Deciphering the Meaning of Revealed Law: The Surushian Paradigm in Shi'I Epistemology: English 2001

This Ph.D. thesis analyses the major intellectual positions in the philosophical debate on Islamic law that is occurring in contemporary Iran. As the characteristic features of traditional epistemic considerations have a direct bearing on the modern development of Islamic legal thought, the contemporary positions are initially set against the established normative repertory of Islamic tradition. It is within this broad study of a living legacy of interpretation that the context for the concretizations of traditional as well as modern Islamic learning are enclosed. In an attempt to begin to define a supposed Islamic modernity, this study suggests that Islamic postmodernism has paradigmatic relevance and reflects a thoroughly transitional phenomenon within Shi'i speculation on divine law.