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Keivanfar M. (2025). Examining Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi's Argument in Defense of the Epistemological Validity of Mystical Intuition. JIM. 16(2), : 12 doi:10.22034/16.2.5
URL: http://erfanmag.ir/article-1-1605-en.html
University of Religions and Denominations
Abstract:   (278 Views)
The main issue of this paper is to examine Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi's argument in defense of the validity of mystical intuition. First, his argument is formulated, which can be briefly stated as follows: A) [As claimed] there are two ways to acquire correct knowledge: reason and intuition; B) Reason does not lead us to correct knowledge; Therefore: Intuition is the only way to correct knowledge. Qunawi presents several reasons to prove the second premise of his argument, which in our view is primarily based on the idea of "epistemological disagreement among speculative thinkers." Based on this idea, he adopts a form of relativism or agnosticism regarding rational knowledge. In examining Qunawi's claim, this paper rejects both his argument against rational knowledge and his overall argument in defense of mystical intuition. The main criticism of the former is its self-refuting nature, and regarding the latter, it emphasizes that deficiencies in rational knowledge cannot establish the validity of intuitive knowledge; rather, establishing its validity requires direct positive evidence. However, inspired by Qunawi's discussions, one might develop a somewhat moderate dialectical argument within the framework of epistemological rationality in defense of mystical intuition.
Article number: 12
Full-Text [PDF 1198 kb]   (57 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: عرفان
Received: 2023/11/20 | Accepted: 2024/01/2 | Published: 2025/07/22

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