De-ideologizing the Realm of Philosophy
Aref Masoudi said: Essentially, the key point of Bragg's methodology, which I find very compelling, lies in his critical stance toward clichéd, simplistic and naive narratives. In a way, he is de-ideologizing the philosophical realm. Bragg, in his account, positions himself precisely between two myths: the myth of the absolute Dark Age and the myth of the absolute Golden Age.
Sefir Arjan Religion and Thought Service (Sefir Arjan) - Sobhan Kayani; The book "Legend of the Middle Ages" written by Rami Berg was recently published with the translation of Aref Masoudi. This book criticizes the views and misconceptions and stereotypes about the Middle Ages or the middle centuries and reveals the dynamic and living intellectual and philosophical currents in this relatively long period. On the occasion of holding this meeting, a meeting was held on Monday, October 20th at the Political Science Association with the presence of the translator of this book, Arif Masoudi, and two professors of political science, Zaniar Ebrahimi and Ahmed Bostani. What follows is a report of the speeches of this meeting;
The Middle Ages was neither an absolute dark age nor an absolute golden age
Aref Masoudi, the translator of the book, referring to Remi Bragg's account of the history of thought in the Middle Ages, said: In the collection of articles on the legend of the Middle Ages, which began to be written in the 1990s, but after reviewing the sources in 2006, it is now in the form of a book. In this book, Bragg pursues several general goals: the first is de-stereotyping the concept of the Middle Ages. Bragg challenges two opposing narratives of the Middle Ages; First, the image that sees the Middle Ages as an age of darkness, ignorance and the domination of religion, and in Bragg's opinion, we are talking about an element that is like a passage or an empty valley between two glorious peaks in the history of human thought. Of course, such a view first started with humanists like Petrarch, then continued with the Protestants who considered the Roman Catholic Church as an example of Antichrist, and reached its peak in the Enlightenment era in the works of ideologists like Torgo and Kandrosse. According to Bragg, in the modern era, it was induced that if we are modern, it is because we have left the Middle Ages.
The second narrative is formed against the narrative and although it is like a legend, it presents a completely different view of the Middle Ages: the Middle Ages as a golden age. Bragg considers the beginning of the formation of such an ideal idea in the Middle Ages to be the German romanticism movement led by Novalsen or Friedrich von Haudenberg, and this trend left its impact on literature with the novel Einhova by Sir Walter Scott in 1819 and The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo in 1831, related to others in all other fields.
In fact, the power of this book and Bragg's argumentative method is against these clichéd and convenient narratives, which appears. In fact, what Bragg finds in the middle or between these two myths is a much more complicated flow. That is, although the three religious traditions that studied Greek philosophy translated and adapted from each other, they did not necessarily see each other as like-minded and equal conversation partners. Sobhan Kayani Harsini: Aref Masoudi, the translator of the book, while explaining about the book and its introduction, said: The people and thinkers of this period not only did not stop thinking, but also thought a lot and thought deeply. A clear example that Remy Brague points to is Thomas Aquinas' (St. Thomas) treatise on the generalities of theology. The basic premise of Thomas in this treatise is that there is no escape from philosophizing and that theology must somehow appear in the court of philosophy and be accountable. But in his criticism and response to the second version, Bragg says that this version is also not true; Because this period, like the periods before and after it, has had breaks and moments full of ups and downs. What has moved the history of philosophy in this era has been the continuous human search to find solutions for the problems and issues of that period; Issues that were methodically planned, established and resolved and re-formulated.
Basically, the key point of Bragg's methodology, which is very attractive to me, is his critical stance against stereotyped, convenient and simplistic narratives. In a way, he is de-ideologising the philosophical field. In his narrative, Bragg is exactly in the middle of these two legends (the legend of the absolute dark age against the legend of the absolute golden age). In fact, Che Bragg finds a world much more complicated than our stereotypes between these two legends. That is, although these three religious traditions (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) read the legacy of Greek philosophy, translated and adapted each other, they did not necessarily see each other as like-minded and equal conversation partners; That is, they had a kind of contemptuous view of each other, and at the same time they heavily borrowed intellectually from each other, while all three traditions stood on the shoulders of Greek philosophy. From here we come to Bragg's second problem in this book, which is the problem of the meaning and value of philosophy in these three medieval cultures. Bragg's main thesis here is that in order to understand the role of philosophy in Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the Middle Ages, it is not enough to study the transformation and expansion of the meaning of "philosophy" in its historical and temporal course; Rather, we should have a serious reflection on values.
