The Appropriation of Islamic Philosophy: Creation in Ricoeur and Avicenna

Phenomenology and philosophical hermeneutics are deepening their dialogue with ancient and medieval metaphysics. Yet Islamic philosophy - typically relegated to a distant past - remains strikingly absent despite its recognized impact on European thought.

To counter this absence, The Appropriation of Islamic Philosophy revitalizes the work of Avicenna - the seminal Islamic thinker - for contemporary philosophy, making a case for a Ricoeurian hermeneutics of appropriation.

Selami Varlik brings Avicenna into dialogue with Ricoeur through their shared concern with putting belief in tension with rational discourse. The notion of creation, common to both Islam and Christianity, plays a pivotal role in this convergence - particularly through Avicenna’s distinction between ontological creation and temporal creation.

By establishing a shared conceptual language between both traditions, this work makes a vital contribution to the development of a living Islamic philosophy, transcending the scope of the two thinkers examined here.

Selami Varlik is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Istanbul 29 Mayis University, USA.