Speaker: Professor Oliver Leaman

Title of the talk: How far do Islamic ethics rely on reason and religion? 

Date: Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm (London summer time)

How far do Islamic ethics rely on reason and how far on religion?  Does God have to reward us in the next world if we are virtuous in this? How closely are law and justice to be aligned? Can a bad person be a Muslim? These are all topics that the classical Islamic philosophers discussed in the past and their views are of interest to us today, since essentially the same issues arise at every time. I intend to explore some of these controversies and link them with some relevant parts of the Qur’an.

Oliver Leaman teaches philosophy at the University of Kentucky in the USA and is a Fellow of the Accademia Ambrosiana in Milan. He writes on Islamic, Jewish and Asian philosophy, and his most recent publication is his edition of the Routledge Handbook of Islamic Ritual and Practice (2022).