Revisiting a Kantian Problem in the Metaphysics of Theism: Is Existence a Real Predicate?
FALL 2026 Lecture Series
Sajjad Rizvi
Revisiting a Kantian Problem in the Metaphysics of Theism: Is Existence a Real Predicate?
September 30, 2026 - 12:00PM (EST) - 1 hour
Description
Kant’s approach to the rationality of theism entailed a critique of metaphysical proofs for the existence of God founded upon the notion that the term “exists” in the proposition “God exists” is not a real predicate that adds any meaningful understanding to the nominal term. By doing this, he evacuated God from metaphysics but did not deny that there is a God. In the post-classical Islamic period, Suhrawardī did something similar with the existential predicate as a critique of Ibn Sīnā’s theistic metaphysics, but his reconceptualized metaphysics allowed for an analysis of God in differential terms. Modern Muslim thinkers faced with the Kantian challenge have attempted to resolve the problem reflecting their own training and context. This lecture concludes with an analysis of Mahdi Haeri Yazdi’s resolution which insists on the need for God in metaphysical analysis that demonstrates his own particular synthesis of Ibn Sīnā, Suhrawardī, Ibn ʿArabī, and indeed Kant.
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.
