Book Discussion with Edward Moad

About the Session

In this author session, Wardah Books hosts Edward Moad who will speak about his book Coherence of the Incoherence: Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, and the Identity of Indiscernible Recurrences.

In the Incoherence of the Philosophers and Incoherence of the Incoherence, Ghazali and Ibn Rushd debate over, among many other things, the falasifa’s proofs for the past and future eternity of the cosmos. We will examine the one discussed there as the ‘fourth proof’, from possibility and matter, Ghazali’s objection to it, and Ibn Rushd’s defense, specifically as it pertains to the future.

To break the impasse, Edward will offer an original argument against cosmic eternity, based on the falasifa’s own premises – namely, the principle of sufficient reason, the impossibility of an actual infinite magnitude, and the identity of indiscernibles. Edward will argue that, if the cosmos is eternal as they claim, it follows that Nietzsche’s doctrine of eternal recurrence is true: cosmic history repeats itself in exact detail for eternity.

From the identity of indiscernibles, it follows that this supposed infinity of recurrences are in fact just one occurrence; that is, one finite cosmic event.

About the Author

Edward Moad is Professor of Philosophy at Qatar University, and specializes in Islamic Philosophy, Metaphysics, and Comparative Moral Epistemology. His latest book, scheduled for publication in October with Gorgias Press, is Coherence of the Incoherence: Between Al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd on Nature and the Cosmos.

IN-STORE EVENT

Date: 30 July 2023, Sunday
Time: 2.30pm Singapore
Venue: Reading Loft (Level 2, stairs only) Wardah Books, 58 Bussorah Street S(199474)

No registration required