World is an imagination: a phenomenological approach to the ontology and hermeneutics of Ibn Al-Arabi

Download
2009
Kars, Aydoğan
The aim of this study is to analyze the intertwined ontology and hermeneutics of the famous Muslim figure Ibn al-‘Arabī with a phenomenological hermeneutical approach. The research subject Ibn al-‘Arabī is to be scrutinized in comparison with Western phenomenology and hermeneutics. Hence, both phenomenology and hermeneutics will be not only the subject of the present study, but also its method of analysis. Throughout the study, Ibn al-‘Arabī’s question of being and hermeneutics will be compared with Western phenomenology and hermeneutics, with particular focus on Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Gadamer. In his account of ontology, the encounter of human being with the world happens always subjectively. On the side of hermeneutics, the world, which is textual, unfolds itself always through and only with interpretation. These two points can be unified and summed up in Ibn al-‘Arabī’s claim that world is an imagination. World is disclosed always subjectively and via interpretation; it is an imagination both hermeneutically and ontologically.

Suggestions

The effect of the nomadic/settled contradiction on the transformation of the Kazakh identity: a reinterpretation
Özkan, Alparslan; Köksal, Pınar; Department of Eurasian Studies (2020)
The aim of this thesis is to examine the effect of historical contradiction between nomadism and sedentarism on the transformation of the nomadic Kazakh identity by using the theoretical approaches of Ibn Khaldun and Anatoly M. Khazanov. From the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century, the relation of the Kazakh society with Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union was one of the most clear examples of this historical conflict. The Kazakhs, who had a pastoral nomadic lifestyle during these periods, w...
Revisiting immanence and conatus in Spinoza
Yaylım, Berk; İnam, Ahmet; Department of Philosophy (2015)
This thesis focuses on the concept of immanence in Spinoza’s philosophy and its importance in explicating theory of knowledge and conatus. While accounting for immanence, it will seek not only his metaphysics but also a critical discussion of transcendence and emanation. After the metaphysical system behind his philosophy is explained, his defense of necessitarianism will be emphasized. In this study, under the light of these, a coherent interpretation of Spinoza’s solutions, how these relate to his theory ...
Understanding of music in the philosophy of Wittgenstein
Canlar, Simay; Turan, Şeref Halil; Department of Philosophy (2019)
In this thesis, Samkhyakarika, which is one of the most important texts of the Indian Philosophy, is analyzed. Moreover, it is argued that Samkhya Philosophy could be examined within the framework of Hadot’s observations and comments on philosophical tradition of Ancient Greek and Roma. Firstly, the main lines of the philosophical-spiritual tradition of Ancient Greek and Roma are shared with the findings and analysis of Hadot. Hadot thinks that Ancient Greek philosophy provides a way of life to the person. ...
The visual formation of cartesian subject in modern metaphysics : a critique of Cogito philosophy
Ganioğlu, Zafer; Akçay, Ali Adnan; Department of Sociology (2006)
This thesis scrutinizes modern metaphysics through a specific reading and critique of Cartesian Philosophy. In the study, the concepts of metaphysics, ideology, modernity, subject and modern science are re-examined in their relations among them and in that the peculiarity of modern metaphysics is attempted to be revealed. At the core of the thesis, Descartes’ understanding of subject is inquired to be modern subject, and its role in the transformations happened in Western world with the advent of modern age...
Veiled Islam : a deconstructive Sufi formation
Avanoğlu, Ayşe Serap; Topal, Çağatay; Department of Social Anthropology (2012)
This thesis describes and analyzes the practice of Sufism in a contemporary setting in Ankara from the insider point of view. The research deals critically with various approaches to Sufism in the field of anthropology, and introduces the Sufi scene in Turkey. The subject of the study is a Sufi formation which eludes categories in the field of Sufism, presenting close master/disciple relationships instead of institutional structures and normativity, and avoiding dichotomies such as modern/traditional, sacre...
Citation Formats
A. Kars, “World is an imagination: a phenomenological approach to the ontology and hermeneutics of Ibn Al-Arabi,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2009.