December 19

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111) was a Persian scholar who bridged Islamic jurisprudence, philosophy, and mysticism. Educated in Baghdad, he excelled in theology and law before his tenure at the prestigious Nizamiyya Madrasa. His seminal work 'The Incoherence of the Philosophers' critiqued rationalist approaches and reasserted the primacy of divine revelation. Later in life, he embraced Sufi practices, writing extensively on inner spirituality and ethics. His synthesis of orthodox doctrine and mystic insight reshaped Sunni theology and elevated Sufism. Al-Ghazali’s intellectual legacy remains foundational in both religious scholarship and philosophical inquiry.

Dwight Macdonald was born in 1906 in Manhattan and educated at Harvard University. He gained prominence as a literary and political critic, co-founding the influential magazine Politics in 1944. Macdonald's essays dissected mass culture, totalitarianism, and American consumerism with wit and rigor. Rejecting both left-wing orthodoxy and capitalist conformity, he championed individual freedom and humanistic values. His critiques of McCarthyism and nuclear arms made him a leading voice in postwar intellectual circles. Macdonald also wrote extensively on literature, art, and film, bridging gaps between high culture and popular media. He continued to publish and lecture until his death in 1982, leaving a legacy of clear-eyed cultural criticism.