Learning for Life: Classical Islamic Visions of Education
Description
How did influential Muslim thinkers from the eighth to the eleventh century understand education as a process of intellectual, ethical, and spiritual formation? In this lecture, Sebastian Günther explores classical Islamic ideas about knowledge, character development, teaching, and human flourishing. He also considers what these rich educational traditions can contribute to contemporary debates on lifelong learning.
A working command of the vocabulary of Islamic metaphysics — wujūd, māhiyya, the gradation of being — used precisely, not loosely.
The capacity to read primary texts of Ibn Sīnā and Mullā Ṣadrā with comprehension rather than reverence alone.
An understanding of why the tradition treats metaphysics as the science of realities — and what that claim asks of the knower.
Direct exchange with Professor Nasr in open Q&A after every session — the part no book can replace.
Sebastian Günther is the leading contemporary scholar of Islamic intellectual and educational history. His research explores the ethical, pedagogical, and humanistic dimensions of Islamic civilization, with particular attention to the transmission of knowledge, classical Arabic literature, and the cultivation of virtue through education. Through a distinguished body of scholarship spanning Islamic ethics, educational thought, and intellectual history, Professor Günther has significantly advanced contemporary understanding of how Muslim societies conceived of learning, character formation, and human flourishing.
