What is man? “The feather of an angel was brought and tied to a donkey's tail that the donkey perhaps might turn into an angel”.Thus writes the greatest of all Persian-writing mystical poets of Islam, Maulânâ Jalâladdân Rûmî (1207-1273) in his conversations, Fîhi mâ fîhi, when pointing to the mystery of man's existence : man is able to attain a rank superior to that of the angels (who have no free will and are eternally good) provided he develops his God-given (...) faculties of reason and love; but he can sink lower than a beast if he neglects his spiritual powers and falls a prey to sensual pleasures and crimes owing to the misuse of his rational faculties. (shrink)

In the Name of the One who has no Name,He who appears before you, how ever you call Him!How does Islamic theology and Koran exegesis, some of whose representatives set out to find the most modern developments, such as the atomic bomb, in the Koran, deal with the latest interpretations of quantum physics, of Heisenberg's uncertainty relation, and with the question of whether the sub-atomic world is made up of waves or particles? How does a theologian react to the notion (...) that parts of the atom influence each other and that the observer himself plays a role in the shaping of future events? Are these discoveries compatible with the traditional idea of a God who knows all; are they compatible with the various terms for fate: qadar, qada, or qismat? (shrink)

Why is the number seven lucky--even holy--in almost every culture? Why do we speak of the four corners of the earth? Why do cats have nine lives? From literature to folklore to private superstitions, numbers play a conspicuous role in our daily lives. But in this fascinating book, Annemarie Schimmel shows that numbers have been filled with mystery and meaning since the earliest times, and across every society. In The Mystery of Numbers Annemarie Schimmel conducts an (...) illuminating tour of the mysteries attributed to numbers over the centuries. She begins with an informative and often surprising introduction to the origins of number systems: pre-Roman Europeans, for example, may have had one based on twenty, not ten, while the Mayans had a system more sophisticated than our own. Schimmel also reveals how our fascination with numbers has led to a rich cross-fertilization of mathematical knowledge: "Arabic" numerals, for instance, were picked up by Europe from the Arabs, who had earlier adopted them from Indian sources. But the heart of the book is an engrossing guide to the symbolism of numbers. Number symbolism, she shows, has deep roots in Western culture, from the philosophy of the Pythagoreans and Platonists, to the religious mysticism of the Cabala and the Islamic Brethren of Purity, to Kepler's belief that the laws of planetary motion should be mathematically elegant, to the unlucky thirteen. After exploring the sources of number symbolism, Schimmel examines individual numbers ranging from one to ten thousand, discussing the meanings they have had for Judaic, Christian, and Islamic traditions, with examples from Indian, Chinese, and Native American cultures as well. Two, for instance, has widely been seen as a number of contradiction and polarity, a number of discord and antithesis. And six, according to ancient and neo-platonic thinking, is the most perfect number because it is both the sum and the product of its parts. Using examples ranging from the Bible to the Mayans to Shakespeare, she shows how numbers have been considered feminine and masculine, holy and evil, lucky and unlucky. A highly respected scholar of Islamic culture, Annemarie Schimmel draws on her vast knowledge to paint a rich, cross-cultural portrait of the many meanings of numbers. Engaging and accessible, her account uncovers the roots of a phenomenon we all feel every Friday the thirteenth. (shrink)

Annemarie Schimmel, dünya dinleri, felsefe, biyografi, edebiyat gibi ko-nularda kaleme aldığı eserlerle Doğu’da ve Batı’da isminden söz ettiren velûd bir akademisyendir. Diğer yandan onun özellikle tasavvuf alanında ortaya koyduğu çalışmalar, tasavvuf düşünce geleneğinin Batılı araştırmacılar tarafından objektif bir perspektiften okunmasına ve yeniden ilgi odağı olarak değerlendirilmesine sebep olmuştur. Tasavvuf tarihi olarak değerlendirebileceğimiz Mystische Dimension des Islam, Mevlânâ Celâleddin Rûmî’nin tasavvufî görüşlerini irdelediği Ich bin Wind du bist Feuer, tasavvufa giriş niteliğinde olan Sufismus: Eine Einführung in die islamische Mystik (...) ve Hallac-ı Mansûr’u konu edindiği Al-Halladsch: Märtyrer der Gottesliebe: Leben und Legende eserleri, onun bu sahada bilinen çalışmalarından birkaçıdır. Schimmel, Yunus Emre’nin bazı şiirlerini de Ausgewählte Gedichte von Yunus Emre isimli eseriyle Almanca’ya tercüme etmiştir. Ayrıca onun Yunus Emre’nin tasavvufî görüşlerini tahkiye metoduyla anlattığı ve bazı şiirlerini irdelediği Wanderungen mit Yunus Emre ismiyle bilinen çalışması Anadolu’da tasavvuf kültürü ile irtibatlı olarak tasnif edilebilecek bir diğer eseridir. Bu makale, eserlerinden hareketle Schimmel’in Anadolu’da yetişmiş bir mutasavvıf olarak Yunus Emre telakkisini ve onun perspektifinden Anadolu’da tasavvufî düşüncenin ve kültürün izdüşümlerini konu edinmektedir. (shrink)

Donald C. Ainslie's Hume's True Scepticism is a wonderful book—clearly written and forcefully argued—and was deservedly honored with Journal of the History of Philosophy's Book Prize for 2016. The focus of the book is part four of the first Book of Hume's Treatise, "Of the sceptical and other systems of philosophy." Ainslie develops an interpretation that takes seriously Hume's psychological claims, using them to solve puzzles in Hume scholarship, including the extent of Hume's scepticism, the nature of his sceptical crisis, (...) and the basis for his second thoughts on personal identity.I would encourage Ainslie to go further in tracing Hume's psychological explanations. In what follows, I will... (shrink)

L’histoire de la monnaie, la place qu’elle occupe aujourd’hui dans les sociétés occidentales sont appréciées dans cet article sous l’angle du travail de symbolisation tel que l’envisage la psychanalyse.