Taftāzānī and Philosophy

The book Logic and Theology, published by Brill, contains articles in German, English, and French on the study of medieval Islamic and Western scholarship in the fields of logic and theology. Each article in this book is authored by an expert in the respective subject. The present article, titled “Taftāzānī and Philosophy” is a translation of Wilferd Madelung's original German text. In this article, Madelung highlights an aspect of Taftāzānī’s scholarly character that has either been overlooked or given less attention in the shadow of figures such as al-Fārābī, Avicenna, and Mullā Sadrā—namely, the philosophical dimension of Taftāzānī’s thought and works. Madelung, through careful research and an emphasis on Taftāzānī’s Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid, brings to light the philosophical elements present in Taftāzānī’s writings and examines the attribution or misattribution of certain works to him. In this way, Madelung provides both a scientifically rich article and a methodological guide for research in this particular area.