الوصف
Abstract: This article deals with al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) and his conception of knowledge. Its aim is to provide a detailed account of the way in which this thinker tried to reconcile the different intellectual trends to which he belonged, given that his thought had combined philosophy, theology, and mysticism. Our starting point is that al-Ghazālī’s philosophical conception of knowledge was linked to his position toward the Aristotelian logic. Indeed, it is by taking into consideration this position that we can understand how he built a conception of knowledge that combines the adoption of theses that do not belong to the tradition of theological thought (such as that of the spirituality of the soul and the existence of universals) and a positive attitude toward the intellect that values it and considers it as the source of all knowledge. Yet for al-Ghazali this confidence in the intellect cannot be absolute. His loyalty to his theological doctrine and his participation in the mystical tradition make him tend to limit this confidence and to seek for another source of knowledge other than the intellect and human experience. Thus, we see al-Ghazālī resorting to revelation seeking in it a basis for knowledge that responds best to requirements of a religious nature.
Keywords: Aristotelian logic, mysticism, intellect, experience, revelation.
