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“Two great
contemporary scholars at the antipodes of the cultural spread of Hellenism,
Boethius in Rome (d. 525) and Sergius of Re¯ˇsayna in northern Mesopotamia ¯
(d. 536), conceived of the grand idea of translating all of Aristotle into Latin
and Syriac respectively.5 The conception is to their credit as individual thinkers
for their noble intentions; their failure indicates that the receiving cultures in
which they worked had not developed the need for this enterprise. Philosophy
in Latin was to develop, even if on some of the foundations laid by Boethius,
much later,6 while in Syriac it reached its highest point with BarHebraeus in the thirteenth century only after it had developed in Arabic and was translated
from it.”
―
contemporary scholars at the antipodes of the cultural spread of Hellenism,
Boethius in Rome (d. 525) and Sergius of Re¯ˇsayna in northern Mesopotamia ¯
(d. 536), conceived of the grand idea of translating all of Aristotle into Latin
and Syriac respectively.5 The conception is to their credit as individual thinkers
for their noble intentions; their failure indicates that the receiving cultures in
which they worked had not developed the need for this enterprise. Philosophy
in Latin was to develop, even if on some of the foundations laid by Boethius,
much later,6 while in Syriac it reached its highest point with BarHebraeus in the thirteenth century only after it had developed in Arabic and was translated
from it.”
―
“Even after the Hellenistic empire of Alexander’s
successors was supplanted by that of the Latin-speaking Romans, the usual linguistic
development – the language of the empire imposing itself on cultural
activities – did not take place, and even philosophers whose mother tongue was
not Greek did philosophy not in Latin but in Greek.”
―
successors was supplanted by that of the Latin-speaking Romans, the usual linguistic
development – the language of the empire imposing itself on cultural
activities – did not take place, and even philosophers whose mother tongue was
not Greek did philosophy not in Latin but in Greek.”
―
“To be sure, there were attempts at
translating the philosophy that was written in Greek into other languages – the
presumed intention being to implant it in the cultures of the target languages –
but such attempts, in the end, did not produce the intended results.”
―
translating the philosophy that was written in Greek into other languages – the
presumed intention being to implant it in the cultures of the target languages –
but such attempts, in the end, did not produce the intended results.”
―
“Al-Kind¯ı’s work revived philosophy as living practice and introduced it in the
new social environment of Abbasid Baghdad by making it relevant to its intellectual
concerns and widely acceptable as the indispensable means for critical and
rigorous thinking based on reason, not authority. The resurrection of philosophy
in Arabic in the early ninth century was a revolutionary event, as mentioned
above, because up to that point anybody doing philosophy creatively in multicultural
post-classical antiquity – regardless of linguistic or ethnic background –
did it in Greek, while all the other philosophical activities were derivative
from, and dependent upon, the main philosophizing going on simultaneously
in Greek. When Arabic philosophy emerged with al-Kind¯ı, however, the situation
was completely different: it was from the very beginning independent,
it chose its own paths, and it had no contemporary and living Greek philosophy
either to imitate or seek inspiration from. Arabic philosophy engaged in
the same enterprise Greek philosophy did before its gradual demise, but this
time in its own language: Arabic philosophy internationalized Greek philosophy,
and through its success it demonstrated to world culture that philosophy
is a supranational enterprise. This, it seems, is what makes the transplantation
and development of philosophy in other languages and cultures throughout the
Middle Ages historically possible and intelligible.
Arabic philosophy was also revolutionary in another way. Although Greek
philosophy in its declining stages in late antiquity may be thought to have
yielded to Christianity, and indeed in many ways imitated it, Arabic philosophy
developed in a social context in which a dominant monotheistic religion was
the ideology par excellence. Because of this, Arabic philosophy developed as
a discipline not in opposition or subordination to religion, but independent from
religion – indeed from all religions – and was considered intellectually superior
to religion in its subject and method. Arabic philosophy developed, then, not
as an ancilla theologiae but as a system of thought and a theoretical discipline that
transcends all others and rationally explains all reality, including religion.”
