Arabic Philosophy

MA Arabic Philosophy

Course Aims

To give students an understanding of the historical development and philosophical interest of philosophy produced in the Arabic-speaking world, focusing on the time period from al-Kindi (9th century) to Averroes (12th century), which one might call the “classical” period of Arabic thought.

Seminars

The course will consist of 20 seminars, 10 in Term 1 and 10 in Term 2. Each seminar will last for one and a half hours, and combine lecture with discussions devoted to a close reading of a text (in English translation).

Readings

Many of the assigned primary texts are in J. McGinnis and D.C. Reisman (ed. and trans.), Classical Arabic Philosophy: an Anthology of Sources (Indianapolis: 2007). Referred to below as ‘Hackett reader.' I suggest buying this book for the purposes of the course.

Course Objectives

Students who complete the course should have developed an understanding of the following issues in classical Arabic philosophy:

• The relation between philosophy and religion;
• The attitude taken towards Greek philosophical texts, especially Aristotle, by philosophers writing in Arabic;
• The problem of divine attributes;
• The eternity of the world;
• Philosophy of mind (i.e. theory of soul and intellect);
• Free will;
• Developments in Arabic Jewish and Christian philosophy, as well as Islamic;
• Students will also gain an awareness of some developments in the post-classical era, though this will not be the main focus of the course.