9AL-GHAZALI, ABU HAMID MUHAMMADclaims that no one knows whether or not
God exists. The latter claim is more ambi-
tious because it entails that, if there is a
God, not even God knows that God exists.
In the twentieth century some argued
that agnosticism amounts to a practiced
form of atheism, but while some agnostics
might be deemed atheists or non-theists
insofar as their lives are not informed by
theistic convictions, an agnostic (unlike
some atheists) may live as though the
existence of God is a bona fide possibility.
An agnostic may even engage in theistic
practices (such as prayer and worship) on
the grounds that if God exists such prac-
tices have great value.
AKRASIA. Greek, “without power.”
Akrasia refers to weakness of the will.
One has akrasia when one knows an
action is morally required but lacks the
will power or resolve to perform the act.
People who knowingly do what they
sincerely believe to be wrong also have
akrasia insofar as they lack the power to
resist wrongdoing. Socrates, Plato, Aristo-
tle, as well as rationalists like Descartes
denied akrasia, but a natural interpreta-
tion of Romans 7:14–25 gives reason to
believe St. Paul affirmed akrasia as a very
real, personal weakness.
AL-FARABI, ABU NASR (or Abunaser)
(c. 870–950). An important contributor
to the Baghdad School, he sought to recon-
cile Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy
with Islamic faith. Among several argu-
ments for the existence of God, he devel-
oped an elegant cosmological argument
to infer the existence of God as a neces-
sary being based on the contingency of
the cosmos. He thought that the world
was without origin, though it always has
and always will depend on its Creator. He
contended that intellectual perfection is
a religious goal. Al-Farabi gave a central
place to logic in his work and developed
a robust concept of the proper role of
humans: to live cooperatively in commu-
nity, cultivating a life of knowing. His
chief works include On the Principles of
the Views of the Inhabitants of the Excel-
lent State or The Ideal City, Commentary
on Aristotle, Philosophy of Plato and
Aristotle, Short Commentary on Aristotle’s
Prior Analytics, and The Fusul al-Madani,
Aphorisms of Statesman of al-Farabi.
Al-Farabi is sometimes referred to as the
“Second Teacher” in Arabic tradition,
Aristotle being the “First Teacher.”AL-GHAZALI, ABU HAMID
MUHAMMAD (1058–1111). An Islamic
intellectual opposed to what he saw as
the errors of philosophical reasoning
about religion in the work of Al-Farabi
and Avicenna, al-Ghazali promoted reli-
gious faith and stressed the importance of
a mystical awareness of God over against
rationalist philosophy. He held that the
Qur’an has an authority for Muslims that
supersedes independent philosophical
inquiry. Al-Ghazali also believed that the