This study is intended to investigate the concept of pleasure as developed by Nasir-i Khusraw, a prominent Isma'ili philosopher and theologian of the fifth century hijrah. This concept seems to be one of the central themes of Nasir's thought system. / From Nasir's works, it appears that according to him the concept of pleasure is not simply an ethical problem but a cosmic principle active and functional on all the existential levels. Every being experiences pleasure in its specific way by performing the function assigned to it. Through this function or activity every being perpetuates its existence and preserves its well-being. On the sub-human levels i.e. mineral, vegetative and animal, the principle of pleasure is a driving force which enables these levels to preserve their respective well-being. However, from the human level till the level of the Universal Soul this principle gains an increasingly epistemological character as it is connected with the soul's activity of acquiring knowledge. / Nasir has extensively quoted and criticised Muhammad-i Zakariyya-yi Raji's views on pleasure. This situation has called for a comparative study of their concepts of pleasure in their respective metaphysical and historical contexts. This comparative study reveals that Nasir and Razi's concepts of pleasure are ultimately grounded in their metaphysical principles, and their interpretations of pleasure are influenced by Aristotelian and Platonic interpretations respectively, as these models suited their respective metaphysical world-views.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.68065 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Abbas Hunzai, Ghulam |
| Contributors | Landolt, H. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Institute of Islamic Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001397825, proquestno: AAIMM94311, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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