Research Article

Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām

Volume: 16 Number: 1 June 30, 2025
TR EN

Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām

Abstract

The simulation hypothesis is shaped by a combination of philosophical questions, scientific advances, and cultural influences. This concept has been prevalent in philosophical thought since ancient times. However, in the modern era, with the development of computer and virtual reality technologies, this topic has been increasingly discussed. In his article on the “simulation hypothesis”, Nick Bostrom argued that our universe and everything in it could be part of some type of computer simulation. This concept has led to speculation and debates among scientists and philosophers. Support for this hypothesis has attracted increased attention. In this study, we attempt to critique this hypothesis, which is continuously on the agenda, by applying an understanding of the existence and knowledge of theology. Since theologians base the reality of knowledge on the ontic structure of existence, they have adopted the principle of “the reality of things is fixed”. However, simulation theory challenges this understanding of existence and knowledge, which forms a paradigm of the reality of knowledge. Although theologians accept that reality is objective, simulation theory contradicts this view. When these two ideas are considered from a neurobiological perspective, objects do not need to correspond to ontic reality for knowledge to be real. Therefore, the simulation hypothesis led us to question the meaning of the world in which we live, along with the concepts of reality and knowledge. In this context, we discuss the possibility that the universe is a simulation, as well as the creator of the simulation, the divine qualities of the simulation, and its theological implications. This study addresses other important issues of how simulation affects the meaning of human life and how it can be viewed as a test of free will. When we consider simulation theory from a theological perspective, we conclude that it poses no problem in terms of concepts such as the existence of God, creativity, heaven, or hell.

Keywords

References

  1. Acungil, Mustafa. Dijital Gelecekte İnsan Kalmak. İstanbul: Tuti Kitap, 2021.
  2. Agatonović, Miloš. “The Fiction of Simulation: A Critique of Bostrom’s Simulation Argument”. AI & SOCIETY 38/4 (2023), 1579-1586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01312-y
  3. Aydın, İsmail Hakkı. Beyin Sizsiniz 5.0 Metaverse Holistik Çağ. İstanbul: Girdap Yayınları, 2022.
  4. Aygün, Fatma. “‘Eşyânın Hakikâti Sabittir’ İlkesini Benimseyen Kelâmcıların Sofestaiyye Eleştirisi”. KADER Kelam Araştırmaları Dergisi 13/2 (2015), 827-839. https://doi.org/10.18317/kader.93114
  5. al-Baghdādī, Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Qāhir ibn Ṭāhir. Uṣūl al-dīn. Edited by Aḥmad Shams al-Dīn. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1423/2002.
  6. al-Bāqillānī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ṭayyib ibn Muḥammad. al-Tamhīd fī l-radd ʿalá l-mulḥidah al-muʿaṭṭilah wa-l-Rāfiḍah wa-l-Ḳhawārij wa-l-Muʿtazilah. Edited by Muḥammad Maḥmūd al-Khuḍayrī - Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Hādī Abū Rīdah. Cairo: Dār al-Fikr al-ʿArabī, 1947.
  7. al-Bāqillānī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ṭayyib ibn Muḥammad. Kitāb Tamhīd al-awāʾil wa-talkhīṣ al-dalāʾil. Edited by ʿImād al-Dīn Aḥmad Ḥaydar. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Kutub al-Thaqāfiyyah, 1407/1987.
  8. al-Bazdawī, Abū l-Yusr Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad. Uṣūl al-dīn. Edited by Hans Peter Linss - Aḥmad Ḥijāzī al-Saqā. Cairo: al-Maktabah al-Azhariyyah li-l-Turāth, 2003.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Kalam

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

June 30, 2025

Submission Date

November 1, 2024

Acceptance Date

June 25, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 16 Number: 1

APA
Can, S. (2025). Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām. Ilahiyat Studies, 16(1), 77-106. https://doi.org/10.12730/is.1577943
AMA
1.Can S. Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām. IS. 2025;16(1):77-106. doi:10.12730/is.1577943
Chicago
Can, Seyithan. 2025. “Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām”. Ilahiyat Studies 16 (1): 77-106. https://doi.org/10.12730/is.1577943.
EndNote
Can S (June 1, 2025) Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām. Ilahiyat Studies 16 1 77–106.
IEEE
[1]S. Can, “Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām”, IS, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 77–106, June 2025, doi: 10.12730/is.1577943.
ISNAD
Can, Seyithan. “Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām”. Ilahiyat Studies 16/1 (June 1, 2025): 77-106. https://doi.org/10.12730/is.1577943.
JAMA
1.Can S. Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām. IS. 2025;16:77–106.
MLA
Can, Seyithan. “Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām”. Ilahiyat Studies, vol. 16, no. 1, June 2025, pp. 77-106, doi:10.12730/is.1577943.
Vancouver
1.Seyithan Can. Simulation Theory in The Ontic and Epistemic Grounds of Kalām. IS. 2025 Jun. 1;16(1):77-106. doi:10.12730/is.1577943
SCImago Journal & Country Rank