Old Texts, New Masks: A Critical Review of Misreading Evolution Onto Historical Islamic Texts
With the increasing interest in Islam and evolution, some Islamic thinkers have vehemently rejected evolution, while others have eagerly embraced it. However, those seeking to embrace evolution sometimes err in their interpretation of historical writings. Indeed, there are texts written by famous hi...
Publicado no: | Zygon |
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Autor principal: | |
Tipo de documento: | Recurso Electrónico Artigo |
Idioma: | Inglês |
Verificar disponibilidade: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Publicado em: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2019]
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Em: |
Zygon
Ano: 2019, Volume: 54, Número: 2, Páginas: 501-522 |
(Cadeias de) Palavra- chave padrão: | B
Islã
/ Literatura religiosa
/ Teoria da evolução
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Outras palavras-chave: | B
Muslims
B Ibn Khaldūn B Islã B Great Chain of Being B al-Jāhiz B Evolução B Ikhwān al Safā B Rūmī |
Acesso em linha: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
Resumo: | With the increasing interest in Islam and evolution, some Islamic thinkers have vehemently rejected evolution, while others have eagerly embraced it. However, those seeking to embrace evolution sometimes err in their interpretation of historical writings. Indeed, there are texts written by famous historical scholars of Islam who seem to suggest that humans have evolved from lower forms of species. These include Ibn Khaldūn, Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī, al-Jāhiz, and The Brethren of Purity (Ikhwān al Safā). Although this may be true, such readings are a mistaken interpretation of the aforementioned authors who are actually referring to some form of the scalae naturae (the Great Chain of Being). This reference to the Great Chain of Being is unknown to some contemporary readers who mistakenly believe these writers to be discussing an evolutionary or a proto-evolutionary theory. This article demonstrates how and why these historical records do not actually represent any notion of evolution as it is currently understood, in the hope of avoiding any further erroneous claims that seem to be proliferating among modern thinkers. |
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ISSN: | 1467-9744 |
Obras secundárias: | Enthalten in: Zygon
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12519 |