Abstract
This article examines the form and content of Sharh al-Barāhīn al-khamsa, written by Mehmed Emīn
Üsküdārī (d. 1149/1736-37), an important figure of eighteenth-century Ottoman Turkish philosophical
thought, on the problems of the finitude of extensions and the invalidity of the idea of infinite regress. The
subject of infinity appeals to a broad range of disciplines, being the mainstay of many theological questions
such as the demonstrations for the existence of a necessary existent as well as many other epistemological,
ontological, and cosmological issues. This question has historically concerned Peripatetic falāsifa and
mutakallimūn from different intellectual traditions and has become part of a cosmopolitan theological and
philosophical tradition in which distinct treatises were compiled by scholars of the post-Rāzīan period
(mutaʾakhkhirūn). One of the last representatives of the late Ottoman period, Mehmed Emīn Üsküdārī,
authored such a treatise on this question. This treatise is important as a window on the infinity question
in Ottoman intellectual thought. In addition to the ladder (al-burhān al-sullamī) and collimation (burhān
al-musāmata) demonstrations for the discussions on the infinity of extensions, this treatise also uses the
mapping (burhān al-tatbīq), correlation (burhān al-tadāyuf), and throne (al-burhān al-ʿarshī) demonstrations
as well as two other demonstrations mentioned by the Persian Mīrzā Jān Shīrāzī (d. 995/1587) for the
discussions of infinite regress. In this context, Üsküdārī made a short and concise presentation of the
aforementioned demonstrations, supporting some of them with geometric diagrams. This article consists of
i) an analysis and ii) critical edition as its two main features and examines Üsküdārī’s evaluations of each of
the demonstrations, their historical background, and their differences and similarities in terms of novelty
and continuity.
Keywords
Mehmed Emīn Üsküdārī Ottoman Turkish theoretical thought infinity al-Dawānī’s impact on Ottoman thoughtShare
Details
- Authors: M. Necmeddin Beşikci, Ph.D. Student, University of Cambridge
- DOI: dx.doi.org/10.12658/Nazariyat.8.1.M0140en
- Year: 2022 (May) / Volume: 8 / Issue: 1
- Page: 101-143
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