İslam medeniyetindeki felsefî hareket, felsefe tarihinin en büyük geleneklerinden birini oluşturmaktadır. İlhamlarını, Antik-Helenistik dünyada kaleme alınan Yunanca felsefe eserleri ile İslam dünyasındaki kelamî tartışmalardan alan İslam filozofları, dokuzuncu yüzyıldan itibaren sadece tarihî değil felsefî olarak da büyük öneme sahip görüşler ortaya koymuşlardır.
Önde gelen Batılı İslam felsefesi uzmanlarının kaleme aldığı makalelerden oluşan bu eser, özellikle, İslam felsefesinin “klasik” dönemi olarak adlandırılan dokuzuncu yüzyıldan on ikinci yüzyıla kadarki dönemin önemli simalarına tahsis edilmiş müstakil bölümler vasıtasıyla bu alana bir giriş sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Ayrıca eser; mantık, ahlak, siyaset, tabiat felsefesi, psikoloji ve metafizik gibi İslam felsefesi geleneği içinde araştırmaya konu olmuş alanlara dair tartışmalar yanında klasik dönem sonrası İslam düşüncesinin seyri ve İslam felsefesinin Yahudi ve Latin dünyasındaki felsefî hareketler üzerindeki etkisini inceleyen bölümlerle daha da zenginleştirilmiştir.
İslam felsefesiyle ilgili Batılı literatürü büyük ölçüde kapsayan bibliyografyası ve önde gelen İslam düşünürlerine dair verdiği kronolojik liste, elinizdeki bu eseri, İslam felsefesiyle yeni tanışanlar için olduğu kadar bu alanın uzmanları için de vazgeçilmez bir başvuru kaynağı haline getirmektedir.
Peter Scott Adamson is an American academic who is professor of philosophy in late antiquity and in the Islamic world at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich as well as professor of ancient and medieval philosophy at Kings College London.
After being on my bookshelf for a long time I decided to finally read it. I have to say that Metaphysics to me is very inane and I did struggle to engage with the topics that so fascinated Arabic philosophers but that said I did learn anew the following things:
1) The influence of Plato and Aristotle upon Islamic philosophy cannot be understated. Muslim philosophers genuinely revered Plato. Their reverence in no way influenced by whether or not Plato was a monotheist. Plato and Aristotle seemed to have given birth to a line of enquiry that was to persist for centuries. Namely, the soul. I find it interesting that so many Muslim philosophers seemed to deem it essential to prove the existence of the soul and how belief that soul existed was essential to your faith as a Muslim. Interestingly, the Quran is not a metaphysical book. It does not elaborate on the nature of the soul or try to prove its existence.
2) The Arabic philosophers regarded themselves at the inheritors of the legacy of the prophets. They genuinely believed that their superior knowledge of natural sciences, logic, and mathematics enabled them alone to perceive the hidden mysteries of the Quran. They regarded people who were not as erudite as akin to sheep in need of guidance.
3) I was intrigued to learn that elements of Jewish philosophy were very similar to Muslim philosophy and that even Maimonedes had the view that the secrets of the Torah were not accessible to the common man and only the philosophers could convey them to the masses. Very similar to the way Arabic philosophers regarded the mysteries of the Quran.
All in all; a good and concise book. Even better if you are fascinated by metaphysics.
I (re)turned to this Cambridge Companion, parts of which I had read several years ago for my bachelor's degree, while writing an essay on the role of imagination in Averroës' philosophy. It's a lovely volume, containing relatively up-to-date essays by leading scholars on Arabic philosophy as well as its history, intellectual debts, and subsequent influences.
Especially good, and pertinent to my essay, was a chapter (15) called Psychology: soul and intellect, written by Deborah L. Black. Funny story: a few days ago, I e-mailed a professor in Toronto in order to ask permission to cite her unpublished draft translation into English of Averroës' Short Commentary or epitome; to which she very kindly responded in the affirmative. Her name was Deborah L. Black. It wouldn't have changed anything, but I can't help feeling sorry that I hadn't read her chapter before contacting her.
Great care has been taken to assure a pedagogic approach. All along the book (from the structure of the book, choice & content of the articles, difficulties of the chapters, ...) a gradual and relevant approach is maintained.
My favourite chapters: - Chapter 2: Greek into Arabic: Neoplatonism (eye-opener!) - Chapter 6: Avicenna (at some places a little difficult). - Chapter 7: Al-Ghazali - Chapters 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18
This is by far the best introduction to Islamic philosophy. It covers both the most important thinkers and subjects. Each chapter is well written and targeted to people new to the subject.