Islam & Modern Western Thought: Course Outline

1. In the study of English literature the students very often come across references from Western philosophy which is likely to drift them away from the moorings of Islam.
2. To neutralize their baneful impact on the students, this course has been designed and included here.
3. To enable the students to critically analyze diverse Western schools of thought
4. To help students draw comparisons between Western and Islamic philosophy

UNIT 1

• Islam
• Salient Features of Islamic Ideology
• Islamic World View

UNIT 2

Modern western thought

• A brief introduction to the history of thought, ancient, medieval and modern
• How modern thought is different from medieval
• Salient Features of modern western thought
• Western World View

UNIT 3

Machiavellianism

• A brief introduction to the life history, times and works of Machiavelli
• Machiavelli’s political doctrine
• Major themes of Machiavelli’s Prince
• Islamic teachings in the field of politics
• Issue of sovereignty, vicegerency and nature of democracy in Islam
• Purpose and characteristics of an Islamic state
• Qualities of a Caliph

UNIT 4

Rationalism

• A brief introduction to Rationalism prevalent in the West and its forms
• Sources of knowledge according to Rationalists
• Sources of knowledge from an Islamic perspective
• Status of Reason in Islam

UNIT 5

Evolutionism

• A brief introduction to the life history of Charles Darwin, and Salient features of his personality
• Evolutionary Ideas before Darwin
• Theory of Evolution, its aspects, and contributions of Darwin to the theory of Evolution
• Scientific evidence produced to support the theory of Evolution by natural selection
• Impact of the theory on Social Sciences, theology and Modern thought
• Impact of the theory on Muslim Thought
• A critique of the theory of Natural selection in the light of the facts of life, science and Islamic teaching
• Origin and evolution of man proposed by Darwin and Islamic teaching on this issue

UNIT 6  

Existentialism

• A brief history of Existentialism
• Existentialists on Existence
• Main themes of Existentialism
• Impact of Existentialism on contemporary thought
• Islamic teachings about the main themes of Existentialism

UNIT 7

Determinism

• A brief history about the philosophy of determinism
• Types of determinism
• Main issues and themes of determinism
• Islamic teachings about the main themes of determinism

UNIT 8

Freudianism

• A brief introduction to the life history of Freud and his methodology
• Freud on interpretation of dreams
• Oedipus complex and Electra complex
• A critique of Freud from an Islamic point of view
• Islamic teachings on the interpretation of dreams, Oedipus complex and Electra complex

Marxism

• A brief introduction to the life history of Karl Marx and Marx
• Marxian Social theory
• Marxian Economic theory
• Impact of Marxism on the contemporary thought
• Islamic teachings about the main themes of Marxism