Fakhr al-DÄ«n al-RÄzī’s Critique of Avicennian Psychology and the Transcendental Individuation of Human Souls
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30983/it.v7i1.6221Keywords:
Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Fakhr al-DÄ«n al-RÄzÄ«, Avicenna, PsychologyAbstract
This article examines the psychological doctrines of the AshÊ¿arite theologian and polymath Fakhr al-DÄ«n al-RÄzÄ« (d. 606/1210). The starting point of the discussion is his critical reception of Avicenna’s (d. ca. 428/1037) psychological theories. I focus on al-RÄzī’s early works on philosophy, in particular al-MabÄḥith al-mashriqiyya and his famous commentary on Avicenna’s al-IshÄrÄt wa-l-tanbÄ«hÄt. I show that RÄzÄ« affirms a theory of the human soul that is heavily influenced by his predecessor. However, I also show that offers a distinct perspective on fundamental issues. I offer a detailed discussion of two RÄzian psychological doctrines: that human souls are heterogenous, rather than constituting a single species “rational animal†pace Avicenna; and that they are caused by celestial entities called Perfect Natures, a theory that is adopted from the practitioners of talismanic magic. The resulting cosmological theory can be referred to as the transcendental individuation of human soulsReferences
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