Ethics With Ghazali

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LEthique en Islam


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LEthique en IslamLEthique avec al-Ghazzl

Sous la direction de :

Beddy EBNOU


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IESE - Institute for Epistemological Studies - EuropeBeddy EBNOU, DirecteurDounia MELIANI, Charge de Communication

Sminaire prsent par Professeur Adrien LEITES12 fvrier - 23 fvrier 2013, Bruxelles


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LEthique avec al-Ghazzl

Sminaire organis en partenariat entre lInstitute for Epistemological

Studies - Europe et luniversit de Paris-SorbonnePrsent par Adrien Leites, Responsable du parcours islamologie deluniversit de Paris-Sorbonne

Avec le soutien de Frdric Lagrange, Chef du Dpartement des EtudesArabes

Et Barthlmy Jobert, Prsident de luniversit de Paris-Sorbonne

Lobjectif de ce sminaire est de partager avec les chercheurs et les col-laborateurs de lIESE lthique construite par Ab mid al-Ghazzl.Le sminaire sintresse moins aux sources de cette construction ou la doctrine quil expose, comme dans la plupart des ouvrages qui traitent

du sujet. Il considre davantage limportance de la construction de lthi-que de Ghazzl, et sa pertinence pour la pense contemporaine.


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Le sminaire est divis en six confrences, qui traitent chacune dun pointspcique de lthique.

Confrence 1

Linattention (ghaa), principale menace pour la vie moralePourquoi nest-il pas sufsant de croire en une vrit et pourquoi avons-nous besoin dtre attentif aux faits, si nous voulons agir ainsi ?

Confrence 2

Plaisirs, un groupe complexeY a-t-il des plaisirs intrinsquement bons ou mauvais, ou est-ce que leurvaleur dpend de la faon dont nous en jouissons ?

Confrence 3Laccoutumance moralePourquoi avons-nous besoin dacqurir un caractre lorsque nous avonsune loi qui nous dit ce quil faut faire ?

Confrence 4

Le juste milieu (wasa)Pourquoi devons-nous toujours chercher le juste milieu entre deux ex-trmes.

Confrence 5

La justice (adl), une qualit inneEst-ce que la justice est ncessairement dirige envers les autres, ou

peut-elle commencer par lauto-conduite ?

Confrence 6

Patience (abr), la qualit globaleEst-ce que la patience peut nous permettre non seulement dviter lesmauvais actes, mais galement deffectuer les bons ?


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INTERVENANTS

Adrien LEITES, Etudes Islamiques, Universit de Paris-SorbonneBeddy EBNOU, Institute for Epistemological Studies - EuropeMustafa DNMEZ, Facult des Sciences Islamiques de BelgiqueDenis Mustafa TETIK,Birgl KAPAKLIKAYA, Gundem Newspaper BelgiumDiego HERNANDEZ, Chaire Hoover dEthique Economique et Sociale

Esma YILDIRIM, IERES-AdsamMustafa KASTIT, Institute AlKautharSabrina JANS, Middle Eastern Studies, Universit de LeidenSemsettin UGURLU, Excutif des Musulmans de BelgiqueMuserref YARDIM, Middle Eastern Studies, Universit de LeidenFatha Allah MOHAMMAD, Thologien,Khalid HAJJI, Conseil Europen des Oulmans Marocains

Jamal MOUMINA, Centre Culturel Islamique de BelgiqueHaka Hsn ERZURUMLU, Universit sortant...Abdelaziz SARET, Alliance Mondiale des Marocains de lEtranger, Sec-tion BelgiqueAnnelie LHR-CAMPION,Ali OUALMAKRAN, Dpartement de Philosophie, Vrije UniversiteitBrussel

Rabah KADDOURI, Centre Bruxellois dAction Interculturelle


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Ethics with Ghazzl

Series of seminars at the Institute for Epistemological Studies,

Europe (IESE).Presented by Adrien Leites, University of Paris-SorbonneWith the support of Frdric Lagrange, Head of Department of Arabic

StudiesAnd Barthlmy Jobert, President of the University of Paris-Sorbonne

The seminar is divided into six lectures, each dealing with a specicethical point. The questions I wish to raise are: Does the point lookvalid to us ? , Does it relate to contemporary ethical issues ? , Ifno direct relation appears, can we adapt it to our context ? . My hope is

to show that we, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, can do today ethicswith Ghazzl .


