Kohki Totsuka | University of Vienna (original) (raw)
University Assistant at the Department of Intercultural Philosophy of Religion (University of Vienna)
Current interest: Max Weber, Philosophy of Music, choral conducting
Project 2023: International conference and concert series: "Between Authentic Traditions and Modern Rationalities: Intercultural Reformist Discourses on Music, Religion and Politics between 1900-1950"
less
Uploads
Book Reviews by Kohki Totsuka
Raid Al-Daghistani: »Falsafa. Einführung in die klassische arabisch-islamische Philosophie« (Kala... more Raid Al-Daghistani: »Falsafa. Einführung in die klassische arabisch-islamische Philosophie« (Kalam Verlag, Freiburg i. Br. 2016) von Kohki Totsuka Nach seiner gelungenen biographisch-theologischen Darstellung Muḥammad al-Ġazālīs aus dem Jahre 2014 ist nun Raid al-Daghistanis zweite Monographie »Falsafa -Einführung in die klassische arabisch-islamische Philosophie« in der Studienreihe »Islamische Theologie« im Kalam Verlag erschienen. Zunächst sei festgehalten: Hierbei handelt es sich nicht um eine umfassende Präsentation neuester Forschungsergebnisse aus dem Fachbereich der islamischen Philosophie. Vielmehr versteht sich das Buch als ein einführendes Lehrwerk für Studierende der Zentren für Islamische Theologie im deutschsprachigen Raum, die im Rahmen des Studienganges mit Grundfragen der Islamischen Philosophie konfrontiert werden sollen. In erster Linie sei das vorliegende Buch daher im Lichte dieses spezifischen Entstehungskontextes rezensiert.
Papers by Kohki Totsuka
Jahrbuch für Islamische Theologie und Religionspädagogik, 2019
In this paper I will examine the reformist thought of Fazlur Rahman (1919–1988). The first sectio... more In this paper I will examine the reformist thought of Fazlur Rahman (1919–1988). The first section will contain a systematic reconstruction of Rahman’s reformist method, while the second attempts a systematic review of the major inconsistencies in Rahman’s thought processes. My key observation is that Rahman tacitly employs a normative source other than the Qurʾān, i.e. the pre-reflexive system of values shared by contemporary societies, but without accounting for this. To obfuscate this fact, Rahman legitimizes his reformist thought by means of a simple reference to the “present situation” (thesis I) and constructs a viciously circular method (thesis II), which is only able to suggest reasonable solutions to those exegetical questions for which the undefined “present situation” already provides distinct and established answers (thesis III). Thus Rahman’s normatively underdetermined method is not only deficient due to its arbitrary character, it also provides a legitimatory source for his violent opponents. Furthermore, I will review the unsatisfactory state of the secondary literature which overlooks or conceals Rahman’s problematic aspects, instead uncritically advocating superficial reform. Rather than methodically unregulated reformist discourse, I will argue for a strict distinction between the experiential or aesthetic dimension of religion and the normative questions which should be entirely delegated to the domain of the secular philosophy of human rights.
Raid Al-Daghistani: »Falsafa. Einführung in die klassische arabisch-islamische Philosophie« (Kala... more Raid Al-Daghistani: »Falsafa. Einführung in die klassische arabisch-islamische Philosophie« (Kalam Verlag, Freiburg i. Br. 2016) von Kohki Totsuka Nach seiner gelungenen biographisch-theologischen Darstellung Muḥammad al-Ġazālīs aus dem Jahre 2014 ist nun Raid al-Daghistanis zweite Monographie »Falsafa -Einführung in die klassische arabisch-islamische Philosophie« in der Studienreihe »Islamische Theologie« im Kalam Verlag erschienen. Zunächst sei festgehalten: Hierbei handelt es sich nicht um eine umfassende Präsentation neuester Forschungsergebnisse aus dem Fachbereich der islamischen Philosophie. Vielmehr versteht sich das Buch als ein einführendes Lehrwerk für Studierende der Zentren für Islamische Theologie im deutschsprachigen Raum, die im Rahmen des Studienganges mit Grundfragen der Islamischen Philosophie konfrontiert werden sollen. In erster Linie sei das vorliegende Buch daher im Lichte dieses spezifischen Entstehungskontextes rezensiert.
Jahrbuch für Islamische Theologie und Religionspädagogik, 2019
In this paper I will examine the reformist thought of Fazlur Rahman (1919–1988). The first sectio... more In this paper I will examine the reformist thought of Fazlur Rahman (1919–1988). The first section will contain a systematic reconstruction of Rahman’s reformist method, while the second attempts a systematic review of the major inconsistencies in Rahman’s thought processes. My key observation is that Rahman tacitly employs a normative source other than the Qurʾān, i.e. the pre-reflexive system of values shared by contemporary societies, but without accounting for this. To obfuscate this fact, Rahman legitimizes his reformist thought by means of a simple reference to the “present situation” (thesis I) and constructs a viciously circular method (thesis II), which is only able to suggest reasonable solutions to those exegetical questions for which the undefined “present situation” already provides distinct and established answers (thesis III). Thus Rahman’s normatively underdetermined method is not only deficient due to its arbitrary character, it also provides a legitimatory source for his violent opponents. Furthermore, I will review the unsatisfactory state of the secondary literature which overlooks or conceals Rahman’s problematic aspects, instead uncritically advocating superficial reform. Rather than methodically unregulated reformist discourse, I will argue for a strict distinction between the experiential or aesthetic dimension of religion and the normative questions which should be entirely delegated to the domain of the secular philosophy of human rights.