This lecture examines the historical genesis of two seminal rationalist schools of Islamic theology, Mu'tazilism and Ash'arism, and explains how the nature of each school's professed "rationalist mandate" colored its respective outlook at the economy of salvation in Islam. Intrinsic to each school's justification of rationality's alliance with religion are foundational theses about what is possible for human beings to know objectively: Identifying the quintessential contentions of these two schools on this topic, with all of their ramifications, helps us not only to greater appreciate the circumstances of these school's origins, but also has wider implications for the development of Islamic thought as a whole, whether in theology, jurisprudence, or Islamic mysticism.
Rodrigo Adem is a Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellow at the University of Chicago, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
