Tahafut_al-Tahafut-transl-Engl-van-den-Bergh

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either alive or dead, and that which is alive is more noble than that whichis dead, and that the principle is nobler than that which is alive and that itis therefore necessarily alive, if by ‘dead’ is understood the inanimate,these propositions are common and true.His assertion, however, that life can proceed from the lifeless andknowledge from what does not possess knowledge, and that the dignity ofthe First consists only in its being the principle of the universe, is false. Forif life could proceed from the lifeless, then the existent might proceed fromthe non-existent, and then anything whatever might proceed from anythingwhatever, and there would be no congruity between causes and effects,either in the genus predicated analogically or in the species. 4As to his assertion that, when the philosophers say that what is noblerthan life must be alive, it is like saying that that which is nobler than whathas hearing and seeing must have hearing and seeing: the philosophersdo not say so, for they deny that the First Principle can hear and see. AndGhazali’s argument that, since, according to the philosophers, that whichis superior to what hears and sees . need not hear and see, then alsowhat is superior to the living and the knowing need not itself be alive andpossessed of knowledge and that, just as according to the philosophersthat which possesses sight can proceed from what has no sight, so it ispossible that knowledge should proceed from what has no knowledge: thisis a very sophistical and false argument.For according to the philosophers that which has no hearing or seeing isnot absolutely superior to that which has hearing and seeing, but onlybecause it has a perception superior to seeing and hearing, namelyknowledge. ‘ But, since there is nothing superior to knowledge, it is notpossible that that which does not possess knowledge should be superiorto that which does, be it a principle or not. For since some of the principlespossess knowledge, others not, it is not permissible that those which donot know should be superior to those that do, just as little as this ispossible in regard to effects which do and do not possess knowledge. Andthe nobility of being a principle cannot surpass the nobility of knowledge,unless the nobility of a principle that does not possess knowledge couldsurpass the nobility of a principle that does. And the excellence of being aprinciple cannot surpass the excellence of knowledge. And therefore it isnecessary that the principle which has the utmost nobility should possess358
the utmost excellence, which is knowledge. The philosophers only avoidascribing to the First hearing and seeing, because this would imply itspossessing a soul. The Holy Law ascribes hearing and seeing to God toremind us that God is not deprived of any kind of knowledge andunderstanding, and the masses cannot be made to grasp this meaningexcept by the use of the terms ‘hearing’ and ‘seeing’, and for this reasonthis exegesis is limited to the learned, and therefore cannot be taken asone of the dogmas of the Holy Law common to the masses. And the sameis the case with many questions the solutions of which the Holy Lawleaves to science.Everything this chapter contains is the confusion and the incoherence ofGhazali himself. But, we appeal to God on account of the mistakes thelearned have made, and that He may pardon them because of their wishto glorify His name in all such questions, and we pray God that He maynot place us among those who are excluded from the next world throughtheir faults in this, or from the highest through their desire for the lowest,and that He may bestow on us final blessedness!THE THIRTEENTH DISCUSSIONTO REFUTE THOSE WHO AFFIRM THAT GOD ISIGNORANT OF THE INDIVIDUAL THINGS WHICH AREDIVIDED IN TIME INTO PRESENT, PAST, AND FUTUREGhazali says:About this theory they all agree; for as to those whobelieve that God only knows Himself, this is implied in theirbelief; and as to those who believe that He knows thingsbesides Himself (and this is the theory which Avicenna haschosen) they believe that God knows other things in auniversal knowledge which does not fall under the concept oftime and which is not differentiated through past, future, andpresent although, nevertheless, Avicenna affirms that not theweight of a grain escapes God’s knowledge either on earthor in the heavens, since He knows individual things in auniversal way. ‘359
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TAHAFUT AL-TAHAFUT(The Incoherence
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THE FOURTEENTH DISCUSSION: To refut
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occupies the central place in the u
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commentator of Plato and Aristotle,
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and Physics, have left the religion
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gives the philosophical arguments a
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eternity of the world. Plato himsel
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it is God who is passive; the impel
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of events out of time is like the u
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God everything is possible, a theor
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by the philosophers, of the emanati
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God possesses self-consciousness).
