A comprehensive introduction to al-Farabi - the first Islamic philosopher to translate the works of Plato and Aristotle.
The only comprehensive introduction to al-Farabi - the first Islamic philosopher to translate the works of Plato and Aristotle. This new survey from a leading scholar documents the philosopher's life, writings and achievements.
Majid Fakhry is Emeritus Professor at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He has also taught philosphy in Lebanon and the UK, and his publications include Averroes: His Life, Works and Influence.
Preface
Introduction
1 LIFE AND WORKS
2 AL-FARABI AND THE GREEK LEGACY
The genesis of philosophy
Philosophy and religion
Presocratics, stoics and peripatetics
Plato and his philosophy
The philosophy of Aristotle
The harmony of Plato and Aristotle
3 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES
The interrelation of the sciences
Logic and mathematics
Physics and metaphysics
Ethics and politics
The Islamic sciences
4 AL-FARABI AS LOGICIAN
The logical corpus
The analysis of logical terms
The demonstrative art
Rhetoric and poetics
5 THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
The nature of scientific knowledge
The various senses of the term 'intellect' ('aql)
The Active Intellect
6 EMANATION VERSUS CREATION
The Neoplatonic legacy
The nature of the First Being or the One
The intellect, as the first emanation
The heavenly bodies
The material world
The human soul and its faculties
Prophecy and the imaginative faculty
7 ETHICAL THEORY
The attainment of happiness
The moral virtues and their acquisition
Evil and not-being
Justice and friendship
8 POLITICAL THEORY
The principles of political association
The master organ and the master ruler (ra'is)
The qualification of the chief ruler (ra'is)
The virtuous city
The non-virtuous cities
The outgrowths (nawabit) as a hybrid class
Lawlessness and discord
Political justice and religious piety
The fate of the soul after death
9 AL-FARABI AND MUSIC
10 AL-FARABI IN HISTORY
The triumph of Neoplatonism
Al-Farabi's philosophical legacy
Al-Ghazali's onslaught on Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina
Ibn Bajjah and the Andalusian interlude
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)
Neoplatonism and Sufism
Al-Farabi and the West
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
Index