Is anyone familiar with this famous debate from the Islamic Empire?
Re: Farabi vs. Ghazali
sorta.. is this the same debate as that of the mutazalites vs asharites?
..ah yes it is.
Re: Farabi vs. Ghazali
ravage..is it the same ghazali who favors yazid?
Re: Farabi vs. Ghazali
mutazalites vs asharites
Explain this one first.
Ghazali rejected reason and philosophy - saying that these things will take one away from God.
Farabi advocated reason and philosophy as a way of manifesting your worship to God and that its integral for Islamic society to work.
Apparently, Ghazali had the mass support even in the time of the Islamic Empire. I dont know if the debate took place during the Golden Ages or before or after that height.
I just found the debate to be interesting - it would explain a lot. Ghazali wrote some book on it. I plan on reading it at some point in the near future. I was wondering if Farabi had any publications that are in their English translation?
Re: Farabi vs. Ghazali
sheraz, i dont know about any ghazali who did 
Yes the debate is very interesting. Ghazali and Farabi are two big names from their respective schools of thought, Ashari and Mutazali. The Mutazalites were greek inspired theologicians who held that free will and human ability to reason and arrive at the causes for religion and faith paramount. Asharis believed in the inherent ignorance of man as far as divine reasons are concerned, and advocated the use of science and philosophy towards less divine, more human pursuits.
And no, it was initially the Mutazalis who were in favour with the courts, its only after some coup or something that the then clerics who were held in regard were replaced by asharites and a counter witchhunt was done.
heres a nice article on all this
the link on Mutazalis on the same page is also interesting reading.
Re: Farabi vs. Ghazali
ghazali is considered to be one of the leading phiosophers of all time....
strange that u wud mention that he rejected reason and philosophy....
Re: Farabi vs. Ghazali
it was one interpretation of a fellow philosopher.
Re: Farabi vs. Ghazali
which is the point Ibn Rushd raised in his refutation.. “to say that philosophers are incoherent is itself to make an incoherent statement.”
because he did reject it as a means towards understanding faith. He even wrote a book titled “Incoherence of the Philosophers”.