―
new social environment of Abbasid Baghdad by making it relevant to its intellectual
concerns and widely acceptable as the indispensable means for critical and
rigorous thinking based on reason, not authority. The resurrection of philosophy
in Arabic in the early ninth century was a revolutionary event, as mentioned
above, because up to that point anybody doing philosophy creatively in multicultural
post-classical antiquity – regardless of linguistic or ethnic background –
did it in Greek, while all the other philosophical activities were derivative
from, and dependent upon, the main philosophizing going on simultaneously
in Greek. When Arabic philosophy emerged with al-Kind¯ı, however, the situation
was completely different: it was from the very beginning independent,
it chose its own paths, and it had no contemporary and living Greek philosophy
either to imitate or seek inspiration from. Arabic philosophy engaged in
the same enterprise Greek philosophy did before its gradual demise, but this
time in its own language: Arabic philosophy internationalized Greek philosophy,
and through its success it demonstrated to world culture that philosophy
is a supranational enterprise. This, it seems, is what makes the transplantation
and development of philosophy in other languages and cultures throughout the
Middle Ages historically possible and intelligible.
Arabic philosophy was also revolutionary in another way. Although Greek
philosophy in its declining stages in late antiquity may be thought to have
yielded to Christianity, and indeed in many ways imitated it, Arabic philosophy
developed in a social context in which a dominant monotheistic religion was
the ideology par excellence. Because of this, Arabic philosophy developed as
a discipline not in opposition or subordination to religion, but independent from
religion – indeed from all religions – and was considered intellectually superior
to religion in its subject and method. Arabic philosophy developed, then, not
as an ancilla theologiae but as a system of thought and a theoretical discipline that
transcends all others and rationally explains all reality, including religion.”
―
“In this [turn toward mathematics Al-Kindi] was clearly influenced by Proclus’s Elements
of Theology, a partial translation of which he commissioned. Proclus thus
appears to be the link that connects al-Kind¯ı’s mathematical (indeed, geometrical)
epistemology with philosophy. Proclus’s work, with its geometrical mode
of argumentation, was living proof for al-Kind¯ı that abstract problems, such as
those debated by the theologians of his time – Muslims and non-Muslims alike –
could be resolved through philosophical discourse which transcends religious
sectarianism and proceeds on the basis of a geometrical methodology acceptable
to all, just like the rest of the sciences.”
―
of Theology, a partial translation of which he commissioned. Proclus thus
appears to be the link that connects al-Kind¯ı’s mathematical (indeed, geometrical)
epistemology with philosophy. Proclus’s work, with its geometrical mode
of argumentation, was living proof for al-Kind¯ı that abstract problems, such as
those debated by the theologians of his time – Muslims and non-Muslims alike –
could be resolved through philosophical discourse which transcends religious
sectarianism and proceeds on the basis of a geometrical methodology acceptable
to all, just like the rest of the sciences.”
―
“Al-Kind¯ı (ca. 800 – ca. 870), the first to develop philosophical thought as such
in Arabic, was a polymath in the translated sciences and very much a product
of his age. Like other scientists of his time, he gathered around him a wide
circle of individuals capable of advising him on various issues and translating the
relevant texts. He commissioned translations of scientific subjects and he himself
wrote on all the sciences: astrology, astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, music, and
medicine – he even has a treatise on swords.36 This broad and synoptic view of
all sciences, along with the spirit of encyclopedism fostered by the translation
movement for the half century before his time, led him to an overarching vision
of the unity and interrelatedness of all knowledge. At the same time, and as a
result of this view, he developed a unitary epistemological approach – namely,
that of mathematics. His goal became to approach mathematical accuracy in his
argumentation; influenced by both Ptolemy and Euclid, he held mathematical
or geometrical proof to be of the highest order”
―
in Arabic, was a polymath in the translated sciences and very much a product
of his age. Like other scientists of his time, he gathered around him a wide
circle of individuals capable of advising him on various issues and translating the
relevant texts. He commissioned translations of scientific subjects and he himself
wrote on all the sciences: astrology, astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, music, and
medicine – he even has a treatise on swords.36 This broad and synoptic view of
all sciences, along with the spirit of encyclopedism fostered by the translation
movement for the half century before his time, led him to an overarching vision
