Philosophy

The third major benefit of philosophy for Bahá’ís is that a philosophical understanding of the Writings facilitates dialogue with other religions and influential schools of thought. Shoghi Effendi recognizes the importance of “correlating philosophy with the Bahá’í teachings” (Unfolding Destiny, p. 445) and also states in a letter written on his behalf,

It is hoped that [...]

            The second major benefit of philosophy is that it can improve our ability to teach and defend the Writings in a convincing, rational manner. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us that “in this age the peoples of the world need the arguments of reason.” (Some Answered Questions, p. 7), and, even more strongly, states:

If religious belief and [...]

          Having seen that the Bahá’í Writings actually encourage philosophical studies, it is only natural to ask about the benefits of such studies. As I see it, there are three ways in which philosophy can help us in our lives as Bahá’ís. Philosophy can help us (1) gain a better understanding of the Writings themselves, [...]

It’s only appropriate to begin a blog about philosophy, the Bahá’í Writings and the Philosophy Special Interest Group with questions: Why philosophy? What can philosophy do for us as individual Bahá’ís and for the Cause as a whole? Why a Philosophy SIG? Why not do something else of more immediate value? Besides, isn’t philosophy just [...]

    Welcome to the website of the Philosophy Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Association of Bahá’í Studies. The purpose of this website is to make available papers that have been presented at the annual conferences of the Association for Bahá’í Studies (ABS). Inspired by the following words from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, we may think of this [...]

by Mikhail Sergeev, Ph.D.

1
Epistemological Views of ‘Abdu’l-Bahái
“Whatever the intelligence of man cannot
understand religion ought not to accept.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Introductory Remarks
It became traditional in modern philosophy to begin the exposition of any philosophical
system with a thinker’s take on epistemological issues. The son of the founder of Bahá’í Faith and
the leader of the new religious movement after the death [...]