Kingston Philosophy Café

A talk by Darius Nikbin.

The meditations of the 11th Century Persian polymath Algazel (al-Ghazali) and the 17th Century French philosopher Descartes on the nature of selfhood bear striking resemblances. As Descartes’ thought marked the beginning of the European Enlightenment, Algazel’s work marked the high point of the Islamic Golden Age. Since the end of that era, the world of Islam has entered an intellectual age of silence, a silence that could be ending in the early 21st Century with new ideas about selfhood. In this talk, a reengagement with Algazel is proposed in light of the latest developments in science, technology and particularly artificial intelligence (AI) in order to finally break the silence and move towards a New Age of Enlightenment that transcends religious divides.