Philosophy written in Arabic and in the Islamic world represents one of the great traditions of Western philosophy. Inspired by Greek philosophical works and the indigenous ideas of Islamic theology, Arabic philosophers from the ninth century onwards put forward ideas of great philosophical and historical importance. This collection of essays, by some of the leading scholars in Arabic philosophy, provides an introduction to the field by way of chapters devoted to individual thinkers (such as al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes) or groups, especially during the ´classical´ period from the ninth to the twelfth centuries. It also includes chapters on areas of philosophical inquiry across the tradition, such as ethics and metaphysics. Finally, it includes chapters on later Islamic thought, and on the connections between Arabic philosophy and Greek, Jewish, and Latin philosophy. The volume also includes a useful bibliography and a chronology of the most important Arabic thinkers.
Contents: 1. Introduction Peter Adamson and Richard C. Taylor; 2. Greek into Arabic: neoplatonism in translation Cristina D´Ancona; 3. Al-Kindi and the reception of Greek philosophy Peter Adamson; 4. Al-Farabi and the philosophical curriculum David Reisman; 5. The Isma´ilis Paul Walker; 6. Avicenna and the Avicennian tradition Robert Wisnovsky; 7. Al-Gazali Michael E. Marmura; 8. Philosophy in Andalusia: Ibn Bajja and Ibn Tufayl Josep Puig Montada; 9. Averroes: religious dialectic and Aristotelian philosophical thought Richard C. Taylor; 10. Suhrawardi and illuminationism John Walbridge; 11. Mysticism and philosophy: Obn ´Arabi and Mulla Sadra Sajjad H. Rizvi; 12. Logic Tony Street; 13. Ethical and political philosophy Charles E. Butterworth; 14. Natural philosophy Marwan Rashed; 15. Psychology: soul and intellect Deborah L. Black; 16. Metaphysics Therese-Anne Druart; 17. Islamic philosophy and Jewish philosophy Steven Harvey; 18. Arabic into Latin: the reception of Arabic philosophy into Western Europe Charles Burnett; 19. Recent trends in Arabic and Persian philosophy Hossein Ziai.