A Brief Introduction to Arabic Philosophy

I'm an American so if you mention something about or ask me about Western philosophers I would probably be familiar with what or who you are talking about and might even be able to answer the question asked. However, if you ask me about Arab philosophers you will get nothing but a blank stare. That's the reaction you would have gotten before I wrote this article. Now if you ask me I might be able to engage in a short conversation with you.

I don't know why we never studied Arab philosophers in school. After all, wasn't it the Arabs who invented Algebra? They're smart people. Surely we could learn from them. Or … maybe they are just like all of the philosophers in Western civilization. They theorize and philosophize and don't really come up with any answers to anything. Maybe my teachers thought: Eh! You study one philosopher, you've studied them all. LOL.

Anyway, one of my New Year Resolutions is to try to learn new things that I have no familiarity with. I knew nothing about Arab philosophers. But now I know a little bit and I will share it with you.

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When you tackle a topic like this the best place to start your research is in a reputable and reliable encyclopedia like the Encyclopedia Brittanica. A perusal of several EB articles revealed the following eye-opening facts:

~ Islamic philosophy and Arabic philosophy, are phrases that are used interchangeably and the beginning of the philosophical movements in the Islamic world dates back to the 9th century.

~ Arabic philosophy combined the Western philosophies of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam.

~ Al-Kindī is honored as being the first Muslim philosopher. He was known as “the philosopher of the Arabs”. How did he know so much about Western philosophy? Because he was appointed by the Abbasid Caliphs to work alongside his contemporaries, and translate Greek philosophical and scientific works into Arabic.

~ An important distinction must be made between Islamic philosophy versus Islamic theology (or religion). That distinction is that … it is very similar to Western philosophy in that the philosophers sort of try to eliminate God or Divine Intervention from the picture and rely on non-religious secular human reasoning and science to explain TRUTH and the UNIVERSE.

~ In addition to Al-Kindī, others who made significant contributions to Arabic philosophy in the medieval Islamic world include: al-Farabi and Avicenna (Persia); Averroës (Andalusian Spain); and Ibn Khaldūn (Egypt).

~ Curiously, Christian and Jewish thinkers also participated in and influenced the Islamic or Arabic philosophical movements.

~ The first period from the 9th to the 12th (or 14th) century is referred to as classical or early Islamic philosophy. After that time, interest in the movement declined due to lack of supporters. However, there were and are still those who pursued a course of philosophical study to this day.

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The articles in the Encyclopedia Brittanica provided a great introduction to Islamic/Arabic philosophy. 

Additionally, I would like to recommend one more article published via Encyclopedia.com which is a much easier read. Arabian Philosophy | Encyclopedia.com.


This is my stopping point.

If you know more about this topic, please share.

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