Philosophy of Religion Research

Investigating and Solving the Paradox of Innate Knowledge in the Qur'an

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Epistemology & Cognitive Sciences, Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Logic of Comprehending Religion, Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Tehran, Iran.

3 Ph. D. Graduate in Transcendent Theosophy, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

10.30497/prr.2024.245235.1869

Abstract

Some Western philosophers hold that certain truths exist within the human soul, as if the individual has brought them from another world or possessed them prior to earthly birth, or they have been embedded in human nature in some other way. These truths, from an ontological perspective, are not derived from experience. The knowledge of such truths is referred to as "innate knowledge." However, most Islamic philosophers, while accepting the principle of “Fiṭra” (primordial nature) in humans, reject the idea of knowledge being innate. The Qur'an, in the explicit wording of some verses, also indicates the absence of actualized innate knowledge; yet, the apparent meaning of other verses suggests a form of actualized innate knowledge. The claim of this paper is this paradox can be resolved in two ways: 1. By adopting the apparent meaning of the first set of verses and interpreting the second set in favor of the first (the exegetical method); 2. By distinguishing between “acquired knowledge” (al-ʿIlm al-ḥuṣūlī) and “presential knowledge (al-ʿIlm al-ḥuḍūrī), such that the first set of verses explains acquired knowledge, and the second set explains presential knowledge (the philosophical method). The conclusion is that, from the exegetical perspective, innate knowledge is not actualized at the beginning of creation. However, from the philosophical perspective, while innate knowledge is not actualized in the realm of acquired knowledge (which includes most human knowledge), it is actualized in the realm of presential knowledge.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Holy Qurʾan.
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Philosophy of Religion Research
Volume 22, Issue 2 - Serial Number 44
November 2024
Pages 155-176