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and is found in Thomas Aquinas and
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He himself does not affirm that the
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is immortal when he will see in him
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For the unphilosophical, however, t
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Concerning the Eternity of the Worl
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for both agents, i.e. so far as the
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an agent endowed with a power which
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I say:analogous to our decision, it
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I sayinadmissible and that to admit
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I say:sun performs in twenty-four h
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possible, not necessary, and he wou
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valid so far as it concerns externa
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do not know of any one who makes a
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sophistical arguments is dishonest,
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say that the age of the world is a
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I say:that two blacks in two substr
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I say:inside the world, neither con
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similar things, a will which distin
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whereas the globe of heaven is homo
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constitute the poles. But the diffe
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move itself in space, in a definite
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deeds?’ May God make us perspicac
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seeing are equivalent in the eye. T
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would be no possibility of their av
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through the medium of a being etern
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This argument is sophistical. The t
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and with Him there was the world an
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I say:If we should say, for instanc
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The primitive meaning of the two wo
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of the fact that motion inheres nec
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and then assumes a time which has n
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I say:and places of the world. The
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I say:eternal. So much as far as bo
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I say:which doubles the whole of th
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I say:world smaller than He has cre
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I say:possible that the world might
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I say:and possible at another?’ I
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pronounce for one of these opposite
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I say:existence whether earlier or
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I say:and needs something to which
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I sayThe second proof is that the i
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I say:essence nor matter’ and the
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I sayalthough it is not impressed o
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Ghazali says:I say:As regards their
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I say:He wants to force those who a
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all his books this is most clearly
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extension is nothing but time, and
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concedes the existence of an entity
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I say:connected with another condit
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so only through the corruption and
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that it passes into a relative non-
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I say:the remainder; indeed He can
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This theory of the flux of all exis
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moments is constant, and how can wh
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I say:which has a reasonable sense,
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things are two: matter and form, an
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I say:an imposture where their prin
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I say:says that the lamp makes the
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anterior to it. If God therefore is
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it tends and has an inclination to
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and to exclude the metaphorical sen
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Ghazali says, answering in defence
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I say:connected with Him, since the
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from it, it exists, not when the th
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All this is true. The act of the ag
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of the water, for this happens afte
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existence of the celestial bodies o
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I say:We answer: The consequence of
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one occurred, they gave three answe
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is partly the cause of unity, partl
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I say:is therefore nineteen; and th
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each other is a theory not known am
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defined acts can only arise from be
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and earth that he should be of thos
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I say:another be identical?’ we a
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the universal, the other specific d
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similar follows concerning the nece
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I say:for this it really is. But th
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I say:from His way and deviate from
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We say:The philosophers tried to ac
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bodies prior to them. Thus they wer
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thinks only its own essence, and th
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suppose its agent to act like an ag
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draw this conclusion. For if the pr
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And that one and the same existent
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unique mover . And just as the remo
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a plurality of existents without a
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In this discussion of the intellect
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I say:The meaning of this statement
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I say:is the principle of these dif
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the possible nature cannot become n
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I say:a cause, what makes it imposs
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qualitative, or in whichsoever of t
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But if one should say to us: ‘Cer
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receive a stronger degree of assent
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as the differences depend on differ
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moment from its action, the world w
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And as to Ghazali's words:It is eas
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However, it is not possible that th
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without an initial term; and if you