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OUTLINE

Lecture 1

Inattention (ghaa), the main threat to moral lifeWhy is not sufcient to believe in a truth, and why do we need to be at-tentive to facts, if we want to act well ?

Lecture 2Pleasures, a complex groupAre there intrinsically bad and good pleasures, or des their valur dependon the way we use them ?

Lecture 3

Moral habituation

Why do we need to acquire a character when we have a law that tells uswhat to do ?

Lecture 4

The mean (wasa)Why do we always have to look for the mean between two extremes,rather than simply distinguishing right from wrong ?

Lecture 5

Justice (adl), an inner qualityIs justice necessarily directed toward others, or can it start with self-con-duct ?

Lecture 6Patience (abr), the global quality

Question : Can patience enable us not only to avoid bad acts, but also toperform good ones ?


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The Mean and Moderation

The idea that right conduct lies in a mean (wasa) between two extre-mes seems to be a distinctive feature of the ethical tradition in Islam. Itappears to some extent in the Qurn (jaalnkum ummatan wasaan,verse 143 of Srat al-Baqara), more explicitly in adth (khayru l-umrawsauh), and is elaborated by prominent scholars. Ab mid al-

Ghazzl is among these. Drawing on Aristotle, he argues that all thesuperior traits (fail) are a mean between base ones (radhil).

The idea of the mean has gained new relevance with the rise of variousforms of extremism in our world. Some have even advocated a middleway (wasaiyya) running between two extreme ones. But arent we likelyto lean toward one of the extremes we supposedly avoid ? Isnt it prefera-

ble to establish independent criteria for extremism, such as the readinessto constrain or to harm others in the name of ones conviction ? Whenwe have such criteria, arent we better prepared to adopt a moderate po-sition in all circumstances ? In other words, to make the mean ethicallyefcient, shouldnt we refrain from taking it literally ? Shouldnt we un-derstand instead the idea of the mean as a call for moderation ?

These questions can only be answered through the sudy of specic ethi-

cal issues in private, social or economic life. While I am at IESE, I willlook for researchers inclined to undertake such study, and to publish theirwork. I, on the other hand, intend to expand my research on the meanin the ethical tradition and, hopefully, to contribute to the study of thecontemporary issues. If the traditional aspect is sufciently important,a joint study and publication can be considered. At this point, Abdal-lah Cheikh-Moussa, Professor of Arabic Literature at the Sorbonne, has

agreed to make a contribution on the mean in the literacy tradition.

I now provide a detailed outline of the seminar. This outline divides


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the six points into specic ideas, each illustrated with quotations fromGhazzlsMzn al-amal.


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LECTURE 1

Inattention (ghafla), the main threat to

moral life

a. Inattention to the hereafter

- Weak thesis : inattention despite uncertaintyAny rational being should at least allow the possibility that the prophetswere telling the truth, and should thus get prepared for the hereafterthrough science and action. If he doesnt, thats because of inattention.

- Strong thesis : inattention despite faithPeople who believe in the hereafter should get prepared for it, but most ofthem dont. Thats because theyre inattentive to mediating on the mattersof the hereafter, an inattention rooted in the domination of appetites.

b. Inattention and ignorance/unbelief

- Inattention caused by ignorance Disregarding the way of happiness is the inattention of the ignorant . The soul of the blind imitator is sometimes cowardly, and refrains from


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examining the contradictions that appear to him in law. That is becausehis reason is weak, and his constitution without vigour. He then takeson inattention to these contradictions for fear that his imitation will bedestroyed .

- Inattention coexisting with ignorance Woe to that who does not believe in God, and who is inattentive to Hissaying: In the earth are signs for those having sure faith ; and in yourselves; what, do you not see ?[Koran, LI, 21] The one who thinks that mere faith will sufce him, he displays igno-rance of true faith, and inattention to the saying of the Prophet: Thatwho says with pure intention, he will enterparadise . Science may require a long effort, as in the case of the common people,especially the stupid who have grown old in inattention and ignorance,and did not learn at the time of childhood .

- Inattention causing ignorance

The inattentive man who does not tell the true from the false, the beau-tiful from the ugly, he will remain devoid of belief. He will not take ac-tion against his appetites, but will keep following pleasures instead . Ignorance may stem from inattention, and from not having come acrossa guide that makes you attentive .

