Rationality and autonomy from the Enlightenment and Islamic perspectives

Abstract

Rationality and autonomy are foundational concepts in anglophone or 'Western' countries that originated primarily from the Enlightenment period. When compared with 'Western' ideologies, non-Western belief systems such as Islam may not appear, at first glance, to place as much emphasis on the value and attainment of rationality and autonomy. This may lead some people to conclude that Islam necessarily marginalises or even suppresses its believers' development of rationality and autonomy. This article compares the concepts of rationality and autonomy from the Enlightenment and Islamic perspectives. It is argued that there exist Islamic traditions that promote the inculcation of 'normal rationality' and 'normal autonomy' within a convictional community from which beliefs develop. However, the extent to which Muslims are encouraged to cultivate and exercise their rationality and autonomy would depend, among other factors, on the specific interpretations of rationality and autonomy privileged by the Islamic tradition they belong to.

Authority, autonomy and selfhood in Islamic education – Theorising Shakhsiyah Islamiyah as a dialogical Muslim-self

“…The liberal-communitarian debate has generated nuanced positions on each side; which lead to new perspectives on individual-community relations and Islamic faith education (Merry, 2007;Panjwani, 2009;Tan, 2014). Panjwani attempts to seek out an 'overlapping consensus' (Rawls, 1993), between Islamic and liberal conceptions of autonomy, rationality and educational aims, in relation to the dominant educational discourse in British Islamic faithschools.…”

“…Nevertheless, wellbeing still requires children to have the capacity for autonomy, to be able to independently choose worthwhile pursuits, and to ensure the possibility of choosing a life outside of their community (Merry, 2007). Tan (2014) accepts that rationality and autonomy are always situated within an ideological framework. She cites Thiessen, a Christian educator who identifies 'normal rationality' and 'normal autonomy' as being situated within a convictional community that has its own context, history, language and practices (Thiessen, 1993).…”

A rational irrationality: Reviewing the Concept of Rationality in Conventional Economics and Islamic Economics

“…The concept of Homo Islamicus or Muslims is a human being whose actions and attitudes and behavior are based on Islamic religious rules written in the Qur'an and the Hadith. The behavior of an individual in Islamic economic theory is assumed to be rational on the basis of its compliance with Islamic laws (Islamic sharia) (Agil, 1989;Tan, 2013). In other words, rational individuals in Islamic economics are individuals who try to maximize their utility within the limits or norms of Islamic religion.…”

The Practice of Tabut in Bengkulu: A Shared Tradition of Sunni And Shia

“…In the same vein, there are several schools of thought in Islam. In the aspect of Fiqh (knowledge and literature concerning Islamic law (Hassan & Benaicha, 2021)), there are Shafi'i, Hambali, Hanafi, and Maliki (Tan, 2014). If traced back to the Islamic history since the death of the prophet Muhammad PBUH, Islam has been politically divided into Sunnism and Shia.…”