Drawing on the rich resources of the Islamic intellectual tradition, this lecture will put forward an anthropocentric conception of evil and suffering by arguing that the cultivation of human attentiveness and listening are the most meaningful kinds of “responses” to the problem of evil. The lecture will then shift gears and examine the practical dimensions of the art of listening by presenting a dialogue between a philosophy graduate student and a certain sage whom the student mysteriously chances upon one morning on his way to class. The student poses several challenging questions to the sage on the nature of evil and suffering, and the sage responds point by point, leaving the questioner with much to think about concerning his own epistemic resources and categories of interpretation.

Speaker:

Mohammed Rustom, Professor of Islamic Thought, Carleton University

To register for the event, click here.