An Interview with Professor Frank Griffel on Islamic Thought

Abstract

Prof. Frank Griffel, after studying philosophy, Arabic literature, and Islamic studies at universities in Göttingen, Damascus, and Berlin, obtained his Ph.D. in 1999 from the Freie Universität in Berlin. His master's thesis focused on Ibn Sīnā's (d. 1037) logical and ontological influence on al-Ghazālī's (d. 1111) theological work, Fayṣal al-tafriqa. In his Ph.D. thesis, he delved into the development of the judgment of apostasy in classical Islam. Following a research fellowship at the Orient Institute of the German Oriental Society in Beirut, Lebanon, he joined Yale in 2000. At Yale, he teaches courses on the intellectual history of Islam, covering its theology and philosophy, both classical and modern, and the way Islamic thinkers react to Western modernity. Prof. Griffel has produced a wide range of publications on classical and contemporary Islamic thought. One of his standout books is Al-Ghazālī’s Philosophical Theology (2009), where he analyzed al-Ghazālī's life and philosophical metaphysics and cosmology in coherence with Islamic thought. This book concluded that in al-Ghazālī's opinion, the two distinct cosmologies of occasionalism and secondary causality emerge as equally convincing explanations regarding God's creative activity. The latest comprehensive book by Prof. Griffel, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam (2021), explains how, as a result of al-Ghazālī’s Tahāfut al-falāsifa, a new kind of philosophical discourse emerged in the Islamic East, dominating the education at madrasas. This study, covering many aspects of the practice of philosophy during the 12th century century in the Islamic East 12th century, particularly focuses on Abū’l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī (d. c. 1165) and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 1210). This book is prompted by the observation that Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī is the first author who followed al-Ghazālī's critique of Ibn Sīnā in kalām books and, at the same time, aimed to develop Ibn Sīnā's philosophical system in ḥikma (philosophy) books. Its main thesis is that authors of post-classical philosophy, such as Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, wrote books in the discipline of ḥikma that are conscious in their continuation of the discourse of falsafa in Islam while also writing books in the discipline of kalām that are part of a different genre of texts and follow different discursive rules. According to the conclusion of this book, al-Rāzī developed ḥikma and kalām as two distinct academic discourses that argue for different sets of teachings. This inspired argument opens the window for new debates about the post-classical period. In this interview, Prof. Griffel shares insights that brought us closer to his works, along with his impressions on Islamic studies in America and Türkiye. The conversation provides remarks that illuminate his academic perspectives and contributions to the field.