- Inattention without ignorance

Through clearing the road of glass and mud, man also improves hissoul, renes his character and clears his soul of the base traits of inatten-tion, hardness and lack of compassion . This book does not aim at showing truth and falsehood through proofin these matters. It rather provides counsels that make you attentive toinattention, and guide you toward what you should search for. Thus, manwill not be inattentive to what the Sus said . The world is like a snake. The charmer seizes it and extracts from it theantidote. But when the inattentive man seizes it, he is killed by its venom,not knowing where death comes from .


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People are of two sorts in relation to death. First, the inattentive man,that is the real idiot who meditates on death and what follows only withregard to the state of his children and what he leaves after his death . Everyone who is expecting to be called by a king at any time, this man

should be prepared to answer the call. If he is not, the messenger maycome while he is inattentive, and he will thus be denied happiness .

c. The resources of inattention

- Temporary inattention Increasing pureness and perfection of the soul, and joy at its beauty, oc-curs when man wakes up from the sleep that has made him inattentive to

the perception of the state of his soul. The soul then displays a beauty atwhich he rejoices, or a stain and defect which exposes him to shame . Since faith in God is rooted in the souls by original constitution, peopleare two sorts. First, those who turn away and forget. They are the unbelie-vers. Second, those who set their thought in motion and remember. Theyare like the man who bears a testimony, then forgets it through inatten-tion, and eventually remembers it .

- Necessary inattention Where it not, say the Sus, for Gods will to make the world ourish,the veils would be removed and inattention would disappear. All peoplewould head to the way of God, and each group would drop what is re-mote from the goal. But all parties are happy with what they have, andthus make the universe subsist. Were it not for this contentment, moreo-

ver, the crafts would collapse. If the tailor, the weaver or the barber didnot believe that there is something in his work that entails his inclinationto it, he would drop it. All would proceed to the noblest of crafts, and thelarge number of crafts would collapse. These circumstances are necessa-ry to make the circumstances of craftsmen possible. So their inattentionto these aspects is part of Gods mercy .

- Inattention that qualies What goes beyond sufciency in accomodation steps out of the boun-dary of religion, and is a move toward the realm of the world. I mean by


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that the concern for a beautiful house. As to sitting in such a house whilebeing inattentive to it, and without rejoicing at it and relaxing in it, thisis permitted .

- Using inattention Whenever man looks at the people of the world, and focuses his mindon their inattention to the hereafter and the many misfortunes they sufferin the world, he is comforted for its loss and does not mind leaving it .


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LECTURE 2

Pleasures, a complex group

a. Avoiding pleasures

- Refraining from pleasurable acts Whatever position you adopt toward the hereafter, your reason prescri-bes that you busy yourself with science and action, and turn away fromthe pleasures of the world . Whenever you are confronted with an alternative, and do not knowwhich of the two acts is more right, choose the one that is repugnant toyou, not the one you love . Law dissuades us from the permitted acts that are accomplished for thepleasure taken in beautiful things .

- Avoiding pleasure in acts Man should crush his avidity for food. Thus, his goal with food will notbe to take pleasure in its consumption, but to get full strength in order togain access to science and action. Eating will be for him like feeding his

animals. When he rises to struggle, his goal is access to struggle alone.He wishes he could do without food, while keeping his strength for scien-ce and action .


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The one who knows that the appetite for food was created in order toenable man to gain access to the sciences through a healthy body, his goalwith food will be to become stronger for worship, not to take pleasure infood .

He knows that the appetite for copulation was created in him as animpulse to copulation, which is the medium of the subsistance and pre-servation of the species. Let him pursue marriage to have children and tofortify himself, not for fun and enjoyment . When he takes food, he should act like someone who is forced to takesomething and wishes he could doo without it . In general, it is necessary to eat below ones ll. Thus, the body willbe light enough for worship and night prayer, and the forces too weak to

ow to the appetites .

b. Meritorious pleasure

- Taking pleasure in meritorious acts It does not escape notice that the scholar takes pleasure in his science,and in the intricate matters that are uncovered to him at every instant.

This occurs in particular when he looks into the realm of the heavens andthe earth, and divine matters . Rational pleasures are, for instance, the pleasure of science and wis-dom. This kind of pleasure is the rarest and noblest. It is rare becausewisdom is found pleasurable by the wise man alone . That who puries his soul and nourishes it with the true sciences, he hasstrength to be steady in worship. Moreover, prayer becomes his comfort.

