The Idea
This claim focuses on how the dominance of the jurists contributed to weakening philosophy’s presence in the Arab-Islamic sphere, especially with the rejection of “imported sciences” and the declining interest in Greek. The idea here is that defending the bounds of inherited tradition turned into a stance that narrowed before incoming knowledge and new questions. Thus, the weakness of philosophy is not due only to its theoretical absence, but also to cultural resistance to it.
Concise Formulation
The dominance of the jurists weakens the presence of philosophy in the Arab-Islamic sphere
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim occupies a middle position in the structure of the argument because it links the authority of religious interpretation to the fate of philosophy as a body of knowledge open to translation and comparison. It is part of the book’s narrative about the decline of the conditions for philosophical reception when certain forms of knowledge are presented as foreign or rejected. It therefore explains how the space for philosophical thinking became narrower.
Why It Matters
Its importance lies in showing that the struggle of philosophy is not only with abstract ideas, but with the institutions and authorities that grant or withdraw legitimacy. This helps us understand Arkoun as a critic of the structure of epistemic exclusion. It also sheds light on the relationship between philosophy, translation, and openness to other languages and bodies of knowledge.
Brief Evidence
The text emphasizes that the dominance of the jurists contributed to weakening philosophy’s presence in the Arab-Islamic sphere. This becomes evident with the rejection of “imported sciences” and the declining interest in Greek. Thus, philosophy’s weakness is not due only to its theoretical absence, but also to a stance that narrows before incoming knowledge and new questions.
Reading Questions
- How is the dominance of the jurists linked to the rejection of imported sciences?
- What does this claim reveal about the relationship between philosophy, translation, and Greek?
Degree of Documentation
Moderate: the claim is composed from more than one passage within the book’s material.