This volume introduces the major classical Arabic philosophers through substantial selections from the key works (many of which appear in translation for the first time here) in each of the fields—including logic, philosophy of science, natural philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, and politics—to which they made significant contributions. -/- An extensive Introduction situating the works within their historical, cultural, and philosophical contexts offers support to students approaching the subject for the first time, as well as to instructors with little or no formal (...) training in Arabic thought. A glossary, select bibliography, and index are also included. (shrink)

This collection of papers addresses a variety of aspects of the life and thought of the medieval philosopher Avicenna including his reception of Classical philosophy, his views on topics such as metaphysics, psychology and medicine, and the recpeption of his thought by later authors.

This volume represents a new philological approach to the study of the medieval philosopher Avicenna by investigating the manuscripts and textual transmission of his philosophical correspondence with students and colleagues.

My aim here is to present an editio princeps of a newly discovered Arabic translation of a very important passage from Plato's Republic found in the work entitled Kitāb fī Masā'il al-umūr al-ilāhiyya, penned by the somewhat obscure Neoplatonist Abū Hāmid al-Isfizārī. While an edition of al-Isfizārī's work has been published by Daniel Gimaret, the manuscript he used lacked the literal translation of the Republic passage. The one other known exemplar of the work, MS Zāhiriyya 4871, dated slightly later than (...) the first, appears to be closer to the author's original unedited version; it contains the Republic passage. I am currently preparing a new edition of the work on the basis of the Zāhiriyya manuscript, but it seemed worthwhile to bring the Republic passage to immediate attention. I do not attempt here a thorough evaluation of al-Isfizārī's philosophy as presented in the Masā'il ; this can be done successfully only upon completion of the edition. However, to place the work in its proper context, I do provide a brief overview of the transmission of Plato's Republic in Arabic; a discussion of new information on al-Isfizārī's Nachlass, and a description of the two exemplars of his Masā'il. The edited text of the passage from the Republic is accompanied by a provisional translation. (shrink)