Worshipping alone at night is the sweetest thing to him because he thenconverses with his Lord .

- Finding the acts pleasurable Fine character consists in suppressing all the bad habits that law im-parts in detail. Man should make them hateful to him, so that he avoidsthem as he avoids impurities. Fine character also consists in getting ac-customed to the ne habits, in longing for them, in favouring them and indelighting in them . Whenever one performs acts of worship and refrains from forbidden


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acts with uneasiness and repugnance, this stems from a deciency, andman cannot attain perfect happiness through his action . To attain happiness, it is not sufcient to nd the acts of obediencepleasurable and the acts of disobedience repugnant once in a while. On

the contrary, man should have this attitude permanently and throughouthis life .

c. Using pleasures

If he gets enjoyment and fun in marriage, it should be to become fa-miliar with his wife, and to gain the varied experience that ensures necompanionship and a lasting mariage . The second wisdom behind sexual appetite and the appetite of the bellyis to make people desire otherwordly happiness. Indeed, as long as theydo not feel these pleasures and pains, they cannot desire paradise andbeware of hell. If they were promised what no eye has seen, no ear hasheard and what has not passed through the heart of man, the promise byitself would have no effect on their soul .


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LECTURE 3

Moral habituation

a.Habituation through imitation

What who wants, for instance, his soul to acquire the character of ge-nerosity, his way is to take on the act of the generous man, namely thespending of money. If he is steady in performing this act, it will becomeeasy for him, and he will become himself generous. Likewise, that whowants his soul to acquire the character of lowliness, while he is domi-nated by pride, his way of struggling is to perform the acts of the lowlysteadily. This performance should be repeated all the time, and at shortintervals . That who wants the art of writing to become a xed quality of his soul,his way is to do what the artful scribe does. It is, namely, to imitate beau-tiful script. This will then become an aptitude rmly rooted in him, andthe art will become a quality of his soul. There will eventually issue fromhim spontaneously what he had taken on at the beginning articially . That who has not got the character of courage, let him scrutinize him-

self. If his constitution is inclined to the deciency, which is cowardice,let him perform the acts of the courageous man forcedly and steadily.The habit will then become part of his constitution, and a character of


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his. After this, the acrs of the courageous man will ow from him spon-taneously .

b. Habituation through learning

Likewise, that who wants to become a knower of the soul, he has noway but to practice knowledge, to memorize it and to repeat it. He isat the beginning simply taking on knowledge, but then the quality ofknowledge reverts to his soul. He thus becomes a knower of the soul,in the sense that his soul has acquired a disposition to the production ofknowledge. He will be able to do this spontaneously, whatever he wantsto achieve . You might ask about that who governs the acts of the forces of appetiteand anger. From his acts, there emerge characters rmly rooted in hissoul. Through these characters, the acts become easy. Is this man, willyou say, self-controlled ? .

c. Habituation through couteraction

It is reported of someone that he was treating the force of anger, andwas taking on the quality of meekness. He used to give the senseless awage to blemish him through public insult, so that he could bear this. Hebecame such that his meekness passed into a proverb.Another one was training himself gradually to courage, and took to thesea in the winter.Yet another one used to prepare delicious food, and let other people eat

it in his presence, while he conned himself to barley bread. He did thatto crush his appetite.The worshippers of India treat laziness over worship through standing allnight on one foot, and not moving from this position.Another one treated his love for possessions through selling all his pos-sessions, and throwing the money into the sea .

d. Inattention from habituation

The state of the man who has the power to act on his knowledge is


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like that of the artful and capable scribe who is inattentive to writing. Heis disposed to writing through an immediate power, and to the outmostperfection . The superior traits are at their peak when they issue from man endlessly

without thought, consideration or strain. He gets hold of truth withoutlong strain, as if truth were issuing from him while he is immersed ininattention. He is like the craftsman artful in tailoring or in writing .


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LECTURE 4

The mean (wasa)

a. Ambiguities of the mean

- Extreme similar to mean People blame pride and stinginess more than abasement and extrava-gance because the former are utterly ugly. But even if extravagance andabasement are blameworthy, they resemble generosity and lowliness res-pectively. The difference between the two is often thin, and people thinkthat abasement and extravagance are commendable. In reality, they arebase traits that deviate from the mean .

