"The poorest form of theism": Schopenhauer, Islam and the perils of comparative hermeneutics
Even among Western philosophers open to religious and intellectual traditions of other cultures, such as Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), the hermeneutic reception of Islam has been highly problematic. In the case of Schopenhauer, we find an interpretation which aligns the Islamic tradition with phi...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
2004
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| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Year: 2004, Volume: 15, Issue: 1, Pages: 135-146 |
| Further subjects: | B
Islam
B Religious philosophy B Philosophy of religion B Hermeneutics B Koran B Schopenhauer,Arthur |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Even among Western philosophers open to religious and intellectual traditions of other cultures, such as Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), the hermeneutic reception of Islam has been highly problematic. In the case of Schopenhauer, we find an interpretation which aligns the Islamic tradition with philosophical themes which met his general rejection, the commitment to theism and the ‘optimism’ characteristic of a teleological view of existence. These themes are ones Schopenhauer finds refuted in his typologically classified cultural/religious complexes of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, which espouse either polytheism or atheism and a ‘pessimistic’ orientation. In Schopenhauer's contorted hermeneutic, which considerably distorts all the religions he examines, it is these latter traditions which are ancient ancestors of Christian spirituality and show up Islam along with Judaism to be the religious ‘other’ to Europe. In Schopenhauer's case, we can see the fully tragic outcome of a ‘monological’ stance, a stance which considers alien religious traditions as objects of classification rather than living, vibrant partners which can be engaged with and learned from in dialogue, the tragic outcome so endemic to European Orientalism. |
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| ISSN: | 0959-6410 |
| Contains: | In: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09596410310001631876 |