Moral Agents and Their Deserts: The Character of Mu'tazilite Ethics

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Must good deeds be rewarded and wrongdoers punished Would God be unjust if He failed to punish and reward And what is it about good or evil actions and moral identity that might generate such necessities These were some of the vital religious and philosophical questions that eighth- and ninth-century Mu'tazilite theologians and their sophisticat

Reviews

Winner of the 2009 Albert Hourani Book Award, Middle East Studies Association "This is an impressive and original contribution to the knowledge of Islam's intellectual history."--M. Swartz, Choice "Vasalou's [book] is a lively and often labyrinthine analysis of thinkers who have received little attention in Western intellectual circles... Readers ... who wish to engage the Islamic tradition of moral thought, ... if they have sufficient background, will find it a rich interpretive resource that may be of great use to them in their own endeavors."--Jamie Schillinger, Philosophy in Review "Sophia Vasalou's book provides an important window into the moral economy of Mu'tazilite thinking... Vasalou has deftly brought to the fore a much misread ethical viewpoint of the Islamic intellectual tradition. Her book stands as an invaluable contribution to the study of Islamic theology in general and Basran Mu'tazilism in particular."--Martin Nguyen, Review of Middle East Studies "Vasalou has written an impressive book, one evidencing extensive reading in Mu'tazilite (and Ash'arite) sources and extensive thinking about the questions of moral theory with which it deals... Deserving of emulation is the thought and imagination that she has put into her work. This is in many respects a brilliant work, one that stands out from the (admittedly small) crowd. It has set me thinking harder about Mu'tazilite moral theory, and for that I am grateful."--Aron Zysow, Journal of the American Oriental Society

Author Bio

Sophia Vasalou is research fellow in philosophy at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge.