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The Problematics of Enlightenment

Human Reason, North African Philosophy, and the Global South

Mourad Wahba - Translated by Zeyad el Nabolsy

In The Problematics of Enlightenment: Human Reason, North African Philosophy, and the Global South , Mourad Wahba explores the relevance of the philosophy of the Enlightenment to contemporary issues in Egypt and the Global South more generally. Wahba provides a historical account of the reception of Enlightenment philosophical discourse in the Arabic-speaking world through the study of the work of Rifaʿa al-Tahtawi, Muhammed Abdu, Farah Antun, Abbas Mahmoud al-ʿAqqad, and Louis Awad. Wahba argues that the claim that human reason is the ultimate source of justification—trumping the authority of inherited social institutions and the claims of historical revelation—is a universalizable principle whose actualization would make progress possible in Egypt and elsewhere. This book, translated by Zeyad el Nabolsy, provides Anglophone readers access to a philosophy from the Global South that does not take the alleged Eurocentrism of Enlightenment philosophies as its central problematic. Moreover, Wahba is concerned with situating the problems that emerge in the context of contemporary Arabophone North African philosophy in the larger context of African philosophy, including engagement with the work of Senghor and Nkrumah.

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  • Author
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  • TOC
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  • Reviews
Lexington Books
Pages: 122 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-1-66697-064-7 • Hardback • December 2024 • $95.00 • (£73.00)
Series: African Philosophy: Critical Perspectives and Global Dialogue
Subjects: Philosophy / African, Philosophy / Religious, History / Middle East / Egypt

Mourad Wahba is emeritus professor of philosophy, Ain Shams University.

Zeyad el Nabolsy is assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at York University.

Acknowledgments

Initial Publication of Chapters

Translator’s Introduction

Author’s Introduction

Chapter 1: The Enlightenment

Chapter 2: Enlightenment and the Man on the Street

Chapter 3: Authenticity and Modernity in the Third World

Chapter 4: The Mystery of Tolstoy’s Letter to Mohammed Abdu

Chapter 5: The Paradox of Ibn Rushd

Chapter 6: Ibn Rushd between Farah Antun and Mohammed Abdu

Chapter 7: Rifaʿa and Enlightenment

Chapter 8: Al- ʿAqqad’s Reception of Goethe in Light of the Enlightenment

Chapter 9: Louis Awad and the Enlightenment

Conclusion: The Problematic of Enlightenment and Culture

Bibliography

About the Author

“Zeyad el Nabolsy masterfully captures Wahba’s profound philosophical insights, bridging the cultural and intellectual divide between East and West. Wahba’s work, originally penned in Arabic, offers a fresh and essential perspective on the Enlightenment from North Africa, challenging conventional narratives and enriching the global discourse. El Nabolsy’s translation not only preserves the depth and nuance of Wahba’s ideas but also makes them accessible to a wider audience, making this book a significant contribution to contemporary philosophical thought.”


— Robert K. Beshara, author of Transmodern Cinema and Decolonial Film Theory


“The Problematics of Enlightenment collects together a number of essays by the Egyptian thinker Mourad Wahba, whose common denominator is an unadulterated admiration for Enlightenment ideals, which he regards as universal rather than exclusively European. Wahba’s advocacy of liberalism and secularism represents a significant strand in twentieth-century Arab-Islamic and North African philosophy, which no student of these philosophical traditions can afford to ignore. The philosophical ideas that he advocates are very accessible and the translation is lucid, so these texts would work well in a range of introductory university courses. Moreover, the concise introduction by Zeyad el Nabolsy does an admirable job of situating Wahba’s ideas in their intellectual context and provides a sympathetic but critical look at his philosophical outlook, contrasting it with decolonial and Marxist thought.”


— Muhammad Ali Khalidi, University of New York


The Problematics of Enlightenment

Human Reason, North African Philosophy, and the Global South

Cover Image
Hardback
Summary
Summary
  • In The Problematics of Enlightenment: Human Reason, North African Philosophy, and the Global South , Mourad Wahba explores the relevance of the philosophy of the Enlightenment to contemporary issues in Egypt and the Global South more generally. Wahba provides a historical account of the reception of Enlightenment philosophical discourse in the Arabic-speaking world through the study of the work of Rifaʿa al-Tahtawi, Muhammed Abdu, Farah Antun, Abbas Mahmoud al-ʿAqqad, and Louis Awad. Wahba argues that the claim that human reason is the ultimate source of justification—trumping the authority of inherited social institutions and the claims of historical revelation—is a universalizable principle whose actualization would make progress possible in Egypt and elsewhere. This book, translated by Zeyad el Nabolsy, provides Anglophone readers access to a philosophy from the Global South that does not take the alleged Eurocentrism of Enlightenment philosophies as its central problematic. Moreover, Wahba is concerned with situating the problems that emerge in the context of contemporary Arabophone North African philosophy in the larger context of African philosophy, including engagement with the work of Senghor and Nkrumah.

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 122 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
    978-1-66697-064-7 • Hardback • December 2024 • $95.00 • (£73.00)
    Series: African Philosophy: Critical Perspectives and Global Dialogue
    Subjects: Philosophy / African, Philosophy / Religious, History / Middle East / Egypt
Author
Author
  • Mourad Wahba is emeritus professor of philosophy, Ain Shams University.

    Zeyad el Nabolsy is assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at York University.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgments

    Initial Publication of Chapters

    Translator’s Introduction

    Author’s Introduction

    Chapter 1: The Enlightenment

    Chapter 2: Enlightenment and the Man on the Street

    Chapter 3: Authenticity and Modernity in the Third World

    Chapter 4: The Mystery of Tolstoy’s Letter to Mohammed Abdu

    Chapter 5: The Paradox of Ibn Rushd

    Chapter 6: Ibn Rushd between Farah Antun and Mohammed Abdu

    Chapter 7: Rifaʿa and Enlightenment

    Chapter 8: Al- ʿAqqad’s Reception of Goethe in Light of the Enlightenment

    Chapter 9: Louis Awad and the Enlightenment

    Conclusion: The Problematic of Enlightenment and Culture

    Bibliography

    About the Author

Reviews
Reviews
  • “Zeyad el Nabolsy masterfully captures Wahba’s profound philosophical insights, bridging the cultural and intellectual divide between East and West. Wahba’s work, originally penned in Arabic, offers a fresh and essential perspective on the Enlightenment from North Africa, challenging conventional narratives and enriching the global discourse. El Nabolsy’s translation not only preserves the depth and nuance of Wahba’s ideas but also makes them accessible to a wider audience, making this book a significant contribution to contemporary philosophical thought.”


    — Robert K. Beshara, author of Transmodern Cinema and Decolonial Film Theory


    “The Problematics of Enlightenment collects together a number of essays by the Egyptian thinker Mourad Wahba, whose common denominator is an unadulterated admiration for Enlightenment ideals, which he regards as universal rather than exclusively European. Wahba’s advocacy of liberalism and secularism represents a significant strand in twentieth-century Arab-Islamic and North African philosophy, which no student of these philosophical traditions can afford to ignore. The philosophical ideas that he advocates are very accessible and the translation is lucid, so these texts would work well in a range of introductory university courses. Moreover, the concise introduction by Zeyad el Nabolsy does an admirable job of situating Wahba’s ideas in their intellectual context and provides a sympathetic but critical look at his philosophical outlook, contrasting it with decolonial and Marxist thought.”


    — Muhammad Ali Khalidi, University of New York


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