The Epistemic Import of Modal Operators and the Critique of Naturalism: Towards a New Interpretation of al-Ghazālī’s Critique of Peripatetic Essentialism and Theory of Theodicy

Authors

Ahmed Abdel Meguid, The American University in Cairo

Author's Department

Philosophy Department

Find in your Library

https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2514313

All Authors

Ahmed Abdel Meguid

Document Type

Research Article

Publication Title

Theology and Science

Publication Date

1-1-2025

doi

10.1080/14746700.2025.2514313

Abstract

This study suggests an epistemic interpretation of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī's (d. 1111) concept of possibility (imkān) as a critique of natural theology. The first part of the study examines al-Ghazālī's argument for the conceptualist nature of modal operators in The Incoherence of the Philosophers and how al-Ghazālī limits the use of logical categories to epistemic claims. The second part demonstrates that the epistemic interpretation of al-Ghazālī's concept of possibility furnishes a coherent interpretation of his controversial theodicy. The third part traces parallels of al-Ghazālī's modal insights in the work of Averroes (d. 1198) and Ibn al-‘Arabī (d. 1240).

First Page

640

Last Page

655

Recommended Citation

APA Citation

Abdel Meguid, A. (2025). The Epistemic Import of Modal Operators and the Critique of Naturalism: Towards a New Interpretation of al-Ghazālī’s Critique of Peripatetic Essentialism and Theory of Theodicy. Theology and Science, 23(3), 640–655. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2514313

MLA Citation

Abdel Meguid, Ahmed "The Epistemic Import of Modal Operators and the Critique of Naturalism: Towards a New Interpretation of al-Ghazālī’s Critique of Peripatetic Essentialism and Theory of Theodicy." Theology and Science, vol. 23, no. 3, 2025, pp. 640–655.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2025.2514313