What does he mean? That is, it is not enough to consider Christian, Jewish and Islamic philosophy separately and compare them proposition by proposition; Rather, in an ideal analytical situation, we should examine the entire structure and knowledge system within each of these cultures. That is, we should try and see what status philosophy has had in each of these three civilizations in interaction or dealing with other fields and disciplines—such as theology, ethics, law, and mysticism. Until these relationships are known, simply understanding the conceptual and semantic evolution of philosophy will be incomplete. Therefore, he considers the presence of revelation religions and the challenges between philosophy and revelation in the middle period to be a fundamental issue in each of these three civilizations. The next issue is the institutionalization of philosophy, which is one of Bragg's central arguments. He makes a clear distinction between "Philosophy" and "Philosophy". He says that philosophy was present in the world of Islam and Judaism, but "Philosophy" as an institutionalized stream of thought was realized only in the Christian world. For example, its roots go back to the twelfth century and official programs in the field of theological studies based on the legacy of Greek philosophy in the words of Saint Anselm; It was there that philosophy could be institutionalized and gradually become part of the official program of university studies. But this was not possible in the world of Islam and Judaism, due to the widespread presence of Sharia law. Another issue related to the distinction between meaning and values is the distinction between the two concepts of inclusion and digestion; That is, the methods that these traditions took in facing the Greek heritage, especially Aristotle. In Islam, especially after Avicenna, what happened in relation to Greek philosophy and Aristotle was "digestion"; This means that Greek philosophy was transformed and impossible within Islamic culture. But in the Christian West, the process was more of the kind of "inclusion"; In the sense that the whole framework of Greece was preserved, but at the same time there were some breaks. Also, one of Bragg's main emphasis is the extent to which medieval philosophers return to Aristotle. He sees the return to Aristotle as the criterion for the continuation of the institutionalization of philosophy. Precisely for this reason, along with a European-oriented view, he considers Ibn Rushd to be the last true philosopher of the Islamic world, and at this very point he finds an angle with a thinker like Henry Corban.
Bragg gives some important methodological hints to the reader of philosophy: Naming philosophy based on religious beliefs has no place in Arabs. The value of what the philosophers wrote in the three realms of Islam, Judaism and Christianity does not depend on their religion. We do not have a phenomenon called "Islamic philosophy", "Christian philosophy", "Jewish philosophy". He mentions Shlomo Pines as a Jewish philosopher with whom he came to the conclusion that basically we don't have anything called Jewish philosophy; What has existed is "the application of philosophical thinking by Muslims, Christians and Jews". Islam, Christianity and Judaism were civilizations in which philosophy was practiced. In the realm of Islamic civilization, Jewish and Christian philosophers were also active, and the first translations of Greek texts were made by Baghdad Christians; So philosophizing should not be reduced to the religion of writers and philosophers. Another issue related to Bragg's methodological position is that despite his criticism of the Enlightenment, which disparagingly considers the Middle Ages as the Dark Age, in my opinion, in terms of method, he still steps within the limits of the Enlightenment and modernity. As we know, after Kant and his Copernican revolution in philosophy, philosophy is no longer just the transmission of results, but the transmission of ways of thinking. Relying on this change in the way of thinking, Bragg believes that the Middle Ages in itself was a series of renaissances and speaks of the need to return to a "new Middle Ages".
On the other hand, Bragg believes that a conscious return to the Middle Ages provides us with the possibility of a correct understanding of the other methodical position of the authors of this period, which is the virtue of self-contemplation in their research process. According to Bragg, this is the key point that helps us understand how medieval writers borrowed from each other despite their different religious affiliations. In fact, in the matter of research, awareness of the necessity of learning and borrowing from others has two basic conditions: first, awareness of one's own shortcomings, and then efforts to learn from others' innovations and insights. One of the prominent virtues of medieval writers, regardless of their religious and ethnic affiliations, was the acceptance of their sense of inferiority towards the theoretical achievements of others. Undoubtedly, this required a certain amount of courage. Perhaps it was easier for them to refuse to accept their disability and admit their needs. It was even easier for them to immerse themselves in the dream of the first innocence and finally make an ideology out of that poverty and find in it a hidden wealth that others have lost, and when they are degraded they think that they have progressed. For medieval writers, philosophy was formed on the borders, not within the borders. My final sentence is that Bragg, borrowing Heidegger's view of tradition, believes that (two philosophers very influential on Bragg are Leo Strauss and Martin Heidegger): tradition means to return to the beginnings and from that point, open a new and untried path. Bragg's basic work is the same in relation to tradition.
"The Legend of the Middle Ages" is an attempt to revise the history of thought
In the continuation of the meeting, Ahmad Bastani thanked the Political Science Association and Zaniar Ebrahimi, the translator of the work, and said: The importance of this book is that, as far as I know, it is the first work translated by Remy Bragg into Persian, and the Persian-speaking audience is not very familiar with his thought system. A significant portion of Brague's works were written in French, and he is less well known even in the English-speaking world than he deserves.
