyed the House of Wisdom in 1258. Others believe it was the conquest of the Middle East by the Ottomans that brought an end to the Golden age. Others, still, believe it was the economic decline in the 16th century that brought an end to this era. While others, believe it was Al-Ghazali who brought an end to the era. This is the weakest belief as it can clearly be seen that works from the golden age continued long after he died. It is hard to truly place when this era ended, but what is known is that it ended, and many western people believe that the work went backwards. Hard to say if true or not, as most of the history of the middle east is muddied with foreign affairs.

All that being said, The Incoherence of the Philosophers is a well written but controversial writing. It led to many different changes in Islamic philosophy as well as European philosophy. It is clearly a mark of its time and should be taken as a window into the long-forgotten world of the Islamic Golden Age. Al-Ghazali was a man of many thoughts and opinions, just as many as others had of him. Yet there is something to gleam from his writing, whether you agree or not, is that this time was essential to the development of future Islamic policies, ideologies and for how the rest of the world viewed the Middle East. Al-Ghazali was a good writer, and his works spawned many of the cultural beliefs Muslims hold today. Whether or not that is a good thing, depends on the person.

The lesson of FMA.

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4 Views on How God Interacts with Creation

Theologians often ponder the distinct attributes of God. God is known to be spirit, omniscient, omnipotent, omnisapient, omnibenevolent, and omnipresent. Creation is finite, holds no knowledge in and of itself, is limited in power, without wisdom, holds no sense of morality,[1]and is limited to space and time. How does an all-powerful, perfect, Creator engage with a limited, imperfect, creation?…

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Occasionalism, according to Wikipedia:

"In 1993, Karen Harding's paper "Causality Then and Now: Al Ghazali and Quantum Theory" described several "remarkable" similarities between Ghazali's concept of occasionalism and the widely accepted Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. She stated: "In both cases, and contrary to common sense, objects are viewed as having no inherent properties and no independent existence. In order for an object to exist, it must be brought into being either by God (al Ghazili) or by an observer (the Copenhagen Interpretation)." She also stated: "In addition, the world is not entirely predictable. For al Ghazali, God has the ability to make anything happen whenever He chooses. In general, the world functions in a predictable manner, but a miraculous event can occur at any moment. All it takes for a miracle to occur is for God to not follow His "custom." The quantum world is very similar. Lead balls fall when released because the probability of their behaving in that way is very high. It is, however, very possible that the lead ball may "miraculously" rise rather than fall when released. Although the probability of such an event is very small, such an event is, nonetheless, still possible."[3]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occasionalism

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