Al- 'Amirî's philosophy of knowledge

The philosophy of knowledge has been an important subject of philosophy since Ancient Greece. Epistemological problems appeared almost immediately after the essential questions about ontology. Philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and St Augustin, dealt with philosophy focused on key issues, such as the nature of knowledge, possibility of knowledge, sources of knowledge, justification of knowledge and limits of knowledge. Thus the meaning attributed to knowledge has been an important point of departure in determining philosophical schools. Muslim philosophers also adopted similar approaches since the very genesis of Islamic philosophy; and they put forward important views enriching philosophy—particularly the philosophy of knowledge—with their own scientific heritage. Standing between al-Farabi and Ibn Sinâ, Abu'l-Hasan al-'Âmirî (d. 381 /992) occupies an important juncture in the history of philosophy, putting forward his views on every subject discussed in the realm of Islamic philosophy in his monumental works. However, although some studies on al-'Âmirî have been conducted recently, his theory of knowledge has not been studied in much detail yet. This thesis aims to bridge this gap through a comprehensive study of al-'Âmirî's philosophy of knowledge. First, this thesis elaborates on his understanding of the nature and theory of knowledge. His approach to the fields and boundaries of knowledge, which is one of the important discussion areas in the theory of knowledge, is examined. Then, the sources of knowledge, its emergence and types are studied. These topics are examined through the manuscripts and printed works of al-'Âmirî. Furthermore, mainly matter-based and secondarily source-based classification of al-'Âmirî's sciences is discussed. Finally, his view on rationality of religious sciences is examined in detail.