The Interplay of Philosophy and Theology in the Formative Age of Islam: The case of al-Ghazali's Maqasid al-Falasifa and Its Manuscripts

1 Research Project Grant position

(Deadline October 20^th, 2022 13:00 )

Fields

History of Medieval Philosophy and Theology; Arabic-Islamic Thought; Al-Ghazali; Manuscript Studies

Profile

The most important philosophical work written in Arabic by the Muslim theologian and mystic al-Ghazali (d. 1111), the Intentions of the Philosophers (Maqasid al-falasfia), displays an extremely interesting and impactful interplay of different disciplines and cultural traditions, at the crossroad of Greek thought and Arabic civilization, rational philosophy and revealed theology. The research on the manuscripts of this work is still at its first steps. The contract aims at establishing the number of the Arabic manuscripts of this work presently retrievalble, at providing a basic description of them, and at planning a platform for their online publication, according to the guidelines and the concrete functioning of the portal Avicenn@ (see https://www.avicennaproject.eu).

Activity

The contract holder will be responsible for a provisional inventory of the manuscripts of the work under examination, the indication of their main codicological features, and the sketching of the history of their transmission and dissemination, also beyond the scope of the Arabic-speaking medieval world. Integral part of the contract is the planning of a future online publication of the manuscript material retrieved and analyzed, according to the methodology employed in the ERC project on Avicenna hosted at IMT.

Formal requirements

MSc degree

Specific requirements

documented competence in the history of medieval arabic-islamic philosophy and theology, with special regard to the thought of al-Ghazali and his Maqasid al-falasifa;
capacity to analyze, contextualize, and describe manuscripts such as the ones at stake in the present call is mandatory, as well as sufficient acquaintance with the basi techniques of digital humanities. A record of relevant printed or online publications is also required;
knowledge of Arabic and English;
competence in al-Ghazali's philosophical and theological production. Basic acquaintance with computer skills and data input techniques.

Duration

6 months

Gross amount

8.121,50 €

Job Research Area:

Job Research Unit:

PhiBor

Job Contract Type:

Borsa a progetto - Project fellowship

Full call