How does Kalam compare to Falsafa in Islamic tradition?

In the Islamic tradition, two distinct terms are traditionally used to translate philosophy: falsafa and kalam. While falsafa refers to philosophy along with logic, mathematics, and physics, kalam refers to a rationalist form of Scholastic Islamic theology that includes schools like Ash'arism, Maturidism, and Mu'tazilism.

What we know

• Falsafa is a term traditionally used in the Islamic world to refer to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and physics. [3]
• Kalam refers to a rationalist form of Scholastic Islamic theology. [3]
• Kalam includes specific schools of thought such as Ash'arism, Maturidism, and Mu'tazilism, while disciplines like jurisprudence and theology developed strict citation sciences such as the isnad. [2, 3]

Where to go next

• whoWho were the major figures in early Islamic philosophy?
• what followedWhat role did the Islamic Golden Age play in modern science?
• how we knowHow did Arabic philosophical texts impact medieval Latin Europe?
• the bigger pictureWhat are the core branches of general philosophy?
• compared withHow does epistemology investigate the nature of knowledge?
• an unexpected connectionHow did medieval Islamic scholarship influence modern peer review?The sources note that early Islamic jurisprudence and medicine saw the development of the first documented peer review process and strict citation sciences like isnad.

Sources

• [1]Early Islamic philosophy (Wikidata Q1274353) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Early Islamic philosophy · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Islamic philosophy · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Philosophy · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Epistemology · CC BY-SA 4.0