Referring to the scientific position of Bragg, who has reached the position of professor emeritus at the Sorbonne University, Bostani added: Bragg always complained that the field of medieval studies, as an independent discipline, does not have a suitable place to examine the philosophy and the overall historical life of this period. One of his important features is mastering the languages and intellectual traditions of the three Abrahamic religions. He is one of the few thinkers who knows Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Arabic and has direct knowledge of Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions. Bragg was even an adviser to the Pope at one point and has an important position in the field of Christian theology.
Explaining the importance of Bragg's comparative approach, he stated: Researchers usually compare at most two religious traditions, but Bragg can make comparisons between all three traditions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. In addition, he is not just a historian of thought who narrates the past, but a philosopher, theologian and political thinker who enters into a dialogue with medieval thinkers and invites the audience to this dialogue.
Bostani emphasized: Bragg does not submit to the authority of great thinkers and enters into criticism and controversy with them. He has rare courage and frankness, and he does not hide his Christian position. The title "The Legend of the Middle Ages" has an ironic tone and wants to show that the image of the Middle Ages presented as a dark age lacking intellectual achievements needs a serious revision.
How did the Middle Ages turn into the Dark Ages?
Referring to the historical history of medieval studies, Bostani said: In the 1920s and 1930s, despite the activities of prominent historians such as Etienne Gilson and then Jean de Lande in France, medieval studies were still considered a marginal field. In the 1990s, Brague and other thinkers such as Regine Perneau attempted to dispel established stereotypes about the period by publishing works criticizing popular narratives.
Referring to the origin of the term "dark age" and "dark age", he added: these labels were popular during the intellectual developments of Europe, especially in the 17th century and the Age of Enlightenment, to draw a contrast between the past and the new world; It was as if enlightenment had come to destroy the darkness of the Middle Ages. Even during the Renaissance, a return to ancient paganism or blasphemy was considered, among other intellectual developments, a way to pass through the Middle Ages. According to Bragg, such narratives have caused an important part of the intellectual treasure of that era to be ignored.
Bustani considered the influence of Leo Strauss on Bragg's thought to be important and said: Strauss, despite his special interest in Jewish and Islamic philosophical traditions and his lesser interest in Christianity, played a role in the formation of Bragg's approach to the past. Strauss's important achievement in political philosophy was the critique of historicism; An approach that considered classical texts as belonging to the past and limited the possibility of learning from them.
He continued: Strauss showed that people today do not necessarily understand more than the thinkers of the past, and works such as Plato's "Republic" and "Laws", Aristotle's "Politics" and Farabi's "Utopia" are still sources for learning. At a time when historicist currents considered ancient thinkers to belong to an expired world, Strauss focused on rereading the classics, and in his analysis of the three waves of modernity, he examined the relationship between modernity and turning away from ancient wisdom.
Bastani is also from Pierre Edo and his book titled "What is Ancient Philosophy?" He remembered and said: Edo showed that philosophy in the ancient world was not just a university education or a collection of theories, but a kind of spiritual practice and a means to improve the soul; An impression that was later reflected in some intellectual approaches, including the thought of Michel Foucault. Bragg also does not consider medieval thinkers to be museum subjects for historians, but considers them to be living thinkers who can still have a serious say on our issues today.
Bragg's religious conservatism and the controversy over European identity
Bostani further discussed Bragg's place in the course of political and religious conservatism in France and Europe and distinguished between two conservative trends. He explained: Political conservatives, such as Pierre Menon in France, Samuel Huntington in America, and Roger Scruton in Britain, care about religion and Christianity, but usually examine religion from the perspective of its political and social functions.
On the contrary, he mentioned religious or theological conservatives and added: thinkers such as Brague in France and John Milbank, the founder of the radical orthodox movement in Britain, believe that religion cannot be reduced to its social and political functions. According to this movement, the modern secular-liberal state itself is a part of the crisis of modernity, and in order to overcome this crisis, it is necessary to return to the church and the Christian tradition as a model for the European social order.
Explaining the consequences of this approach, Bustani said: In this view, Europe is basically considered to have a Christian and Catholic identity, and other religions, including Islam and Judaism, cannot have a place equal to Christianity in the formation of the fundamental identity of Europe. Of course, this claim does not necessarily mean opposing the life of followers of other religions in Europe; Rather, it is based on the assumption that their religious freedom should be realized within the framework of Christian order.
He continued: The defenders of this approach believe that Christianity has been able to establish a balance between reason and faith, recognize the Old Testament alongside the New Testament, and preserve the traditions before it; A balance that, according to them, does not exist in any other religion in the same way. This impression provoked widespread controversy in France, and some critics associated it with Islamophobia.
To explain this controversy, Bostani pointed to the publication of the book "Aristotle in Mont-Saint-Michel" by Sylvain Guggenheim in 2008 and said: In this book, Guggenheim opposed the popular narrative that the revival of Aristotle in the West owed much to the translation of the works of Muslim philosophers, including Ibn Rashd, Ibn Sina and Farabi. He claimed that Jacob the Venetian directly translated the original Greek texts and Muslims did not play a fundamental role in this process.
