Islamic Humanism

Publisher's Description: This Book Is An Attempt To Explain How, In The Face Of Increasing Religious Authoritarianism In Medieval Islamic Civilization, Some Muslim Thinkers Continued To Pursue Essentially Humanistic, Rational, And Scientific Discourses In The Quest For Knowledge, Meaning, And Values. Drawing On A Wide Range Of Islamic Writings, From Love Poetry To History To Philosophical Theology, Goodman Shows That Medieval Islam Was Open To Individualism, Occasional Secularism, Skepticism, Even Liberalism. 1. The Sacred And The Secular -- Focus And Distraction -- Poetry And Music -- Dress And Display -- Dunya And Din -- In Wine, War, And Love -- Play, The Hunt, And The Freedom Of The Dandy -- 2. Humanism And Islamic Ethics -- Islamic Ethics In Theory And Practice -- Miskawayh's Courtly Humanism -- Ghazali's Appropriation -- 3. Being And Knowing -- Being And Becoming -- Knowledge As A Value -- 4. The Rise Of Universal Historiography -- The Birth Of Arabic Historiography -- The Roots Of Annalistic -- Baladhuri's Narrative Strategy -- Greek And Biblical Models -- Universal History -- Tabari's Synthesis -- Saadiah's Historical Orientation -- Mas'udi -- The Triumph Of Synthetic History -- Miskawayh's Historiography -- Local Chronicles And Biographical Dictionaries -- Rashid Al-din's Universal History -- Ibn Khaldun. Lenn E. Goodman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 213-259) And Index.