Typology of Doubt in Descartes and Al-GhazalisThought

Conceptual analysis of “Doubt”, which is considered as the contrast of the certitude, is essential in the philosophical system of two thinkers of East and West: Abū Hāmid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazālī and René Descartes. First of all, this article tries to determine the limitation of the realm of doubt, then studies the typology of doubt in these two thinkers’ views, and their attitude toward doubt, and finally, it will be discussed how they have confronted with the problem of doubt.
This article also tries to demonstrate that: 1. Since al-Ghazali’s doubt is expanded from a philosophical doubt to religious doubt, the realm of al-Ghazali’s doubt is wider than Descartes’. 2. Al-Ghazali commences with this philosophical doubt but he shifts his way to the psychological doubt, but Descartes stays in a philosophical and theoretical doubt.