AL-FĀRĀBĪ'S LOST COMMENTARY ON THE ETHICS: NEW TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaim Meir Neria
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
Ibn Tufayl ◽  
Active Intellect ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractAl-Fārābī's lost commentary on Aristotle's Ethica Nicomachea is without doubt one of the most sorely missed lost works of the Islamic falāsifa. In part, this is because the commentary was in some respects a scandal, and scholars accordingly believe it may hold the key to resolving present-day disagreements on how to interpret al-Fārābī's views as expressed in his independent treatises. Perhaps al-Fārābī's most shocking or scandalous statement is that preserved by the Hispano-Muslim philosophers Ibn Bājja, Ibn Ṭufayl, and Ibn Rushd. According to them al-Fārābī says in his commentary on Aristotle's Ethica Nicomachea that happiness is to be achieved only in this life, not in the afterlife; that there is no happiness but political happiness; and that union with the active intellect – generally considered the highest goal of human existence by the philosophers – is impossible. This paper addresses the following questions: What exactly is the debate about? Why is the question of immortality or conjunction related to Aristotle's Ethica Nicomachea? And why was it so controversial to say, in the context of the Ethica Nicomachea, that there is no happiness but political happiness? Although the bulk of al-Fārābī's commentary is still lost, I have discovered two quotations of it in Hebrew manuscripts. As I will argue in this paper, these newly-discovered quotations – which are included with an English translation in the appendix – can shed light on the mysteries concerning al-Fārābī's commentary.

Falsafa and Law

2016 ◽  
pp. 148-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew March
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Philosophy Of Law ◽  
Ibn Sina ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
Ibn Tufayl

This article examines the place of law in the falsafa (philosophy) tradition. Political philosophy was largely a derivative topic for the philosophers of the Islamic world. One indication of this is that the falsafa tradition did not produce a coherent philosophy of law that would concern itself with the meaning, essence, source, and forms of “law”: as such. This article looks at several philosophers in the Islamic tradition who are associated with political philosophy, including Abu Nasr al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, with particular emphasis on their view that the highest form of human existence consists in intellectual and spiritual perfection. It also considers the views of Ibn Bajja, Ibn Tufayl, and Ibn Rushd.

A NEW VERSION OF MISKAWAYH’S BOOK OF TRIUMPH: AN ALTERNATIVE RECENSION OF AL-FAWZ AL-AṢGHAR OR THE LOST FAWZ AL-AKBAR?

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELVIRA WAKELNIG
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Arabic Text ◽  
Additional Material ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
Standard Version ◽  
The World ◽  
Alternative Version ◽  
The One ◽  
Unpublished Manuscripts

Textual evidence preserved in two still unpublished manuscripts strongly suggests that there once existed an alternative version of Miskawayh’s Fawz al-aṣghar, the Minor Book of Triumph. The article discusses possible explanations for why Miskawayh may have composed two recensions of his Fawz and compares structure and content of the alternative version with the edited standard version. The one passage which is contained in the alternative Fawz only is presented in Arabic with an English translation. Part of this additional material is parallel to al-Fārābī’s Iḥṣā’ al-‘ulūm, namely its division of natural sciences, and may ultimately derive from a no longer extant treatise by Paul the Persian. An appendix provides the Arabic text and English translation of a hitherto unknown fragment of al-Balkhī in which he discusses Plato’s saying that the world has a causative, but no temporal beginning.

The Gospel of Jesus' Wife: Textual Evidence of Modern Forgery

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Bernhard
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Direct Link ◽  
Gospel Of Thomas ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
Nag Hammadi ◽  
Present Essay ◽  
Grammatical Error

The present essay summarises textual evidence indicating that the Gospel of Jesus' Wife is essentially a ‘patchwork’ of words and short phrases culled from the lone extant Coptic manuscript of the Gospel of Thomas (Nag Hammadi Codex ii), prepared by a forger using Michael W. Grondin's 2002 PDF edition of this manuscript. The text contains at least five tell-tale signs of its modern origin, including the apparent replication of a typographical (and grammatical) error from Grondin's edition. A direct link between it and Grondin's work also seems to be confirmed by the earliest known English translation of the fragment.

scholarly journals English-Arabic-English Translation: A Novel Methodological Framework for the Standardisation of Translation Parameters

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Ahmad Mustafa Halimah
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
The World ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Arabic Speaking ◽  
Shed Light

It is evident to see that, in the field of translation, there is a random use of the terms ‘method’, ‘approach’, ‘strategy’, ‘procedure’ and ‘technique’ by both teachers and students alike. This article attempts to shed light on such phenomenon and to bring more clarity and objectivity to the world of translation by suggesting a standardised methodological framework. English-Arabic-English translation examples and a questionnaire filled by university Arabic-speaking students and teachers were used for analysis and discussion. Results of the analysis and discussion of samples and the questionnaire in this paper have indicated that there is an urgent need for a novel methodological framework in order to form a standardised profile for the use of translation parameters such as ‘method’, ‘approach’, ‘strategy’, ‘procedure’ and ‘technique’. To achieve this objective, a proposed methodological framework was made for use by students, teachers and those interested in carrying out further research in this field.

scholarly journals When Art Betrays Mythology: Acquitting Cronus (Κρόνος) in Goya’s Saturn

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boban Dedovic
Keyword(s):  
Mental State ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Objective Evidence