- Mean contrary to extreme Rage is submission to the character that goes against meekness andmeek behaviour . If patience occurs in war, it is named courage, and its contrary is co-wardice. If it consists in silencing a burst of anger or genuine anger, it isnamed meekness, and its contrary is touchiness .

b. Failures of the mean


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- The merging of mean and extremeThesis : Wisdom is a mean between the excess of trickery and the de-ciency of simple-mindedness.

Wisdom subsumes (1) ne discernment, while trickery subsumes (1) as-tuteness.Denition of ne discernment : It is the ability to draw what is mostuseful and best in the acquisition of the great goods and the noble ends.These goods and ends are those that are proper to you, or those that youpoint to someone else. They regard the conduct of household or city,resistance to the enemy, the pushing away of evil and, in general, anyimportant and considerable matter .

Remark : If the matter is insignicant and contemptible, the trait is na-med renement and not ne discernment .Denition of astuteness : It is the ability to draw what is most ef-cient in order to complete what one thinks is a good but is not truly one,while it brings considerable prot .Case of renement : The rational and rened man is never devoid of theremembrance of death .

- The transformation of extreme into meanThesis : Gravity is a mean between the excess of pride and the deciencyof lowliness.Denition of gravity : It consists in putting ones soul in the place itdeserves, thanks to knowledge of its value .Denition of pride : It is raising the soul above its value .

Denition of abasement (instead of lowliness ) : Lowering thesoul in honours and respect to a position below its value .Remark : If this is done in the prescribed way, the trait is named com-mendable lowliness .

- The divided meanThesis : Modesty is a mean between the excess of shamelessness and thedefect of indolence.Denition of modesty : In general, it is used for the act of refrainingfrom the ugly, and it is also used for the act of refraining from what one


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thinks is ugly .Remark : The latter suits children and women, but is blameworthy inrational men, whereas the former is beautiful in everyone .

- Excess in the mean Shame is a weakening of the soul caused by excessive modesty. It ispraised in children and women, but not in men .

c. The hierarchical mean

- In accomodationLower rank or measure of necessity : to have a mere shelter, whatever

building serves this purpose. This will content only those who rely entirely on God .Middle rank or degree of sufciency : to have a place of ones own,where one can be by oneself, but without ne construction and abundantfacilities.Upper rank : to have a spacious house that is built beautifully, and equip-ped with abundant facilities and unlimited dependencies.

This steps out of the boundary of religion, and is a move toward therealm of the world .

- In foodLower rank : to eat what keeps one alive, and maintains ones strengthfor worship. This can be diminished by habit. Some people eat every ten,twenty or forty days. Others eat one chick-pea a day.

This is a great rank that only a few possess .Middle rank : to ll one third of ones belly.Upper rank : to go beyond one third. This is where gluttony begins.

- In sustenanceLower degree : to be concernedn with sustenance for the present day andnight alone. Some people move from the day to the hour, and from thehour to their own soul. They assume at every instant that their soul isdeparting from the world, and prepare for departure.Middle degree : to be concerned with one year ahead.


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Upper degree : to go beyond one year. Those who do this attribute to theirsoul a long life.

- In clothing

Lower degree : to cover the private parts, or what it is customary to cover,with the simplest and grossest kind of clothes, clothes that are expectedto last one day and one night.Middle degree : to wear what suits ones state, but without delight andillicit clothing.Upper degree : to accumulate clothes, and to seek delight in them.

d. Reasons for the mean

- The mean is hard If his constitution is inclined to the excess, namely fearlessness, lethim make his soul aware of the outcome of fearful matters, and let himconsider seriously the danger they involve. Let him refrain from excess,and take on the balanced attitude, or rather what approaches it. Indeed,to light on the true degree of just balance is hard. If this were to happen,

the soul would depart from the body, and would lose all connection withit. Thus, the soul could not be punished through regretting what it missedwhile managing the body. Also, its joy at the unclosing of the beauty andmajesty of God would go untroubled .

- The mean saves To seek the mean between these extremes is hard. The mean is thinner

than a hair and sharper than a sword, as is said of the bridge path in thehereafter. That who walks straight on the path in this world, he also walksstraight on the path in the hereafter. Indeed, man has at death the status hehad in life, and he has in resurrection the state he had at death .


