Ibn Rushd and The Incoherence of the Incoherence
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For everyone
Ibn Rushd answered al-Ghazālī's critique of the philosophers, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, with The Incoherence of the Incoherence. He defended causality, holding that fire burns cotton because of the nature of fire, and argued that philosophical reflection is religiously required. A movement called Averroism arose in the Latin world.
For specialists
At the centre of the debate are causality, the eternity of the world and bodily resurrection. For Ibn Rushd, denying causality makes the definitions of things, and hence knowledge, impossible. In Faṣl al-maqāl he proposes that apparent conflicts between scriptural texts and reason be resolved for demonstrative thinkers (philosophers) through interpretation (taʾwīl).
Claims
- Things have their own natures and causal powers; denying causality destroys knowledge.[1]
Evidence
Supporting
If things had no definite effects, it would be impossible to define and distinguish them.[1]
Challenging
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Positions
- TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam
- The work is a point-by-point rebuttal of al-Ghazālī's Tahāfut.[2]
Connections
Builds on
Argues against
Related
This topic is a stop on these journeys
Sources
- Book (1954). Averroes' Tahafut al-Tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence). E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Trust / Oxford University Press
- EncyclopediaTehâfütü Tehâfüti'l-felâsife. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisiislamansiklopedisi.org.trarchive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). Ibn Rushd and The Incoherence of the Incoherence. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/ibn-rusd/
@misc{athena_ibn_rusd,
title = {Ibn Rushd and The Incoherence of the Incoherence},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/ibn-rusd/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 28, 2026 · Page history