“On Friendship: East and West,” a lecture series exploring the topic of friendship through four different philosophical traditions, will continue on Tuesday, March 6, with a talk on friendship from an Islamic perspective.
Dr. Mehdi Aminrazavi, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Co-Director of the Leidecker Center for Asian Studies, University of Mary Washington, in Fredericksburg, Va. will give a talk titled “Friendship in Islam – An Ontological Analysis” from 9:30 to 10:50 a.m. in D145.
Mehdi Aminrazavi
The ”On Friendship: East and West” lecture series is the first on the UH West Oʻahu campus on the topic of friendship. It will feature talks by philosophers from the Greek, Islamic, Contemporary, and Chinese philosophical traditions.
The series is sponsored by the Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity (SEED) grant from the University of Hawaiʻi system and the Philosophy Concentration at UH West Oʻahu.
Aminrazavi will discuss the word “friend” in Arabic (صد یق ) means truth as well as friend, and the ultimate Truth and Friend in Islam is Allah. During the discussion, Aminrazavi will elaborate on the duel meanings of the concept of friendship in Islam and offer some analysis and interpretation of the ontological implications of this concept.
The lectures are free and open to faculty, staff, students, and the community. Two more talks are scheduled following Aminrazavi’s on Tuesday:
- “Friendship and Paternalism”
Tuesday, March 20, 2018, 9:30-10:50 a.m. in D145
Dr. George Tsai, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Graduate Chair, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Abstract: Might paternalistic interference that would otherwise be morally unjustified be justified, in virtue of one’s friendship to the interfered with person? Dr. Tsai makes the case that friendship can make a normative difference to paternalism, in virtue of some constitutive elements of friendship such as shared history, mutual knowledge and understanding, joint identification and projects, and reciprocated trust and vulnerability.
- “Friendship and Self-Cultivation in Classical Chinese Philosophy”
Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 2:00-3:20 p.m. in D150.
Dr. Franklin Perkins, Professor of Philosophy, Editor of the journal Philosophy East and West, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Abstract: Chinese philosophers tended to approach human beings not as isolated individuals but rather as embedded in relationships and roles. One relationship that has similar status in both Confucianism and Daoism is friendship, which in turn is linked to self-cultivation. This talk will give an overview of early Chinese views of friendship, emphasizing the connections between friendship and self-cultivation.
Aminrazavi is also scheduled to speak on “Islam and the West: A History of Friendship and Hostility: Where Do We Go From Here” from 2-3:20 p.m., March 7, in D150.
His talk will delve into the relationship between the Islamic world and the West, which is one of hostility and friendship. The clash of these two is often mentioned in the media, while the cooperation and friendship between the Islamic world and the West is rarely discussed. The lecture will shed light on the intertwined nature of Islam and the West, emphasizing the commonalities.