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LECTURE 5

Justice (adl/adla), an inner quality

a. Justice as balance

Of the science of the soul, the science of domestic life and the scienceof the conduct of subjects, the foremost is the polishing of the soul, theconduct of the body and the keeping of justice in these qualities .The three forces should be straightened out, and governed in the appro-priate way and to the appropriate degree. The forces of appetite and angershould be made submissive to the third force, that of thought and reason.Whenever this is done, justice obtains . The soul should make use of reason, train the spirit of anger and giveit power over appetite. It should indeed make use of reason against bothforces. Sometimes, the soul should reduce the vanity and ardour of angerthrough giving freedom to appetite and letting it loose gradually. Other ti-mes, the soul should repress and constrain appetite through giving angerand spirit power over it, through making its consequences look ugly andbeing enraged at them. When the soul does all this, its forces are justly

balanced and it has ne characters . Justice expresses the conformity of the three forces with the prescribed


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arrangement. Through it is everything completed. For this reason, it wassaid : Through justice were set up the heavens and the earth . Justice is a state of the three forces, which are ordered relatively to oneanother, and according to their dominant or submissive position in the

prescribed arrangement .b. Global justice

Through such justice were set up the heavens and the earth. It is sum-mary of the noble acts prescribed by law, of the pureness of soul, of neand commendable character . Justice gathers all the superior traits while injustice, its opposite, ga-

thers all the base traits .

c. The extension of justice

When the qualities are justly balanced, they extend to the distant sub-jects - women and children, and then to the people of the country . Justice in the characters of the soul is necessarily followed by justice

in exchanges and in the conduct of people. The latter is like a branch ofthe former .

d. Produced justice

Since men were organized in society, they had to have among themjustice and a rule of exchanges to which the could refer. Were it not for

this, they would have quarrelled with one another, fought one another,and perished . Among the commendable expenses are those that make one acquirejustice, namely prescribed alms-giving and expenses for the dependants.


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LECTURE 6

Patience (abr), the global quality

a. Patience (abral, bearing)

Meek behaviour consists in bearing something repugnant . Through courage, man brings himself to bear hardships .

b. Patience (abran)

- Doing without Like love of women is love of prestige, of properties, of children, evenlove of playing with birds, love of backgammon and of chess. Thesethings take hold of some people and make them lose both religion andworldly life, while they cannot do without them . The lower rank in food is the measure of necessity. It consists in ea-ting what prevents one from expiring, what maintains the presence of thebody and the strength for worship. This can be diminished by habit. Oneway is to diminish consumption gradually until one gets accustomed to

doing without food for ten days, or twenty . When one says to the mean, Why arent you content with this thing


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you have ?, he answers : So and so is richer than me. Why should I bearwhat he doesnt do without ? .

- Refraining

Through courage, man also refrains from committing acts of disobe-dience . If patience consists in refraining from desired objects, it is named self-control .

c. Patience to The teacher might point, on the road of learning, to something whichthe pupil sees as pure mistake, and believes to be so with certainty. Whe-never this happens, let the pupil blame his own soul, be patient, and keepfollowing his teacher. Indeed, the mistake of his teacher is better than theright judgment of his soul . If the evil cannot be pushed away, sorrow is meaningless. On the contra-ry, man should nd devices against it through the use of reason unmixedwith sadness. When he does what he can to have efcient devices, he re-mains in peace of heart, awaiting the effects of the decision and decree of

God, knowing that nothing can drive back what He has decided. He thenmeets the evil with patience if it does not move away, and he acknowled-ges that what God has decreed occurs .


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ADRIEN LEITES

EXPERIENCE

Teaching at Paris-Sorbonne, Department of Arabic Studies (2000-)- Muslim thought : Hadth and Tradition (second year), Kalm and argu-ment (third year).- Master seminar : The ethics of Ghazzl (2012-2013).- Direction of theses in Islamic studies.Missions at Paris-Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi, Department of Lan-

guage and Business (2006-)Intensive ourse on Arabic civilization (four weeks of teaching per year,in Arabic).Courses on Muslim thought at various institutions :American University of Paris (2012), International Institute of IslamicThought-France (2011),University of Paris-Dauphine (2010)

Coordination of the Arabic Program at the French Institute of Arabic Stu-dies in Damascus (1998-2000)Elaboration of a research project at the French Institute of InternationalRelations (1997-1998)

TRAININGPh. D., Princeton University, Department of Near Eastern Studies (1992-1997)

Graduate research at Oxford University, Saint Antonys College (1991)BA and Master in Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Paris III(1985-1990)

WORKS

The time of birth of Muammad. A study in Islamic tradition , Ph. D.

dissertation, Princeton University, 1997(under the direction of M. Cook).


