Thesis

Said Nursi’s Arguments for the Existence of God in Risale-i Nur

This dissertation examines the philosophical and theological writings of Saīd Nursi(1877–1960) entitled Risāle-i Nur (Epistles of Light), and presents a critical analysisof his arguments for the existence of God. Although certain aspects of Nursi’swritings have been studied at various academic levels, his ways of arguing for theexistence of God, and defending his position against the sceptics have not beenstudied at doctoral level. Therefore, the objective of this study is to understandNursi’s arguments, then try locate him among other philosophers and scholars andbring out into light his original viewpoints in this context.The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 presents the historical background andthe overview of main theistic arguments from the Christian, Islamic and Jewish pointsof views concerning God’s existence. The theistic arguments analysed are: theontological arguments, the cosmological arguments, including the kalāmcosmological arguments, the teleological arguments, which are also known asarguments to or arguments from apparent design, the arguments from morality andconscience, and, finally, the arguments from miracles and religious experience.Counter-arguments to the theistic arguments posed by the sceptics are also examinedsuch as problem of evil, the problem of Hell, and the poor design arguments. In thischapter, we also aim to sum up some of the chief arguments in order to prepare somebasis for this study. These arguments are analysed from Nursian viewpoint in laterchapters.Chapter 2 provides an overview of the life and thoughts of Saīd Nursi and exploreshow and why his discourse changed from political activism into that of intellectual and spiritual life. Certain terminologies that have been developed by Nursi arediscussed here.The Ensuing four Chapters, from 3 to 6 analyse four different arguments employed bySaīd Nursi’s for the existence and the unity of God (tawḥīd). The first argument, ‘thegreat book of the universe’, which is, in modern philosophy, the equivalent of thedesign argument is discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 examines the second argumentwhich Nursi calls the argument from prophethood (nubuwwah), with a particularfocus on Prophet Muḥammad. Chapter 5 deals with the third argument, i.e. fromScriptures (waḥy), with the Qur’ān as the main focus. Finally, Chapter 6 discussesNursi’s fourth argument that is conscience (wijdān) and the primordial human nature(fıṭrat-ı bashar).In addition, the critics posed specially by the atheist and the sceptics are subjected toan evaluation from Nursi’s perspective. Darwinian theory of evolution as analternative to creation, criticisms to the Qur’ān and the Prophet Muḥammad, andphilosophical issues such as the problem of evil and hell are among the challenges towhich Nursi responds.The thesis concludes that Nursi’s first three arguments i.e. the design argument, theargument from prophethood and the argument from scriptures, despite certaindifferent interpretations by Nursi, seem to be a continuations of the traditionalargument. However, Nursi’s originality lays in his moral argument or the argument,namely, the argument from primordial human nature.

Author: Gök, Hakan

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2014
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Thesis
Doctoral
Durham University

Thesis Advisor Name:  Prof. Dr. Colin Turner
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Conference_Venue: 10046
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Gok [2014] PhD Thesis Arguments for the Existence of God in Nursi.pdf