The Appropriation of Islamic Philosophy: Creation in Ricoeur and Avicenna

Phenomenology and philosophical hermeneutics are deepening their dialogue with ancient and medieval metaphysics. Yet Islamic philosophy - typically relegated to a distant past - remains strikingly absent despite its recognized impact on European thought.

To counter this absence, The Appropriation of Islamic Philosophy revitalizes the work of Avicenna - the seminal Islamic thinker - for contemporary philosophy, making a case for a Ricoeurian hermeneutics of appropriation.

Selami Varlik brings Avicenna into dialogue with Ricoeur through their shared concern with putting belief in tension with rational discourse. The notion of creation, common to both Islam and Christianity, plays a pivotal role in this convergence - particularly through Avicenna's distinction between ontological creation and temporal creation.

By establishing a shared conceptual language between both traditions, this work makes a vital contribution to the development of a living Islamic philosophy, transcending the scope of the two thinkers examined here.

Author: Selami Varlik
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: 02/19/2026
Series: Bloomsbury Studies in Continental Philosophy
Pages: 248
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.56d
ISBN: 9781350570511