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Temps bni et temps transhistorique. Deux conceptions religieuses dutemps dans la Tradition musulmane , Studia Islamica 89 (1999). Sra and the question of Tradition , in H. Motzki (ed.), The Biographyof Muammad, Leiden, Brill, 2000.

En qute de lthique musulmane I. La notion dgalit en islam ,Arabica 50, 2 (2003). En qute de lthique musulmane II. Les deux principes de diffrencia-tion , Arabica 50, 3 (2003). La rgle de lamour chez Ghazzl. la rencontre dune thique dutawd , Arabica 54, 1 (2007). Amour de Dieu et dsir de la mort. Le martyre selon Ghazzl , Ara-bica 55, 1 (2008).

Ghazzls Alteration of adths : Processes and Meaning , Oriens 40(2012). Qui est Ghazzl pour nous ? , in Actes du 3e Forum franco-saoudienpour le dialogue des civilisations, 2012. Bu and the Theory of Emotions : Can Ghazzl Make Us Like HateBetter? , forthcoming in Arabica.Amour chrtien et amour musulman. Textes dAugustin et de Ghazzl

avec introduction analytique, forthcoming at Fayard.Ethique de lamour et thique du caractre. Le De moribus ecclesiae ca-tholicae dAugustin face au Mzn al-amal de Ghazzl, in preparation.


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IESE - Institute for Epistemological Studies - Europe

LInstitute for Epistemological Studies Europe est un institut de recherche

dont la mission est de promouvoir de nouvelles approches pistmologiquespermettant denvisager les questions de linterculturalit et de linterpntrationculturelles lchelle locale et globale en mettant contribution les angles dat-taque et les champs disciplinaires les plus varis.Les chercheurs impliqus dans ces travaux de recherche viennent dhorizonsculturels et disciplinaires divers mais ont en partage les principes pistmo-logiques et thiques qui valorisent la pluralit paradigmatique dans ses diversaspects. Aussi les diffrentes disciplines universitaires et les diffrentes tradi-

tions acadmiques aussi bien afro-asiatiques queuro-amricaines sont-ellesconsidres comme sources dclairage non seulement complmentaires, maisncessaires dans les conditions du monde en mouvement.Linstitut veille cet gard offrir une infrastructure de recherche adapte et re-nouvele. Il uvre ce que non seulement la logistique scientique soit adapteau besoin de ces chercheurs mais quelle puisse rendre les travaux de rechercheaccessibles et utiles la cit.LIESE tient ainsi faire dialoguer les diffrentes traditions de recherche ainsi

que les diffrentes traditions culturelles corrlatives. Il sefforce ainsi contri-buer lmergence dune pense non exclusive et dlivre autant que possiblede tout ethnocentrisme.Pour ce faire, lIESE :- Fixe des axes spciques de recherche en vue de la promotion de lin-terdisciplinarit et de la pluridisciplinarit autour des questions thiques et pis-tmologiques suscites par les problmatiques de linterculturalit- Fait participer diffrentes universits et institutions acadmiques dansllaboration de projets communs- Organise des activits de recherche permettant de capitaliser les diff-rents travaux de recherche promus : confrences, programmes, cycles, collo-ques, sminaires, ateliers de recherche, publications,


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LEthique en Islam

Lobjectif de ce sminaire est de partager avec les chercheurs

et les collaborateurs de lIESE lthique construite par Abmid al-Ghazzl. Le sminaire sintresse moins aux sour-ces de cette construction ou la doctrine quil expose, com-me dans la plupart des ouvrages qui traitent du sujet. Il consi-dre davantage limportance de la construction de lthique deGhazzl, et sa pertinence pour la pense contemporaine.

LInsitute for Epistemological Studies - Europe

LInstitute for Epistemological Studies Europe est un institutde recherche dont la mission est de promouvoir de nouvellesapproches pistmologiques permettant denvisager les ques-

tions de linterculturalit et de linterpntration culturelles lchelle locale et globale en mettant contribution les anglesdattaque et les champs disciplinaires les plus varis.

Documents

Ethics With Ghazali