NECESSITY OF NATURAL LAWS, DIVINE ACTION AND MIRACLE -CAN GOD ACT IN THE WORLD?- Cover Image

DOĞA YASALARININ ZORUNLULUĞU, İLAHİ FİİL VE MUCİZE -TANRI DÜNYADA FİİLDE BULUNABİLİR Mİ?-
NECESSITY OF NATURAL LAWS, DIVINE ACTION AND MIRACLE -CAN GOD ACT IN THE WORLD?-

Author(s): Kemal Batak
Subject(s): Non-European Philosophy, Metaphysics, Islam studies, Philosophy of Religion, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Sakarya üniversitesi
Keywords: Divine action; miracle; causality; quantum theory; Plantinga; al-Ghazali; Ibn Rushd;

Summary/Abstract: In this essay, first, I concentrate on the issue of miracle, divine action and divine intervention according to Enlightenment thinkers. Liberal theologians such as Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976), after Laplacian determinist metaphysics was added to the Newtonian mechanics, found that divine action in the world is contrary to the necessity of natural laws, i.e., to their being scientific and they defended a semi-deist view of “hand-off theology.” Many modern theologians defended outdated Laplacian determinist metaphysics for the sake of complying with scientific standards. Then, I discuss famous causality debate between al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd in the light of the divine action and the New Scientific Picture that is intensively debated in the contemporary philosophy of religion. Here, contrary to the claim of Ibn Rushd, I argue that if quantum mechanics is correct, then al-Ghazali do not uproot science and his view that causality is contingent is more scientific and more modern than that of Ibn Rushd’s position. Finally, I point out that outside of the theological project of al-Ghazali, in his epistemological project, al-Ghazali believes that natural laws are certain and I argue that he follows a middle way in this regard.

  • Issue Year: 11/2009
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 23-47
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: Turkish
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