Al-Ghazali and Decartes
Melanie Camero
Professor Singer
Philosophy 5
6 June 2011 In this essay I will explain Al-Ghazali’s skeptical epistemological project described in his autobiography, Deliverance from Error. By doing so, I will explain his investigation on the certainty and reliability of knowledge attained through sense-perception and intellectual truths (reason). I will also explain why he doubts knowledge attained through the senses and how he uses dreams to doubt intellectual truths. I will continue by summarizing his religious epistemological theory in which he describes the Sufi mystic experience and how it relates to certain and reliable knowledge. By explaining his religious epistemological theory, I will thereby explain the connection between goals and knowledge. Subsequently, I will explain Descartes’ skeptical epistemological project described in his Meditations I and II. By doing so I will describe his search for certain knowledge, in which he finds doubt in the foundations of most of his beliefs, particularly beliefs created by sense-perception. Then, I will explain his dream conjecture and his demon conjecture. I will continue by explaining what certain knowledge he finds by using the demon conjecture. Following, I will compare and contrast ideas of Descartes and Al- Ghazali; such as their quest for certain knowledge, doubting the senses, their dream theories, and lastly their conclusions on what qualifies as certain knowledge. Finally, I will assume that the supernatural does not exist and observe whether Descartes and Al-Ghazali’s concepts such as: doubting the senses, dream theories, and approaches and conclusions for certain knowledge, still hold without the element of the supernatural. Al-Ghazali defines certain and reliable knowledge as knowledge that cannot possibly be doubted and that is incapable of error (Al-Ghazali p. 312). For example, knowledge such as two plus two equals four is in all circumstances true and could never be doubted, despite any
Professor Singer
Philosophy 5
6 June 2011 In this essay I will explain Al-Ghazali’s skeptical epistemological project described in his autobiography, Deliverance from Error. By doing so, I will explain his investigation on the certainty and reliability of knowledge attained through sense-perception and intellectual truths (reason). I will also explain why he doubts knowledge attained through the senses and how he uses dreams to doubt intellectual truths. I will continue by summarizing his religious epistemological theory in which he describes the Sufi mystic experience and how it relates to certain and reliable knowledge. By explaining his religious epistemological theory, I will thereby explain the connection between goals and knowledge. Subsequently, I will explain Descartes’ skeptical epistemological project described in his Meditations I and II. By doing so I will describe his search for certain knowledge, in which he finds doubt in the foundations of most of his beliefs, particularly beliefs created by sense-perception. Then, I will explain his dream conjecture and his demon conjecture. I will continue by explaining what certain knowledge he finds by using the demon conjecture. Following, I will compare and contrast ideas of Descartes and Al- Ghazali; such as their quest for certain knowledge, doubting the senses, their dream theories, and lastly their conclusions on what qualifies as certain knowledge. Finally, I will assume that the supernatural does not exist and observe whether Descartes and Al-Ghazali’s concepts such as: doubting the senses, dream theories, and approaches and conclusions for certain knowledge, still hold without the element of the supernatural. Al-Ghazali defines certain and reliable knowledge as knowledge that cannot possibly be doubted and that is incapable of error (Al-Ghazali p. 312). For example, knowledge such as two plus two equals four is in all circumstances true and could never be doubted, despite any