Theodicy in Islamic Thought: The Dispute Over Al-Ghazali's Best of All Possible Worlds

by Eric Ormsby

The first detailed study of Islamic theodicy, the book points out distinctively Islamic formulations and solutions of the problem of the best of all possible worlds and shows where they coincide with Western versions, such as that of Leibniz.

Originally published in 1984.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Islam, Nonfiction

328 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Arman Firman]

Very thorough. Eric Ormsby had to put unthinkable amount of work into this. If anyone wants a glimpse at the complexities of Islamic intellectual history through a single book, this is the one. This book will remain as a classic. And the fact saddens me that Dr. Ormsby didn't write any work on Sunni theology after this book.

[Yaseen]

Incredibly well done, thorough overview of one of the most controversial aspects of al-Ghazali's corpus.