of the unity and interrelatedness of all knowledge. At the same time, and as a
result of this view, he developed a unitary epistemological approach – namely,
that of mathematics. His goal became to approach mathematical accuracy in his
argumentation; influenced by both Ptolemy and Euclid, he held mathematical
or geometrical proof to be of the highest order”
―
“Another aspect of theological discussions that played a role in philosophical
arguments is apologetics – that is, Muslim disputations with non-Muslims, a
practice directly affiliated with inter-faith debates in both Greek and Syriac
in pre-Islamic times. The need for Muslims, as newcomers to the genre, to
understand better the rules of dialectical argumentation prompted the caliph
al-Mahd¯ı (ruled 775–85) to commission a translation of the best handbook
on the subject – Aristotle’s Topics – from the Nestorian Patriarch Timothy I,
whom he debated”
―
arguments is apologetics – that is, Muslim disputations with non-Muslims, a
practice directly affiliated with inter-faith debates in both Greek and Syriac
in pre-Islamic times. The need for Muslims, as newcomers to the genre, to
understand better the rules of dialectical argumentation prompted the caliph
al-Mahd¯ı (ruled 775–85) to commission a translation of the best handbook
on the subject – Aristotle’s Topics – from the Nestorian Patriarch Timothy I,
whom he debated”
―
“This translation movement, during the course of which
almost all non-literary and non-historical secular Greek works on science and
philosophy were translated upon demand into Arabic, was introduced by the
caliphs and the ruling elite of the newly established Arab Abbasid dynasty (750–
1258) as an ideological response to pressing political and social problems.
Once thus introduced and sponsored from the top, the translation movement found further support from below in the incipient scientific tradition in Arabic, which
was developing at the hands of scholars and scientists actively recruited to the
capital by the same elite who were commissioning the translations.”
―
almost all non-literary and non-historical secular Greek works on science and
philosophy were translated upon demand into Arabic, was introduced by the
caliphs and the ruling elite of the newly established Arab Abbasid dynasty (750–
1258) as an ideological response to pressing political and social problems.
Once thus introduced and sponsored from the top, the translation movement found further support from below in the incipient scientific tradition in Arabic, which
was developing at the hands of scholars and scientists actively recruited to the
capital by the same elite who were commissioning the translations.”
―
“In Greek, the most significant area to which these curricula were reduced was
the rudiments of Aristotelian logic. It is possible, for instance, to discern a major
structural change in the medical curriculum in Alexandria toward the end of the
sixth century, perhaps as a reaction to the decline of philosophical instruction
in that last remaining center of Greek philosophical studies. ...The theological applications of philosophy in Greek patristic literature, by
contrast, were many and longevous, though clearly harnessed to their theological,
apologetic, and polemical goals rather than free philosophical discourse.
In Syriac Christianity, as in Greek, there is a similar development of a logical
curriculum, except that it was rather shorter:
The Sasanian rulers actively endorsed a translation culture that viewed the
transferral of Greek texts and ideas into Middle Persian as the “restitution” of
an Iranian heritage that was allegedly pilfered by the Greeks after the campaigns
of Alexander the Great.17 It was this cultural context, and the atmosphere
of open debate fostered most energetically by Chosroes I Anushirwan (ruled
531–78), that must have prompted the Greek philosophers to seek refuge in his
court after Justinian’s 529 edict prohibited them from teaching.”
―
the rudiments of Aristotelian logic. It is possible, for instance, to discern a major
structural change in the medical curriculum in Alexandria toward the end of the
sixth century, perhaps as a reaction to the decline of philosophical instruction
in that last remaining center of Greek philosophical studies. ...The theological applications of philosophy in Greek patristic literature, by
contrast, were many and longevous, though clearly harnessed to their theological,
apologetic, and polemical goals rather than free philosophical discourse.
In Syriac Christianity, as in Greek, there is a similar development of a logical
curriculum, except that it was rather shorter:
The Sasanian rulers actively endorsed a translation culture that viewed the
transferral of Greek texts and ideas into Middle Persian as the “restitution” of
an Iranian heritage that was allegedly pilfered by the Greeks after the campaigns
of Alexander the Great.17 It was this cultural context, and the atmosphere
of open debate fostered most energetically by Chosroes I Anushirwan (ruled
531–78), that must have prompted the Greek philosophers to seek refuge in his
court after Justinian’s 529 edict prohibited them from teaching.”
