Al-Ghazali and His Theory of The Soul

Al-Ghazali and His Theory of The Soul: A Comparative Study

Author: Noor Shakirah Mat Akhir
Publisher: USM Press
ISBN: 9789833391790
Pages: 315
Year: 2010
Weight: 0.535kg
Price: RM56

This book seeks to study in depth the influence of al-Ghazali’s life, in particular his search for true knowledge, on his theories concerning the psychological dispositions of man. The first few chapters attempt to clarify the distinctive contribution of his psychological ideas to an understanding of the human personality. This includes an assessment of the theories of the soul of three major Greek philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus. This is followed by the Islamic theories of the soul: those found in the Qur’an, those of al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, and finally al-Ghazali’s theory of the soul. The final chapter examines briefly al-Ghazali’s concept of happiness and attempts to analyze the spiritual dynamic inherent in al-Ghazali’s theory of the soul and how this is related to his views on the human personality. Containing all these discussions, this book is an essential text for those who are interested in understanding the spiritual aspect of a human being as well as the spiritual conflicts brought by the complexities of one’s daily life.