Presentation: Edward Moad (Coherence of the Incoherence)

About the Session

In this author session, Wardah Books hosts Edward Moad who will present on Coherence of the Incoherence: Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, and the Identity of Indiscernible Recurrences.

In the Incoherence of the Philosophers and Incoherence of the Incoherence, Ghazali and Ibn Rushd debate over, among many other things, the falasifa’s proofs for the past and future eternity of the cosmos. We will examine the one discussed there as the ‘fourth proof’, from possibility and matter, Ghazali’s objection to it, and Ibn Rushd’s defense, specifically as it pertains to the future.

To break the impasse, Edward will offer an original argument against cosmic eternity, based on the falasifa’s own premises – namely, the principle of sufficient reason, the impossibility of an actual infinite magnitude, and the identity of indiscernibles. Edward will argue that, if the cosmos is eternal as they claim, it follows that Nietzsche’s doctrine of eternal recurrence is true: cosmic history repeats itself in exact detail for eternity.

From the identity of indiscernibles, it follows that this supposed infinity of recurrences are in fact just one occurrence; that is, one finite cosmic event.

About the Author

Edward Moad is Professor of Philosophy at Habib University (Pakistan). He received his PhD from University of Missouri - Columbia (2004), and was a Research Fellow at National University of Singapore (2005-2008) before joining Qatar University (2008-2025) where he established their first Philosophy program. He has published dozens of academic articles in Islamic Philosophy, Metaphysics, and Comparative Moral Epistemology. His recent book, Coherence of the Incoherence, offers a critical analysis of the debate between Al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd in the Incoherence of the Philosophers and Incoherence of the Incoherence.

IN-STORE EVENT

Date: 5 July 2026, Sunday
Time: 10.30am Singapore
Venue: Reading Loft (Level 2, stairs only) Wardah Books, 58 Bussorah Street S(199474)

No registration required