―
“, the core of
[Al-Kindi's] philosophical enterprise was centered in the geometrical approach to the
solution of all problems associated with metaphysics and cosmology.
This focus explains the fragmentary nature of the translations from Proclus and
Plotinus that he commissioned, just as it explains his philosophical eclecticism:
he was interested primarily in the question of the One or God as the first
principle and in all the issues – methodological, metaphysical, cosmological –
related to that concept; he was, accordingly, fashioning his own approach from
the disjecta membra of Greek philosophy available in the written (but not living)
tradition. This is why his philosophical thinking does not belong to a school
tradition, why it does not rest on preexisting translations of Greek philosophical
works, and why it is an original creation, in Arabic, of the intellectualism of
early Abbasid society.41”
―
[Al-Kindi's] philosophical enterprise was centered in the geometrical approach to the
solution of all problems associated with metaphysics and cosmology.
This focus explains the fragmentary nature of the translations from Proclus and
Plotinus that he commissioned, just as it explains his philosophical eclecticism:
he was interested primarily in the question of the One or God as the first
principle and in all the issues – methodological, metaphysical, cosmological –
related to that concept; he was, accordingly, fashioning his own approach from
the disjecta membra of Greek philosophy available in the written (but not living)
tradition. This is why his philosophical thinking does not belong to a school
tradition, why it does not rest on preexisting translations of Greek philosophical
works, and why it is an original creation, in Arabic, of the intellectualism of
early Abbasid society.41”
―
“Certainly the most significant of [the political, social and ideological currents playing a role in the development of philosophical texts in Arabic] was the development
of Islamic theology and the intense debate among the various groups
and individuals about its eventual orientation.”
―
of Islamic theology and the intense debate among the various groups
and individuals about its eventual orientation.”
―
“The beginnings of Arabic philosophical literature can be described as taking
place in two stages. The first occurs from roughly the middle of the eighth
century until the appearance of al-Kind¯ı in the first third of the ninth century.
It is characterized by the continuation of the engagement with the remnants of
philosophy in Greek, Syriac, and Middle Persian that have just been reviewed,
though in Arabic this time – by the study, that is, of the logical curriculum
and the application of philosophical ideas to theological concerns of the time....The
second stage begins with al-Kind¯ı and represents a resurrection of philosophy
as a discipline in its own right, independent of theological or other concerns.”
―
place in two stages. The first occurs from roughly the middle of the eighth
century until the appearance of al-Kind¯ı in the first third of the ninth century.
It is characterized by the continuation of the engagement with the remnants of
philosophy in Greek, Syriac, and Middle Persian that have just been reviewed,
though in Arabic this time – by the study, that is, of the logical curriculum
and the application of philosophical ideas to theological concerns of the time....The
second stage begins with al-Kind¯ı and represents a resurrection of philosophy
as a discipline in its own right, independent of theological or other concerns.”
―
“In ways that have not yet been properly understood, philosophy had a second
beginning in Abbasid society by the end of the ninth century after the
death of al-Kind¯ı, clearly in response to additional demand, but this time in a
largely Aristotelian vein. The protagonist in this case was the Nestorian Christian
Abu Bishr Matt ¯ a ibn Y ¯ unus, who came from Dayr Qunn ¯ a on the Tigris ¯
south of Baghdad. His Aristotelianism, which can be surmised to have been
based on the philosophical curriculum known, if not actually practiced, at the
monastery at Dayr Qunna, can be traced directly to the Alexandrian commen- ¯
tators of late antiquity and reaches beyond them to Alexander of Aphrodisias
and Themistius.42”
―
beginning in Abbasid society by the end of the ninth century after the
death of al-Kind¯ı, clearly in response to additional demand, but this time in a
largely Aristotelian vein. The protagonist in this case was the Nestorian Christian
Abu Bishr Matt ¯ a ibn Y ¯ unus, who came from Dayr Qunn ¯ a on the Tigris ¯
south of Baghdad. His Aristotelianism, which can be surmised to have been
based on the philosophical curriculum known, if not actually practiced, at the
monastery at Dayr Qunna, can be traced directly to the Alexandrian commen- ¯
tators of late antiquity and reaches beyond them to Alexander of Aphrodisias
and Themistius.42”
―
“One may guess that the commissioning of this work [a logical textbook and translation into Arabic of Aristotle and Porphyry] must have come from a
