A Study Of The Political Philosophy Of Alfarabi

Abu Nasr Alfarabi is the most prominent medieval Muslim philosopher.There are two noteworthy medieval Muslim philosophers,Al-Kindi and Al-Razi,who preceded Alfarabi but they were eclectic and rhapsodic in their discussion and did not contribute substantially towards the systematization of philosophical thought.Therefore,it is Alfarabi who is considered to be the first systematic Muslim philosopher.The scope of Alfarabi's study is vast as he has produced works related to varied fields of knowledge including logic,physics,meteorology,astrology,Alchemy,music,metaphysics,psychology,ethics and politics.The present dissertation,however,mainly focusses on his political philosophy.He has produced three major works that contain his political philosophy:Political Regime,Book of Religion and Principles of the Views of the Citizens of the Virtuous City.Among these works,however,this dissertation will mainly focus on the Principles of the Views of the Citizens of the Virtuous City as it is Alfarabi's most comprehensive,mature and representative political writing.For the sake of convenience,Alfarabi's Principles of the Views of the Citizens of the Virtuous City will be referred to as Ara.The review of current literature indicates that almost all the prominent scholars suggest that Alfarabi has borrowed his political philosophy from Plato especially that of the Republic.The transmission of Greek philosophical thought to the medieval Muslim world owes mainly to the extensive program of the translation of Greek texts into Arabic that was carried out between the eighth and the tenth centuries largely in Baghdad.As a result of this translation movement,most of the works of Greek philosophers including Plato's Republic were translated into Arabic and made available to the medieval Muslim philosophers such as Alfarabi.Thus,Plato's Republic was accessible to Alfarabi in Arabic translation.He not only had a deep knowledge of the Republic but was also influenced by it to the extent that he incorporated several Platonic elements in his political philosophy.After the dissertation is introduced in the first chapter,the second chapter traces the Platonic elements in the political philosophy of Alfarabi in the form of the similarities between the theory of virtuous city of Plato and Alfarabi that have led the scholars to suggest that Alfarabi has borrowed his political philosophy from Plato.In addition to the similarities,however,this dissertation also points out some crucial differences between Plato's and Alfarabi's theory of virtuous city in the second chapter which have not received enough attention so far.Although it is agreed that there are certain obvious similarities between the political philosophy of Plato and Alfarabi,this dissertation also suggests that calling the political philosophy of Alfarabi Platonic is an incomplete assessment of Alfarabi's political philosophy as,in addition to the similarities,there some glaring differences between the political philosophy of Alfarabi and Plato that cannot be ignored.A new interpretation of the political philosophy of Alfarabi and its relation to the political philosophy of Plato is provided in which the theoretical philosophy and the historical context of Alfarabi are understood as closely interwoven and integral part of his political philosophy and the reason behind the differences between the political philosophy of Alfarabi and Plato.Like Plato's Republic,Alfarabi's political writings including Ara do not exclusively deal with politics.In addition to the political philosophy,Ara contains Alfarabi's theoretical philosophy which includes his metaphysics and psychology.The metaphysics of Alfarabi is largely Neoplatonic in nature and considerably different from the metaphysics of Plato's Republic.During the translation movement,some Neoplatonic texts were also translated into Arabic and the Arabic translations and summaries of the works of Plato and Aristotle were read together with the Neoplatonic texts such as the Theology of Aristotle(a version of Plotinus' Enneads IV-VI),the Liber de causis(a version of parts of Proclus' Elements of Theology)and other Neoplatonic texts by Porphyry,Simplicius,Philoponus,and others,some of which indeed have survived only in Arabic translation.Alfarabi was greatly influenced by these Neoplatonic writings and he adopted the Neoplatonic metaphysics.As far as the psychology of Alfarabi is concerned,it is largely Aristotelian.Scholars claim that Alfarabi and other medieval Muslim philosophers based their political discussions on Plato's Republic,not on Aristotle's Politics because Aristotle's Politics could not reach them.While it might be possible that Aristotle's Politics was not available to Alfarabi,there is no doubt that Aristotle's psychology was accessible to him and he was fully conversant with it and adopted it.It is proposed that the metaphysics,psychology and the historical context of Alfarabi are closely connected with his political philosophy and any assessment of the political philosophy of Alfarabi and its relation to the political philosophy of Plato would be