In this educational Programme, the transmission of philosophical ideas from non-Islamic cultures to the Muslim centres of learning and the impact of Islamic thought and Muslim philosophers on the subsequent development of philosophy on a global scale will be studied. The why and how of the development of Greek philosophical concepts and categories in the context of Islamic philosophy and the novel ideas, terminologies and arguments introduced by Muslim philosophers and their contributions to the enrichment and enhancement of the discipline of philosophy are among the topics critically examined in this Programme. The students will study three major schools of Islamic philosophy, namely, Peripatetic (Ibn Sina), Illumiasionist (Suhrawardi), and Transcendent (Mulla Sadra) Schools. The texts used in this Programme are the primary sources of the above Schools.

The Programme is unique in that it is taught by distinguished lecturers who have studied Islamic philosophy in its birthplace. They are fluent in English as well as the languages of the original texts (Arabic and Persian). While the Programme mainly focuses on the themes from the tradition of Islamic philosophy, a critical comparative study of some of the epistemic and moral views of Muslim philosophers with the views of a number of prominent Western philosophers is also included in it.

Students will have:

• An advanced use of libraries and other learning resources effectively and systematically
• The ability to communicate philosophical ideas in writing, debate and oral or visual presentations, with clarity, precision, and incisiveness, in expository, narrative, analytical, and argumentative modes.
• The ability to summarise key points from presented material.
• The ability to read philosophy independently from original resources.
• The ability to articulate and evaluate the specific themes underlying a more general question.

The Programme is offered as a three-semester (full-time) or six-semester (part-time). Each academic year includes two semesters, each 12 learning weeks long (excluding holidays)

There will be a possibility of offering a third semester in summer based on the students’ requests.

Credit

Each 20-credit module consists of 30 hours of class contact and 120 hours of private work, totalling 150 hours of academic work, per semester.

Each 15-credit module consists of 24 hours of class contact and 90 hours of private work, totalling 114 hours of academic work, per semester.

Each 10-credit module consists of 22 hours of class contact and 60 hours of private work, totalling 82 hours of academic work, per semester.

Contact hours are divided between lectures, seminars and tutorials.