wish to have in Arabic what students were reading in the Christian schools
as part of their general education,28 and that somehow this wish was related
to the social developments at the very beginning of the Abbasid dynasty –
or perhaps, more specifically, to the increased interest in the theological implications
of the grammar of statements, the structure and logic of language,
and consequent meaning, issues manifestly treated in the first works of the
Organon.29”
―
wish to have in Arabic what students were reading in the Christian schools
as part of their general education,28 and that somehow this wish was related
to the social developments at the very beginning of the Abbasid dynasty –
or perhaps, more specifically, to the increased interest in the theological implications
of the grammar of statements, the structure and logic of language,
and consequent meaning, issues manifestly treated in the first works of the
Organon.29”
―
“At the center of discussion were the
questions of legitimacy of succession to the caliphate, the relationship of leadership
to faith, and the concomitant problem of unbelief when that relationship
was considered by some factions as inadequate. The conflicting views that were
expressed on these controversial issues eventually gave rise to theological positions,
or to a theology of controversy (Kontroverstheologie), as termed by Josef
van Ess, which constituted part of the political discourse of the nascent Muslim
society.30 Right after the turn of the first Islamic century and just before
the Abbasid revolution (ca. 720s), however, a new, cosmological element was
introduced into theological discussions – in particular, atomism – apparently
through the Manichean sects.31 The need for a cosmology other than atomism
occasioned the translation of Aristotle’s Physics by the end of the eighth century,
a work that was repeatedly to be re-translated (or revised).32 Also related to such
theological disputes is the appearance, in the first half of the eighth century and
before the beginning of the translation movement, of certain Plotinian ideas in
the theology of Jahm Ibn S.afwan (d. ¯ 746), ideas that, in this case, appear to have
traveled without written translations.33”
―
questions of legitimacy of succession to the caliphate, the relationship of leadership
to faith, and the concomitant problem of unbelief when that relationship
was considered by some factions as inadequate. The conflicting views that were
expressed on these controversial issues eventually gave rise to theological positions,
or to a theology of controversy (Kontroverstheologie), as termed by Josef
van Ess, which constituted part of the political discourse of the nascent Muslim
society.30 Right after the turn of the first Islamic century and just before
the Abbasid revolution (ca. 720s), however, a new, cosmological element was
introduced into theological discussions – in particular, atomism – apparently
through the Manichean sects.31 The need for a cosmology other than atomism
occasioned the translation of Aristotle’s Physics by the end of the eighth century,
a work that was repeatedly to be re-translated (or revised).32 Also related to such
theological disputes is the appearance, in the first half of the eighth century and
before the beginning of the translation movement, of certain Plotinian ideas in
the theology of Jahm Ibn S.afwan (d. ¯ 746), ideas that, in this case, appear to have
traveled without written translations.33”
―
“Intellectual life in the caliphal
court just before and after the Abbasid revolution (750), during which time
Ibn al-Muqaffa was active, revolved around questions of what we would now
call rationalism – that is, questions of verifiability of information beyond the
claims of revealed religions which necessarily, and notoriously, contradicted
each other.”
―
court just before and after the Abbasid revolution (750), during which time
Ibn al-Muqaffa was active, revolved around questions of what we would now
call rationalism – that is, questions of verifiability of information beyond the
claims of revealed religions which necessarily, and notoriously, contradicted
each other.”
―
“If living philosophy was dead in Greek and had, furthermore, failed to be
transplanted and to acquire an independent status in other languages, what
survived were its physical remains in the form of manuscripts and libraries,8 as
well as certain – much reduced, enfeebled, and diluted – philosophical curricula
and theological applications, primarily of logical studies, in various schools and
communities throughout the area that was to come under Muslim rule and be
politically reunited for the first time since Alexander the Great.”
―
transplanted and to acquire an independent status in other languages, what
survived were its physical remains in the form of manuscripts and libraries,8 as
well as certain – much reduced, enfeebled, and diluted – philosophical curricula
and theological applications, primarily of logical studies, in various schools and
communities throughout the area that was to come under Muslim rule and be
politically reunited for the first time since Alexander the Great.”
―