inaccurate if it does not factor in his metaphysics,psychology and historical context.It is suggested that since metaphysics,psychology and historical context play an important role in the political philosophy of Alfarabi as well as Plato,the differences between their metaphysics,psychology and historical context are responsible for the difference between their political philosophy.After pointing out the similarities and the differences between the political philosophy of Alfarabi and Plato in the second chapter,the third chapter distinguishes the political philosophy of Alfarabi from that of Plato in light of Alfarabi's unique historical context.Although the political thought of Alfarabi is extensively investigated in relation to its Greek ancestry,very few systematic attempts are made to understand it in light of its historical context.A survey of the three centuries of Muslim history before Alfarabi is provided to see that it is full of civil wars,brutal power struggles,political instability,disintegration,and chaos.It is argued that all these ills stemmed from the absence of a coherent political philosophy.The Muslims failed to find answers to the fundamental questions such as who should rule and exercise authority,what should be the relation between the ruler and the ruled,and what should they try to achieve through association.The political philosophy of Alfarabi,particularly his theory of the virtuous city,can be seen as an answer to these fundamental questions.It is proposed that not only the problem that Alfarabi deals with but also his proposed solution to the problem in the form of his theory of the virtuous city is distinct from that of Plato's Republic.Thus,viewed through the prism of the historical context,Alfarabi's theory of virtuous city appears distinct from that of Plato.The fourth chapter of the dissertation explores the role of the differences between the psychology of Alfarabi and Plato in distinguishing the political philosophy of Alfarabi from that of Plato.The earlier portion of this chapter shows that the coexistence of the theory of soul and the city in Plato's Republic as well as Alfarabi's Ara is neither coincidental nor a casual concurrence of two themes.Rather,the concept of soul serves as a foundation on which Plato and Alfarabi erect their respective theory of perfect association.However,notwithstanding the similar role of the two theories of the soul in the respective theory of the virtuous city,Alfarabi's theory of soul is largely Aristotelian and considerably different from that of Plato's Republic.The crucial role of the theory of the soul in Alfarabi's as well as Plato's theory of the virtuous city makes it affirmative to investigate the extent to which the differences between the two theories of soul necessitate the differences between the two theories of virtuous city.The later part of the chapter,therefore,provides a comparison of Alfarabi's and Plato's theory of the soul and shows that the differences between the two theories of the soul do contribute towards the differences between the two theories of the virtuous city.The fifth chapter of the dissertation deals with the metaphysics of Alfarabi.It shows that Alfarabi's metaphysics is dominantly Neoplatonic and different from the metaphysics of Plato.Although the Neoplatonists are traditionally known for their lack of interest in the political philosophy,Alfarabi has not only adopted the Neoplatonic emanationist cosmology and metaphysics but has also incorporated it into his political philosophy.In Plato as well as Alfarabi,the virtuous city has an intelligible realm which is the source of guidance for the ruler.Alfarabi uses the Neoplatonic metaphysics rather than the Platonic metaphysics to explain the intelligible aspect of his theory of the virtuous city.It highlights the difference between the metaphysical aspect of Alfarabi's and Plato's theory of the virtuous city.At the end of chapter five,it is concluded that the difference in the metaphysics of Alfarabi and Plato distinguishes the political philosophy of Alfarabi from that of Plato.Finally,in the sixth chapter,the argument of dissertation is concluded.In addition to the concluding remarks,an outline of the future work is also provided in this chapter.According to the Chinese government,the objective of the one belt one road initiative is to construct a unified large market and one of the most important tools through which this objective will be achieved is cultural exchange.The cultural exchange involves an exchange of ideas,art,language and other aspects of culture among the member nations to understand their ideals and institutions.It also involves knowing the intellectuals,scholars and philosophers of the member nations and understanding their intellectual,scholarly and philosophical output.One of the significances of this dissertation is that it contributes towards the cultural exchange as it introduces the philosophical thought of Alfarabi,one of the most prominent philosophers of the Arab world,to this part of the world where he is largely unknown.The best way of introducing an unknown is to compare it with the well-known.