posted by Winston Smith at
2:22 PM
Saturday, December 02, 2006
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2 Comments:
Since this an area of great if not paramount interest to me as well, WS, it would have been helpful if some of Nirenberg's polemic were touched on for us non-TNR subscribers. (I figure you have a cookie on your computer that permits TNR access, but FYI, the rest of us only get the first few paragraphs before they ask us to give them money.)
I say polemic because I think I know where Nirenberg is going, based on this other article, which turned up free via Google. It's well worth reading, because he gets many of the facts of philosophical history correct.
But if he continues to ignore al-Gazzali, who in the 11th century turned Islam away from the reason of Aristotle and the Greeks (and of the estimable medievals al-Farabi and Ibn Rushd) and the (by then manifestly powerless) Catholic Church's condemnation of Spain and Portugal's maltreatment of the natives of their nascent empires, then he is a crappy historian, even if he holds an academic post at the University of Chicago.
The difference that Benedictus XVI limns between Catholicism and Islam is, ironically, not theological but philosophical. One went forward, the other back. Pope Ratzinger is nothing if not a reasonable fellow.
I appreciate that you don't have time to read anymore, but this is where the philosophical rubber meets the road in this day and age. I believe it warrants your attention.
Just pointing to it for those who are interested... No time to comment, plus I don't know any more about the subject than the average Joe. Figured a link was better than nothing.
Will check out other article.
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