Classical Arabic Philosophy

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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.

Reviews:

"This book will make a major impact on the study, and especially the teaching, of Arabic philosophy.  A major difficulty with this field has been the lack of any adequate textbook of sources. . . . Reisman and McGinnis not only provide here a rich selection of texts that could be the basis for even a full-year course on Arabic thought, but also manage to translate several important works for the first time; they also include some standards that would probably be missed were they not here.  It will no doubt become the standard anthology used in courses on Arabic philosophy, and I will use it this way myself.  The team of McGinnis and Reisman is an ideal one. . . All in all, this project is to be greeted with immense enthusiasm."
     —Peter Adamson, King's College London

"This fine piece of linguistic work brings to non-Arabists some representative samplings from dozens of the most seminal philosophers that the Arabic-speaking world has produced.  Most of the outstanding minds are present, from traditionalists to the most speculative thinkers. . . . [T]his anthology succeeds in offering, in an English translation that is both accessible to readers and faithful to the writers, a comprehensive range of outlooks and perspectives highlighting almost half a millennium (9th-13th centuries CE). . . . The broad range covered is a tribute to the anthologists' judgment and skills."
     —S.P. Blackburn, CHOICE

"This is a very fine, well conceived collection of philosophical materials that display the intellectual rigor, power, and insights of the thinkers of the Arabic tradition.  [It's] quite impressive in what it covers.  Issues in metaphysics, epistemology, language and ontology, natural philosophy, practical philosophy, and more are made available here in a way unmatched [by any other collection].  What makes Reisman and McGinnis' anthology all the more valuable are the glossaries.  These are a very nice touch, very valuable tools for students.  The Introduction is written at a level appropriate for undergraduates and graduate students . . . . Their efforts at keeping it readable are appreciated. . . . Teachers not expert in the area will find it valuable as a guide for their students. . . . Certainly this book is far superior to anything currently available.  It is suitable for adoption not only for courses in Arabic philosophy but also for any general courses in medieval philosophy."
     —Richard C. Taylor, Marquette University

"Finally, a good reader in Arabic philosophy.  It covers a wide range of texts, [and] offers translations of texts inaccessible in English and at times in any Modern language.  It does include authors who are not well-known but are very important.  The Introduction says much in a few lines.  The translations are careful and precise, suitable for serious philosophical work.  A must!"
     —Thérèse-Anne Druart, School of Philosophy, The Catholic University of America

"The anthology produced by Jon McGinnis and David Reisman is a welcome development because it makes accessible a range of key texts covering the spread of philosophical concern in the "classical" period of philosophy in Islam.  As they are both Arabists and medievalists with a philosophical training, they have successfully rendered philosophical Arabic into a sophisticated English idiom accessible to students in Islamic thought, medieval studies, and the history of philosophy.
     "In a growing field of study with a paucity of available primary sources in translation, this anthology is greatly welcome and will no doubt become the standard text used in many medieval philosophy, Islamic philosophy, and religious studies courses.  The translations are fluent, sophisticated, and well supported with endnotes on the Arabic textual emendations and footnotes referring to the wider ancient and medieval context.  A useful bibliography is appended, as is a quite excellent glossary of terms, Arabic-English and vice versa."
     —Sajjad H. Rizvi, University of Exeter

"[O]ne should, indeed, must now use the book in the field, Classical Arabic Philosophy, edited by Jon McGinnis and David Reisman (Hackett, 2007).  This book is sure to become a classic in the field, and will replace the Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook, edited by Ralph Lerner and Muhsin Mahdi.  This book presents sections of important texts from the major philosophers that have written in Arabic.  In Classical Arabic Philosophy, these texts have been retranslated or edited, some published in English for the first time.  The editors are to be congratulated on this work, as it serves as an important milestone in the study of Islamic philosophy in English.  We commend Hackett for publishing such an important work."
     —Journal of Islamic Philosophy

Contents:

Preface.

Introduction:
     I. Falsafa and the Arabic Translation Movement.
     II. The Intellectual World of the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean.
     III. The Physical Theory and Cosmology of Islamic Speculative Theology (Kalam).

Chapter 1: al-Kindi:
     I. The Explanation of the Proximate Efficient Cause for Generation and Corruption.
     II. On the Intellect.
     III. On Divine Unity and the Finitude of the World's Body.
     IV. The One True and Complete Agent and the Incomplete Metaphorical "Agent".
     V. On the Means of Dispelling Sorrows.

Chapter 2: ar-Razi:
     I. The Philosopher's Way of Life.
     II. On the Five Eternals.
     III. Selections from Doubts against Galen.

Chapter 3: al-Farabi:
     I. The Eisagoge—The Introduction.
     II. Selections from Book of Demonstration.
     III. On the Intellect.
     IV. The Aims of Aristotle's Metaphysics.
     V. The Principles of Existing Things.
     VI. Directing Attention to the Way of Happiness.

Chapter 4: The Baghdad Peripatetics:
     I. Abu Bishr Mattá: Selections from Commentary on Aristotle's Physics.
     II. Yahya ibn Adi: Selection from Establishing the Nature of the Possible.
     III. Abu Sulayman as-Sijistani: Selection from On the Proper Perfection of the Human Species.

Chapter 5: Ibn Sina:
     I. The Cure, "Book of Demonstration," I.9.
     II. The Cure, "Book of Demonstration," III.5.
     III. The Cure, "Physics," I.2.
     IV. Selections on Atomism from The Cure, "Physics."
     V. Selections on "Inclination" (mayl) and Projectile Motion.
     VI. Selections on Psychology from The Cure, "The Soul."
     VII. The Salvation, "Metaphysics," I.12.
     VIII. The Salvation, "Metaphysics," II.1-5.
     IX. The Salvation, "Metaphysics," II.12-13.
     X. The Salvation, "Metaphysics," II.18-19.
     XI. The Cure, "Metaphysics," IV.2.
     XII. On Governance.

Chapter 6: al-Ghazali:
     I. Concerning That on Which True Demonstration Is Based.
     II. The Incoherence of the Philosophers, "The First Discussion," On Refuting Their Claim of the World's Eternity.
     III. On Power.

Chapter 7: Ibn Bajja:
     I. Selection from Commentary on Aristotle's Physics.
     II. Conjunction of the Intellect with Man.

Chapter 8: Ibn Tufayl:
        Selections from Hayy ibn Yaqzan.

Chapter 9: Ibn Rushd:
     I. Selections from The Incoherence of the Incoherence, "First Discussion."
     II. The Decisive Treatise.
     III. Commentary on Metaphysics, Zeta 9.
     IV. Selections from Long Commentary On the Soul, Book III.
     V. Commentary on Metaphysics, Delta 7.

Chapter 10: as-Suhrawardi:
         Selections from The Philosophy of Illumination.

Textual Notes.
Bibliography.
Glossary/Index: English/Arabic.
Glossary/Index: Arabic/English.

About the Authors:

Jon McGinnis is Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Missouri St. Louis.

David C. Reisman is Associate Professor of Arabic-Islamic Thought, University of Illinois, Chicago.