Uthman Amin
- Died
- 1398 AH
- Born in
- -
Uthman Amin (1326–1398 AH / 1908–1978 CE) was an Egyptian philosopher and professor of modern philosophy at Cairo University, best known for developing the philosophical doctrine of al-Juwwaniyya (Interiorism) and for his scholarship on Muhammad Abduh.
Early Life and Education
Amin was born in the village of Mazghuna, located in the markaz of al-Badrashayn within Giza Governorate (with his birth year also recorded as 1909 CE). He completed his higher education at Fu'ad I University (later Cairo University), graduating from the Faculty of Arts in 1930 CE. Following his graduation, he was sent on an academic mission to Paris to pursue doctoral studies at Sorbonne University, where he wrote his dissertation on the philosophical and religious thought of Muhammad Abduh.
Academic Career and Thought
Upon returning from France, Amin was appointed as a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University, where he rose through the academic ranks to become professor of modern philosophy and chair of the philosophy department. He lectured across several Egyptian institutions, including al-Azhar University, Alexandria University, and Ain Shams University, and served as a visiting professor in Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, and at the American University in Cairo. In 1394 AH, he was elected as a member of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo.
Amin is particularly recognized for formulating the philosophical concept of al-Juwwaniyya, an idealistic framework emphasizing inward spiritual and intellectual orientation, as well as for his monographs on Islamic and European thought, including his study Muhammad Abduh and his philosophical work Dekart.
Death and Legacy
Amin died in 1398 AH (1978 CE), though other biographical accounts state that he died at the age of eighty-one. In accordance with his testament, his private library—which housed rare philosophical manuscripts and fundamental references across Arab and Western traditions—was gifted to the Cairo University library.
Answer updated
List of Works
Dekart: Mabadi al-Falsafa (Descartes: Principles of Philosophy) is an Arabic translation of Rene Descartes's philosophical treatise Principia Philosophiae, published in 1959 with an introductory study and critical commentary. The work provides an orderly exposition of the Cartesian philosophical system, establishing metaphysics as the foundation for natural science and examining principles of human knowledge, methodological doubt, and the existence of God.