Reasons and Arguments: A Reinterpretation of the Faṣl al-maqāl of Averroes

Abstract

A controversial matter in Averroes’ thought is the relationship between philosophy and religion. Averroes deals with this issue in an original fashion within the text of Fas‰l al-maqāl. In this paper I propose a slightly different interpretation from that of other interpreters of this treatise. I argue that it can be read as a treatise on argumentation where Averroes not only proves the harmony between religious law and philosophy, but also outlines an extremely flexible theory of argumentation which serves to define the
epistemic status of religious beliefs.