There are two views, in the philosophy of religion, on whether or not there is a common core to religious experiences: essentialism and constructivism. Essentialists emphasize there being one or more common cores to all religious experiences in all religions. In contrast, constructivists hold that there is not any pure experience, all sorts of religious experiences being formed by the complicated process of the system of beliefs or conceptual structures. In Islamic philosophy after Ibn Sina, however, there is a kind of tradition of writing a story of 'Hayy b. Yaqẓān'. According to Ibn Ṭufayl's version of the story, if a human infant grows in an island isolated from other human beings, he might be able to develop monotheistic thoughts on the basis of his divine nature and his inner experiences. In this paper, we seek to show that the story of Hayy b. Yaqẓān has an essentialist color. Finally we criticize the story from a constructivist point of view.
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Nasseri, Z. and Nasiri, M. (2013). Ibn Ṭufayl's Hayy b. Yaqẓān from Essentialist and Constructivist Points of View. Theological Reflection and Philosophical Criticism, 18(72), 150-175.
MLA
Nasseri, Z. , and Nasiri, M. . "Ibn Ṭufayl's Hayy b. Yaqẓān from Essentialist and Constructivist Points of View", Theological Reflection and Philosophical Criticism, 18, 72, 2013, 150-175.
HARVARD
Nasseri, Z., Nasiri, M. (2013). 'Ibn Ṭufayl's Hayy b. Yaqẓān from Essentialist and Constructivist Points of View', Theological Reflection and Philosophical Criticism, 18(72), pp. 150-175.
CHICAGO
Z. Nasseri and M. Nasiri, "Ibn Ṭufayl's Hayy b. Yaqẓān from Essentialist and Constructivist Points of View," Theological Reflection and Philosophical Criticism, 18 72 (2013): 150-175,
VANCOUVER
Nasseri, Z., Nasiri, M. Ibn Ṭufayl's Hayy b. Yaqẓān from Essentialist and Constructivist Points of View. Theological Reflection and Philosophical Criticism, 2013; 18(72): 150-175.
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