The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy

The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy

Author: Peter Adamson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-12-09

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 1107494699

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Philosophy written in Arabic and in the Islamic world represents one of the great traditions of Western philosophy. Inspired by Greek philosophical works and the indigenous ideas of Islamic theology, Arabic philosophers from the ninth century onwards put forward ideas of great philosophical and historical importance. This collection of essays, by some of the leading scholars in Arabic philosophy, provides an introduction to the field by way of chapters devoted to individual thinkers (such as al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes) or groups, especially during the 'classical' period from the ninth to the twelfth centuries. It also includes chapters on areas of philosophical inquiry across the tradition, such as ethics and metaphysics. Finally, it includes chapters on later Islamic thought, and on the connections between Arabic philosophy and Greek, Jewish, and Latin philosophy. The volume also includes a useful bibliography and a chronology of the most important Arabic thinkers.


Studies in the History of Arabic Philosophy

Studies in the History of Arabic Philosophy

Author: Shlomo Pines

Publisher: Collected Works of Shlomo

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13:

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This volume covers some fifty years of Pines' work in the field of Islamic philosophy, from the very first article he published ("Some Problems of Islamic Philosophy", in 1937") to an article that was found in his paper after his death and is published here for the first time (" The origin of the Tale of Salâmân and Absâl").


Abraham Abulafia’s Esotericism

Abraham Abulafia’s Esotericism

Author: Moshe Idel

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-10-12

Total Pages: 636

ISBN-13: 3110598779

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This book focuses on Abraham Abulafia's esoteric thought in relation to Maimonides, Maimonideans, and Islamic thought in the line of Leo Strauss' theory of the history of philosophy. A survey of Abulafia's sources leads into an analysis of the esoteric meaning on the famous parable of the three rings, considering also the possible connection between this parable, which Abdulafia inserted into a book dedicated to his student, the 13th century rabbi Nathan the wise, and the Lessing's Play "Nathan the Wise." The book also examines Abulafia's universalistic understanding of the nature of the Bible, the Hebrew language, and the people of Israel (or the Sinaic revelation). The universal aspects of Abulafia’s thought have been put in relief against the more widespread Kabbalistic views which are predominantly particularistic. A number of texts have also been identified here for the first time as authored by Abulafia.


Maimonides in His World

Maimonides in His World

Author: Sarah Stroumsa

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-08-31

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1400831326

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While the great medieval philosopher, theologian, and physician Maimonides is acknowledged as a leading Jewish thinker, his intellectual contacts with his surrounding world are often described as related primarily to Islamic philosophy. Maimonides in His World challenges this view by revealing him to have wholeheartedly lived, breathed, and espoused the rich Mediterranean culture of his time. Sarah Stroumsa argues that Maimonides is most accurately viewed as a Mediterranean thinker who consistently interpreted his own Jewish tradition in contemporary multicultural terms. Maimonides spent his entire life in the Mediterranean region, and the religious and philosophical traditions that fed his thought were those of the wider world in which he lived. Stroumsa demonstrates that he was deeply influenced not only by Islamic philosophy but by Islamic culture as a whole, evidence of which she finds in his philosophy as well as his correspondence and legal and scientific writings. She begins with a concise biography of Maimonides, then carefully examines key aspects of his thought, including his approach to religion and the complex world of theology and religious ideas he encountered among Jews, Christians, Muslims, and even heretics; his views about science; the immense and unacknowledged impact of the Almohads on his thought; and his vision of human perfection. This insightful cultural biography restores Maimonides to his rightful place among medieval philosophers and affirms his central relevance to the study of medieval Islam.


The Arabic Translation and Commentary of Yefet ben 'Eli the Karaite on the Book of Esther

The Arabic Translation and Commentary of Yefet ben 'Eli the Karaite on the Book of Esther

Author: Michael Wechsler

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2008-06-30

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 9047432363

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This volume consists of an edition, translated into English and with an extensive introduction, of the Arabic translation and commentary on the book of Esther by one of the preeminent litterateurs of the Karaite “Golden Age” (10th–11th centuries), Yefet ben ‘Eli ha-Levi. Yefet’s text represents the first completely extant, devoted commentary on Esther and, consequently, provides fascinating insight into the history and development of exegetical thought on this book, both among the Karaites as well as the Rabbanites. Various facets of Yefet’s exegesis which we explore in our introduction include his rationalistic method, compilatory tendency, relationship to the doctrines of the Islamic Mu‘tazila, and his influence both by and upon other Jewish exegetes (Karaite and Rabbanite). We also assess Yefet’s Arabic translation technique and include a survey of all extant Karaite commentaries on Esther, both in Arabic as well as Hebrew. "At first sight, the book stands out as a model of systematic organization and thoroughness in treatment of detail...Wechsler has given us a detailed survey of the place of Yefet in the history of Karaite exegesis and in the history of Karaite theoretical argument." - I.R.M. Bóid "Altogether, this book may be considered an important step forward in the availability of Yefet ben 'Eli's commentaries in critical editions and will serve as a standard for future publications of his vast exegetical oeuvre." - Ronny Vollandt, University of Cambridge


Collected works of Shlomo Pines

Collected works of Shlomo Pines

Author: Shlomo Pinès

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 9789652236265

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Volume I : Studies in the Philosophy of Abu'l- Barak t al-Baghd d , deals with various aspects of the philosophy of Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdadi. Some of Avicenna's physical and psychological doctrines are also discussed.


The Elements of Avicennaʼs Physics

The Elements of Avicennaʼs Physics

Author: Andreas Lammer

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2018-02-05

Total Pages: 614

ISBN-13: 3110546795

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This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the physical theory of the Islamic philosopher Avicenna (d. 1037). It seeks to understand his contribution against the developments within the preceding Greek and Arabic intellectual milieus, and to appreciate his philosophy as such by emphasising his independence as a critical and systematic thinker. Exploring Avicenna’s method of "teaching and learning," it investigates the implications of his account of the natural body as a three-dimensionally extended composite of matter and form, and examines his views on nature as a principle of motion and his analysis of its relation to soul. Moreover, it demonstrates how Avicenna defends the Aristotelian conception of place against the strident criticism of his predecessors, among other things, by disproving the existence of void and space. Finally, it sheds new light on Avicenna’s account of the essence and the existence of time. For the first time taking into account the entire range of Avicenna’s major writings, this study fills a gap in our understanding both of the history of natural philosophy in general and of the philosophy of Avicenna in particular. This monograph has been awarded the annual BRAIS – De Gruyter Prize (Kulturpreis Bayern) in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World and the Iran World Award for Book of the Year (2020).