Is Being Contradictory? — Ibn al-ʿArabī and the Principle of Non-Contradiction
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Hani Mohseni
Abstract
The doctrine of waḥdat al-wujūd, or “Oneness of Being,” is a(n) (in)famous metaphysical framework in the Islamic intellectual tradition. It is often associated with the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 1240). Later followers of this school usually interpreted their master’s teachings in a consistent manner, so as not to violate the Principle of Non-Contradiction (PNC). However, it is not obvious whether the Oneness of Being is best understood this way. Recent scholars of Ibn al-ʿArabī have proposed a dialetheist reading of the Oneness of Being; that is, we should understand the Oneness of Being as an accurate report of the world that contains a true contradiction. This study aims to provide textual evidence for Ibn al-ʿArabī’s rejection of PNC. In Section 1, I will give a brief introduction to the most important aspects of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Oneness of Being. This will give us an idea of the controversy regarding the supposed inconsistency of his framework. In Section 2, I will discuss a passage from the eighth chapter of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya ‘The Meccan Openings’; henceforth Futūḥāt), in which Ibn al-ʿArabī tells us about an imaginal world where impossibilities exist. In Section 3, I will reply to the objection that imagination cannot be a ground for the rejection of PNC. I conclude that chapter eight contains plausible, although not conclusive, evidence for a dialetheist reading of Ibn al-ʿArabī.
Abstract
The doctrine of waḥdat al-wujūd, or “Oneness of Being,” is a(n) (in)famous metaphysical framework in the Islamic intellectual tradition. It is often associated with the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 1240). Later followers of this school usually interpreted their master’s teachings in a consistent manner, so as not to violate the Principle of Non-Contradiction (PNC). However, it is not obvious whether the Oneness of Being is best understood this way. Recent scholars of Ibn al-ʿArabī have proposed a dialetheist reading of the Oneness of Being; that is, we should understand the Oneness of Being as an accurate report of the world that contains a true contradiction. This study aims to provide textual evidence for Ibn al-ʿArabī’s rejection of PNC. In Section 1, I will give a brief introduction to the most important aspects of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Oneness of Being. This will give us an idea of the controversy regarding the supposed inconsistency of his framework. In Section 2, I will discuss a passage from the eighth chapter of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya ‘The Meccan Openings’; henceforth Futūḥāt), in which Ibn al-ʿArabī tells us about an imaginal world where impossibilities exist. In Section 3, I will reply to the objection that imagination cannot be a ground for the rejection of PNC. I conclude that chapter eight contains plausible, although not conclusive, evidence for a dialetheist reading of Ibn al-ʿArabī.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Dedication V
- Contents VII
- Introduction: Facing Contradiction in the Absolute 1
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Part I : Asian Philosophy
- Transcendental Contradictions: The Spectre of Non-Being in Early to Middle Brāhmanic-Hindu Thought-System 9
- “It is Distant, it is Near” – Vedāntic Hindu Visions of Divine Contradictions 39
- Contradictions and Certainty: The Mīmāṃsā Defense of the Authorless Veda 61
- Buddhism, Emptiness, and Paradox 77
- All in One Mind. Huayan’s Holistic Panbuddhism 89
- Heidegger and Dōgen on the Ineffable 105
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Part II : Christian Philosophy
- Contradiction and God Between Neoplatonism and the Byzantine Tradition: Proclus, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Nicholas of Methone 137
- The Ways God Overcomes Contradictions in Human Understanding: Nicholas of Cusa 169
- Identity and non-Identity of the Human Soul with God in Meister Eckhart’s Metaphysical Mysticism 185
- Hegel’s Absolute from a Logical Point of View 211
- The One, the Many, and the Trinity: A Dialetheist Response to the Trinitarian Contradiction 221
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Part III: Jewish and Islamic Philosophy
- “Laud and praise Him justly and uprightly, not by attributing to Him exaggerations and absurdities”: God and logic in Jewish thought 249
- On Ayin, or the Divine Nothing 269
- Transcendence vs. Immanence in Jewish Philosophy and Poetry 289
- God’s attributes; Are aḥwāl contradictory? 297
- God and Impossibility: A Classical Ashʿarī Perspective 311
- Is Being Contradictory? — Ibn al-ʿArabī and the Principle of Non-Contradiction 347
- Contributors
- Names Index
- Topic Index
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Dedication V
- Contents VII
- Introduction: Facing Contradiction in the Absolute 1
-
Part I : Asian Philosophy
- Transcendental Contradictions: The Spectre of Non-Being in Early to Middle Brāhmanic-Hindu Thought-System 9
- “It is Distant, it is Near” – Vedāntic Hindu Visions of Divine Contradictions 39
- Contradictions and Certainty: The Mīmāṃsā Defense of the Authorless Veda 61
- Buddhism, Emptiness, and Paradox 77
- All in One Mind. Huayan’s Holistic Panbuddhism 89
- Heidegger and Dōgen on the Ineffable 105
-
Part II : Christian Philosophy
- Contradiction and God Between Neoplatonism and the Byzantine Tradition: Proclus, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Nicholas of Methone 137
- The Ways God Overcomes Contradictions in Human Understanding: Nicholas of Cusa 169
- Identity and non-Identity of the Human Soul with God in Meister Eckhart’s Metaphysical Mysticism 185
- Hegel’s Absolute from a Logical Point of View 211
- The One, the Many, and the Trinity: A Dialetheist Response to the Trinitarian Contradiction 221
-
Part III: Jewish and Islamic Philosophy
- “Laud and praise Him justly and uprightly, not by attributing to Him exaggerations and absurdities”: God and logic in Jewish thought 249
- On Ayin, or the Divine Nothing 269
- Transcendence vs. Immanence in Jewish Philosophy and Poetry 289
- God’s attributes; Are aḥwāl contradictory? 297
- God and Impossibility: A Classical Ashʿarī Perspective 311
- Is Being Contradictory? — Ibn al-ʿArabī and the Principle of Non-Contradiction 347
- Contributors
- Names Index
- Topic Index
