Kazim Azimov

Kazim Azimov Agamirza (; born February 10, 1951, Astara, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR) is an Azerbaijani historian of philosophy, culture, sociologist, Orientalist, specialist in the field of history of ancient and medieval philosophy of the Middle East and Azerbaijan. He received a doctorate of sciences in philosophy and became a professor (1991).

Biography Kazim Azimov was born on February 10, 1951, in Astara, Azerbaijan. His parents were secondary school teachers. His maternal grandfather was engaged in philanthropic activities, and his paternal grandfather was a connoisseur of the Qur’an and Islamic knowledge. His father was a public figure and was awarded an “Honored Teacher of the Azerbaijan SSR”. After finishing secondary school in 1968, he studied at the faculty of English and Azerbaijani languages at the Institute of Foreign Languages (now the Azerbaijan University of Languages or AUL). He graduated with honors from AUL in 1973. The same year, he was assigned as a teacher of the English language at AUL.

He served in the Soviet army in 1974. He continued his studies at the Moscow State University postgraduate school (Aspirantura) for a PhD (Candidate of Sciences) in philosophy (1975-1978). He defended his Candidate of Sciences thesis in 1979, titled “Ethical Thought of Medieval Azerbaijan and Critique of Western Orientalism”, at the philosophy faculty of Moscow State University after M. V. Lomonosov. In 1980-1982 he continued learning Arabic and Persian languages at the faculty of Oriental Studies at the Azerbaijan State University (now Baku State University). After completing his doctoral studies (doktorantura) in 1983-1986 for a doctor in sciences in philosophy at the philosophy faculty of Moscow State University after M. V. Lomonosov, he successfully defended therein his doctoral thesis in 1989, titled “Man in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy of Azerbaijan (in the context of Middle East)”. In 1990 he became a professor of Social Sciences.

Since 2000s he has taught and researched at universities of United States and Europe as a visiting professor and senior research fellow.

Key ideas and concepts In his monograph “Azerbaijani thinkers about human nature” (Baku, 1986), Medieval Islamic philosophical thought was usually defined as materialistic pantheism in soviet academic literature. For an accurate terminological and conceptual definition of God and His relationship to the world and man in medieval Islamic philosophy, Kazim Azimov thought up a new term - “Theopantism” (Greek words, “theos” – “God”, and “panth”, “pass” - “all”, which literally means that “God is all”). Kazim Azimov redefined the Islamic medieval philosophy as a “universal undivided all-unity in diversities”. In this connection, Kazim Azimov proposes two alternative conceptions for medieval Islamic philosophy - the “mythological-poetic panentism” and the “transcendental philosophy of the all-unity”, i.e. religious, mystical and philosophical-intellectualistic Theopantism. He substantiates that Middle Eastern, including Azerbaijani medieval religious, mystical-poetic and philosophical thoughts are adequate to these two forms. He also advocates the non-dialectical nature of binary oppositions or “dual code” in medieval Islamic thought, in which, according to Prof. Azimov, the medieval Islamic thinkers themselves have clearly distinguished between the logical basis of knowing and the immanent ontological causality of the material world. The meanings of binary oppositions in Islam refer to the highest order of traditional metaphysical Reality, devoid of material space-time dimensions. In the meantime, modern researchers, beginning with the pantheist Baruch Spinoza, identify, confuse, and finally mix the logical basis of the knowledge of the Superior Reality with ontological basis (causality) of the existence or formation of the material world. And thus they blur the line between transcendentalism of God, manifested in the worlds of noumena and phenomena, and the immanent ontological causality of material beings. Kazim Azimov also analyzed the modern Western concepts of Orientalism in colonial and post-colonial perspectives.

The second monograph by Kazim Azimov “The problem of man in the religious and philosophical doctrines of Zoroastrianism and Islam” (Baku, 2009)

Michael Weinstein, a professor of sociology at the University of Hawaiʻi and Harvard University, wrote:

Anne Sheppard, Professor of Classical Greek Philosophy and Literature at the University of London, concludes:

Professor and Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Michigan Alexander Knysh writes:

Professor of Philosophy of Islam and Central Asia at the University of Hawaiʻi Tamara Albertini writes:

Visiting professorships Since the 2000s, Kazin Azimov was invited by a number of foreign universities as a visiting professor: 2000-2001 - University of Harvard and University of Hawaiʻi (USA, 1 year). 2003 - Central European University, Budapest (7 months). 2004 - George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, (USA, 3 months). 2004 - British Academy, University of London and University of Liverpool (1 month). 2004 - Boğaziçi University, Istanbul (1 month). 2005 - Georg August University, Göttingen, Germany (4 months). 2006 - Free University of Berlin, Germany (4 months). 2009 - Free University of Berlin, Germany (4 months). 2011 - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (7 months). 2017 - University of Malmö, Faculty of Culture and Society, Sweden (4 months).

Selected Scientific Works Monographs Problema cheloveka v religiozno-filosofskikh doktrinakh zoroastrianizma i islama. Baku 2003, 303 P. (The Problem of Man in the Religious and Philosophical Doctrines of Zoroastrianism and Islam. Baku, 2003, 303 P.) Available at the Harvard Widener Library. Azerbaydjanskie misliteli o cheloveke. Baku 1986, 207 P. (Medieval Azerbaijani Thinkers about the Human nature. Baku, 1986, 207 p. ). Available at the Harvard Widener Library. Müstəqil Azərbaycanda Fəlsəfə və Filosoflar. Bakı 2007, S.234-236. (Philosophy and Philosophers in Sovereign Azerbaijan. Bakı, 2007, pp. 234–236). Avesta. Bakı 2017, S. 2-3. (Avest. Baku, 2017, pp. 2–3). Azimov, Kiazim. Problema cheloveka v religiozno-filosofskikh doktrinakh zoroastrianizma i islama. Baku 2003. Available at the Harvard Widener Library. ALexander Murinson. Turkey's Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan State identity and security in the Middle East and Caucasus. New York: Routledge 2010. Vitalie Nicon Marinuta. Evolution of Transdniestrian Conflict in the Republic of Moldova: Prospects for its Solution. Thesis. California, Monterey 2004. Ien B. Philosophy of the Caucasus and the Central Asia in the Soviet period. – In: Studies in Soviet Thought. Dordrecht (Holland), Boston (USA), 1982, vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 285–299.