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) was a famous Spanish painter who is credited with painting a work known as Saturn Devouring One of His Sons. This work was one of over ten others known as the ‘Black Paintings,’ which were painted on the walls of his Quinta home in Spain. The painting’s contents have been widely accepted as depicting a deity named Saturn, whose Greek equivalent is Cronus (Κρόνος). The concomitant mythological story is the Greek cosmogonic myth known as the Theogony, attributed to Hesiod (ca. 700 BCE). The title and attribution stated above were assigned posthumously, not by Goya himself. No other authorship sources seem to be available. Prior investigations have relied on psychological inferences about Goya. This approach did not seem warranted and was thus avoided. The present investigation adopted a mythological mode of analysis, wherein the contents of Hesiod’s Theogony in the original Greek and English translation were compared with the Saturn painting’s depiction. All three posited hypotheses were supported: (1) prior investigators seemed to rely on psychological analyses concerned with Goya’s mental state, despite a lack of objective evidence from the time period in question; (2) textual evidence from Hesiod’s Theogony did not provide support for Cronus being the figure depicted in the Saturn painting, and; (3) Grendel’s depiction in Beowulf did align with the Saturn painting’s contents, textually and graphically. Further probing was conducted with regard to whether Goya could have profited from the materials and concepts found in the manuscript during his lifetime. The Beowulf manuscript was available to an artist between 1820-1823 and the plot of Beowulf was written about in European publications. Finally, the Beowulf manuscript’s contents included the Biblical story of Judith and Beowulf in the same spine, which corresponds to the adjacent location of the Judith and Saturn paintings in Goya’s Quinta home. Implications and limitations are discussed.

scholarly journals Aśu the Convert: A Slave Girl or a Nāyar Land Owner?

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 201-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ophira Gamliel
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
South India ◽  
The West ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
Cairo Geniza ◽  
Maritime Networks ◽  
History Of ◽  
Anthropological History ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Jewish Merchant

Aśu was a twelfth-century woman from the West Coast of South India. She is mentioned as a Tuḷuva “slave girl” (šifḥa) in a deed of manumission authored by Abraham Ben Yijū, a Jewish merchant who lived with her for nearly eighteen years and had children with her. It is thus accepted that Aśu was a manumitted slave. However, there is evidence to the contrary suggesting that Aśu was a member of a matrilineal household of the Nāyar caste of landlords, and that by allying with her, Ben Yijū was establishing a transregional network in collaboration with hinterland Indian merchants. In what follows, I examine the textual evidence from the Cairo Geniza related to the couple and reevaluate it against the anthropological history of Nāyars, especially in relation to their matrilineal inheritance customs and intercaste matrimonial alliances. Arguably, familial alliances such as those of Aśu and Ben Yijū matured into full-fledged communities of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the region. A better understanding of the relations between these two individuals, Aśu and Ben Yijū, can shed light on the history of the transregional maritime networks and, consequently, on the history of interreligious relations in the Malayalam-speaking region.

Political philosophy in classical Islam

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel H. Frank
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
The Law ◽  
Medieval Islam ◽  
Ibn Tufayl ◽  
Plato's Political Philosophy

Political philosophy in Islam is the application of Greek political theorizing upon an understanding of Muhammad’s revelation as legislative in intent. In lieu of Aristotle’s Politics, unknown in medieval Islam, Plato’s political philosophy assumed the primary role in an explanation of the nature and purpose of the Islamic state. Al-Farabi conceived of the prophet as a latter day philosopher-king, Ibn Bajja and Ibn Tufayl took their cue from Socrates’ fate and cautioned the philosopher against the possibility of successfully engaging in a philosophical mission to the vulgar masses, and Ibn Rushd presented philosophy as a duty enjoined by the law upon those able to philosophize.

IBN BĀJJA AND THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES IN AL-ANDALUS

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
MIQUEL FORCADA
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Profound Influence ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
Philosophical Background ◽  
Ibn Tufayl ◽  
Ibn Hazm

Coinciding with the scientific flourishing of the 5th / 11th century, which was favoured by the cultural policy of the Andalusī kingdoms ( mulūk al-tawā'if ), Abū ‘ Umar ibn ‘ Abd al-Barr, Ibn Hazm and Sā‘ id al-Andalusī all dealt with the classification of the sciences in many works that are already known. Ibn Bājja began his career at the end of this period. In his glosses to al-Fārābī’s commentary to the Isagoge he wrote a text on this subject that has not yet been analysed. The present paper studies Ibn Bājja's classification in connection with his predecessors and with the scientific and philosophical background of Andalusī culture. In their classifications of the sciences, all these authors express and stress important factors of the evolution of Andalusī science and thought, such as the dialectic between religious and rational sciences and the importance of the scientific method derived from Aristotle's logic. Sā‘ id al-Andalusī and Ibn Bājja ( and, to a lesser extent, Ibn Hazm ) show the profound influence exerted by al-Fārābī’s works, particularly the Ihsā' al-‘ ulūm. Thus, Ibn Bājja foreshadows the evolution of sciences in the next century and the movement headed by Ibn Rushd, Ibn Tufayl and others, characterized by the search for concordance with the postulates set forth by philosophical disciplines.

scholarly journals The "Kitāb Sībawayhi" Project

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliano Lancioni ◽  
Simona Olivieri ◽  
Luca D’Anna ◽  
Raoul Villano ◽  
Cristina Solimando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Linguistic System ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Way

The Kitāb Sībawayhi Project aims at a new English translation and analysis of the Kitāb Sībawayhi, with an innovative approach that will shed light on the way the linguistic system of Arabic has been described by the most prominent figure of the Arabic linguistic tradition.

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