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I say:The difference between these
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I say:cause, but not of the series
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I say:If it is objected that this m
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or non-eternity of the world, and w
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THE FIFTH DISCUSSIONTO SHOW THEIR I
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I say:colour because of a cause whi
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black must be a colour either by bl
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I say:The answer is that we concede
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I say:composed of genus and species
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necessary existent, and this is imp
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For man before his existence has a
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and it is thus their task to refer
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identical with the knower of the sh
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And when it is said that He is gene
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I say:separate from matter is possi
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exist both an essence and attribute
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by themselves, just as, if their ex
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If it is answered that the absolute
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I say:need a subject, as is the cas
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I say:If it is said: In the same wa
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would have to exist by itself, and
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essence is not true, for every esse
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Composition is not like existence,
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All their proofs where this problem
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consciousness itself is denied. But
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things, and our intellect, therefor
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I say:both, for the plurality and t
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be a knowledge in act and that ther
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It may be said that if it is assert
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And as to the affirmation of the ph
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two existents which differ in an ex
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Ghazali says:It may be said, `This
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I say:beings should exist by themse
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because they found that the acciden
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And as to the term `substance’ wh
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I say:black and white, fourness and
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I say:constitution of the essence o
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principle which is the cause of tha
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Gods would have to be separated by
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distinguished by the fact that one
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one of these natures is superior to
Page 307 and 308: Ghazali opposes this statement with
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Page 311 and 312: I say:mediator, participates in thi
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Page 315 and 316: meaning is to ask whether a thing p
Page 317 and 318: we have rent them . . . ‘and the
Page 319 and 320: Having assumed that they deny the q
Page 321 and 322: I say:plurality and duality on the
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Page 325 and 326: I say:But the body is not a means f
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Page 331 and 332: his attacks on the philosophers in
Page 333 and 334: I say:not possible, and your statem
Page 335 and 336: together, and the difference betwee
Page 337 and 338: I say:universe is known to God, and
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Page 349 and 350: I say:philosophers do, or abandon t
Page 351 and 352: consequences which follow from his
Page 353 and 354: But the knowledge of the Creator op
Page 355 and 356: I say:‘Well, let the seeing then
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Page 361 and 362: move in circles and that between th
Page 363 and 364: This is what we wanted to do first,
Page 365 and 366: the person who takes up different p
Page 367 and 368: universals must, by admitting in Hi
Page 369 and 370: and if you acknowledge an eternal w
Page 371 and 372: I say:But one may say: Why is this
Page 373 and 374: existents would be the cause of His
Page 375 and 376: I say:will, because His will has th
Page 377 and 378: they exclude heaven from this kind
Page 379 and 380: And as to his affirmation ‘that t
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Page 383 and 384: THE FIFTEENTH DISCUSSIONTO REFUTE T
Page 385 and 386: Everything he says here about the p
Page 387 and 388: himself through trying to be in an
Page 389 and 390: For instance, when a man sees that
Page 391 and 392: on sublunary existence, so that, if
Page 393 and 394: I say:any case, has to be proved, s
Page 395 and 396: causes. Sometimes we know part of t
Page 397 and 398: particular perceptions; that is, th
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Page 401 and 402: if, however, reason does riot perce
Page 403 and 404: And if they reverse this against us
Page 405 and 406: the irascible and the concupiscible
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terms of the conclusion are present
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The ancient philosophers did not di
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fire; for we regard it as possible
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To deny the existence of efficient
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is not necessary, the philosophers
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I say:notwithstanding the fact that
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fire-not, however, absolutely, but
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When the theologians admit that the
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the angels there should arise a qua
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serpent, and the scorpion, for thei
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identification of black and white i
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objectionable, and contrary to comm
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that the judgement of our intellect
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from the wolf while it walks behind
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I say:it receives from the angels k
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about its premisses, for the major
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I say:in the doctrine of the philos
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a faculty in a body; and it follows
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indivisible; if the relation, howev
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fainting, drunkenness, and the illn
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saying that knowing is the opposite
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Such arguments are all arguments of
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claimed to be its organ, so that it
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I say:his head than to his heels, a
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I say:others-yes, it may be that th
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I say:anger and the observation of
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that Plato was forced to introduce
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I say:thing occurs, does not produc
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separate substance has no opposite.
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The Fourth DiscussionHaving finishe
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which are attributed to Solomon. An
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And all this, as you see, is confus
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