An Analysis of Ibn Sīnā’s Theory of Emanation in Light of Aquinas’ Criticisms

Year 2015, , 77 - 102, 01.08.2015

Mehmet Ata Az

https://doi.org/10.1501/Ilhfak_0000001435

Abstract

There have been two main responses to the question of how existence other than God came about: 1) Creation that occurred directly and out of nothing at once; 2) the emanation theory that existence gradually proceeded in a way of overflowing from the First. While one of the most important concerns of the creation theory is the categorical distinction of God from His creatures and the preservation of His creative attribute, the underlying characteristic of the emanation theory, which is grounded on the idea of God’s absolute simplicity, is the claim that everything gradually emanated from the ultimate source, that is, God. İbn Sīnā, who is the most prominent representative of the emanation theory in Islamic thought, re-interpreted certain philosophical issues of emanation in accordance with Islamic theology. In this study, I first evaluate and discuss the main lines of Avicenna’s emanation theory, and then discuss the value of Aquinas’ criticisms on such issues as the necessary procession of things without will, inexplicability of the multiplicity of things through the principle that ‘only one can proceed out of one,’ and whether or not there is an aim in emanation

Keywords

Avicenna, Thomas Aquinas, creation, emanation, divine will, primary and secondary causes

Aquinas’ın Eleştirileri Bağlamında İbn Sīnā’nın Sudûr Nazariyesinin Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Tanrı dışındaki varlıkların nasıl vucûd bulduğu sorusuna iki farklı yanıt verilmiştir: 1) Doğrudan ve bir anda yoktan vuku bulan yaratma; 2) İlk’ten varlığın bir anda feyezan etmesi şeklindeki Sudûr nazariyesi. Yoktan yaratma anlayışını savunanların en önemli kaygılarından birisi, Tanrı’nın yaratıcı sıfatını ve Tanrı ile yaratılmışlar arasındaki farklılığın öne çıkarılması iken, Tanrı’nın mutlak basitliğini esas alan Sudûr nazariyesinin en önemli özelliği, var olan her şeyin, nihai kaynağı olan Tanrı’dan tedricen feyezan ettiğini ileri sürmesidir. İkinci görüşün İslam düşüncesindeki en önemli temsilcisi olan İbn Sīnā, Neo-Platonik Sudûr nazariyesini kısmen kabul etmekle birlikte, görünürde İslam teolojisi ile bağdaşmayan meseleleri yeniden yorumlamıştır. Bu çalışmamızda, ilk olarak İbn Sīnā’nın Sudûr nazariyesini ana hatlarıyla değerlendirdikten sonra Aquinas’ın, İbn Sīnā’nın Sudûr nazariyesine yönelttiği, sudûrun zorunlu ve gayr-i ihtiyarî bir şekilde gerçekleştiği; şeylerin kesretinin ‘birden yalnızca bir çıkar’ ilkesi bağlamında açıklanamayacağı, sudûrun bir maksadının olup olmadığı vb. hususlarındaki eleştirilerinin haklılık değerini tartışacağız

Keywords

Anahtar Kavramlar: İbn Sīnā, Thomas Aquinas, yaratma, Sudûr, irade, birincil-ikincil nedenler

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