He added: The publication of this book caused a lot of controversy. A number of professors, including Alain de Libra, considered it influenced by anti-Islamism; While Bragg, despite some criticisms, defended Guggenheim's hypothesis as a whole. Historically, this controversy shows how a seemingly specialized debate about scholastic philosophy and the transmission of texts in the Middle Ages became a political issue in the contemporary world.
The real dialogue between religions goes through the recognition of differences
Bostani considered Bragg's method in the comparative theology of religions as another important aspect of his thought and said: Bragg emphasizes the fundamental differences between religions, unlike the approaches that only seek to find superficial or core commonalities between religions. For him, true dialogue takes place when fundamental gaps and differences between religious traditions are recognized, rather than ignored by emphasizing similarities.
Referring to Bragg's article about Abrahamic religions, he added: Bragg believes that the use of the concept of "three Abrahamic religions" can be associated with fallacy; Because it hides the fundamental differences of these traditions. For example, he considers Islam to be the religion of Sharia, while Christianity is a religion of faith and he believes that Christianity does not have the same jurisprudence system as Islam. Also, in this formulation, the Bible in Christianity is understood as a historical testimony of the incarnation of the Word or Logos in the person of Jesus Christ, while in Islam, the Qur'an is considered the word of God.
Bostani continued: Bragg considers Christianity to be a religion different from the abstract and simple concept of monotheism due to the doctrine of the Trinity, the Incarnation and the mystery of the Lord's Supper. He also mentions that the term Abrahamic religions was popularized in France with the role of Louis Massignon, and the concept of People of the Book cannot alone eliminate the fundamental differences of these traditions.
Four basic critiques of Bragg's philosophical and historical approach
Bostani further presented his four basic criticisms of Bragg's views. His first criticism was related to what he called extreme Christian exceptionalism. According to him, Bragg sees Christianity as a distinct and exceptional tradition in the history of thought; While thinkers such as John Milbank in some cases have evaluated Islamic philosophers and theologians such as Ghazali and Mulla Sadra more successful than Augustine and Thomas Aquinas in establishing a balance between reason and faith.
He pointed out his second criticism to Bragg's excessive focus on the Aristotelian tradition and insufficient attention to the Platonic and Neoplatonic traditions and stated: One of the important features of Islamic philosophy is its Platonic and Neoplatonic aspect; An aspect that has been noticed in the works and interpretations of thinkers such as Leo Strauss and Henry Carbone. According to Bustani, by looking at Islam through the lens of Western theological conflicts, Bragg does not correctly understand the independence and specific characteristics of Islamic philosophical thought.
Bostani's third criticism was related to Bragg's lack of attention to Iranian philosophy and the tradition of philosophizing in the Persian language. He said: Bragg claims that after Ibn Rashd, except for Qazi Saeed Qomi, no commentary on Aristotle has been written in the Islamic world; While Baba Afzal Kashani, about a century after Ibn Rushd, had works on the explanation and interpretation of philosophical texts, including topics related to Aristotle's treatise "On the Self". In addition, philosophy in the Persian language and in Isfahan reached a significant growth. From this point of view, the generalization of Bragg's judgments to the entire Islamic world, without paying enough attention to the intellectual geography of Iran, is a point of criticism.
Bostani focused his fourth criticism on Bragg's reading of Farabi and emphasized: Farabi is one of the thinkers who tries to explain the truth based on universal reason and considers various religions as allegorical and imaginary forms suitable to the culture of different nations to understand that truth. According to Bostani, Bragg's reading of Farabi does not have sufficient interpretative empathy and reduces his thought to a limited framework.
Farabi and the possibility of rational formulation of truth behind religious prejudices
In summarizing his criticism of Bragg's view on Farabi, Bostani said: Bragg believes that Farabi is considered a philosopher as long as he respects the independence of reason; But when the first neoplatonic reason and its link with the religious matter is brought up, a path begins that will eventually destroy the independence of philosophy. Bragg, on the other hand, believes that the independence of philosophical reason has been preserved in Christianity.
In criticizing this perception, he emphasized: regardless of the truth or falsity of this claim, it was Farabi's unique art that was able to build a rational system without religious bias. Farabi formulates the concept of God in the form of the first cause, considers truth to be based on rational arguments, and considers different religions as different allegorical and imaginary forms of the one truth, appropriate to the culture of different nations.
Bostani added: Farabi not only does not separate Islam, but also recognizes the plurality of religions within a rational system. According to him, such a level of free-thinking cannot be easily observed among medieval Christian thinkers or even some religious reformers, including Martin Luther with his harsh stance against Islam.