An Islamic philosopher, born around 872 in Turkestan and active chiefly in Baghdad and Damascus, known in the Latin West as Alpharabius and called the Second Teacher, after Aristotle the First Teacher, for the range and authority of his logical and metaphysical commentaries. Al-Farabi worked to harmonize Aristotelian and Platonic philosophy with Islamic revelation, and his Al-Madina al-Fadila, The Virtuous City, sets out a political philosophy modeled on Plato's Republic, describing an ideal state ruled by a philosopher-prophet whose rational soul is in direct contact with the Active Intellect. His commentaries were a primary channel through which Aristotelian logic reached later Islamic philosophy, decisively shaping Avicenna, and, through Latin translation, medieval European scholasticism.
Facts
Defining MomentKnown in the Islamic philosophical tradition as "the second master" after Aristotle, for his systematic advancement of logic, political philosophy and metaphysics building on the Aristotelian-Platonic synthesis. 1 Notable PublicationEnumeration of the Sciences (Ihsa' al-'ulum) 1 BirthplaceFarab (also given as Farayb), Central Asia 1 TraditionIslamic philosophy, Aristotelian-Platonic synthesis 2 Disputed
Birth Year872
Sources place his birth in a narrow range, roughly 870 to 872; no exact date is settled. Al-Farabi
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Connections
Associated With
Aristotle, Philosophers Al-Farabi's logical commentaries transmitted and systematized Aristotle's logic for later Islamic philosophy.
Plato, Philosophers Al-Madina al-Fadila directly reworks the political philosophy of Plato's Republic for an Islamic context.
In Branch
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Influenced
Source Avicenna (Wikipedia)
Source Maimonides (Wikipedia)
Influenced By
Source Al-Kindi (Wikipedia)
Traditions Founded
Al-Farabi, honored as the "Second Teacher" after Aristotle, is widely credited as the founder of the Islamic Peripatetic tradition.
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sources
1. al-Farabi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophySection 1: Life, birthplace
probably born in 870 CE (AH 257) in a place called Farab or Farayb
Section 1: Life, death place
died in Damascus in December 950 CE or January 951 CE (AH 339)
Works list: Enumeration of the Sciences
Enumeration of the Sciences
Section 1: Life, reputation
known as 'the second master' (the first one, of course, being Aristotle)
View the Source 2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informations.v. al-FarabiQuote, s.v. al-Farabi
We know little that is really reliable about al-Farabi’s life.
Avicenna (Wikipedia)
WikipediaInfluenced: Avicenna, Metaphysical doctrine sectionQuote, Influenced: Avicenna, Metaphysical doctrine section
The philosophy of Avicenna, particularly that part relating to metaphysics, owes much to al-Farabi.
Al-Kindi (Wikipedia)
WikipediaInfluenced By: Al-Kindi, Philosophy subsection, AccomplishmentsQuote, Influenced By: Al-Kindi, Philosophy subsection, Accomplishments
if it had not been for him, the work of philosophers like al-Farabi, Avicenna, and al-Ghazali might not have been possible.
Maimonides (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)Influenced: Maimonides, Lead section, fifth paragraphQuote, Influenced: Maimonides, Lead section, fifth paragraph
Influenced by Aristotle, al-Farabi, ibn Sina, and his contemporary ibn Rushd, his work as a polymath contributed to the Islamic Golden Age and was regarded highly in many parts of the Muslim world.
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