Philosophers

Al-Farabi

al-fah-RAH-bee

Also Known As Alpharabius

Citation Formats

General Reference

Philosophy Atlas. "Al-Farabi." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://philosophy.interactiveatlas.org/philosophers/al-farabi.

APA Style

Philosophy Atlas. (n.d.). Al-Farabi. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://philosophy.interactiveatlas.org/philosophers/al-farabi

BibTeX

@misc{philosophyatlas-al-farabi,
  author = {Philosophy Atlas},
  title = {Al-Farabi},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://philosophy.interactiveatlas.org/philosophers/al-farabi},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

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 Moment

Known 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 Publication

Enumeration of the Sciences (Ihsa' al-'ulum) 1

Death Year

950 2

Birthplace

Farab (also given as Farayb), Central Asia 1

Death Place

Damascus 1

Tradition

Islamic philosophy, Aristotelian-Platonic synthesis 2

Disputed

Birth Year