Abstract
In his political treatise, Mabadi ara ahl al-madina al-fadhila, Abu Nasr Alfarabi, the medieval Muslim philosopher, proposes a theory of virtuous city which, according to prominent scholars, is modeled on Plato’s utopia of the Republic. No doubt that Alfarabi was well-versed in the philosophy of Plato and the basic framework of his theory of city is platonic. However, his theory of city is not an exact reproduction of the Republic’s theory and, despite glaring similarities, the two theories do differ in many aspects. In both, Alfarabi’s Mabadi ara ahl al-madina al-fadhila and Plato’s Republic, the theory of virtuous city is accompanied by a theory of the soul. Since the theory of soul plays a foundational role in both theories of the virtuous city, the present article intends to provide an explanation for the differences between the two theories of the city in terms of the differences between the two theories of the soul.
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Notes
There are multiple writings of Alfarabi, such as the Political Regime and the Attainment of Happiness, that deal with the Platonic theme of the best city and contend for a comparison with the works of Plato. However, the present article mainly focuses on the Virtuous City. Other works of Alfarabi are occasionally referred to for explanatory purpose.
On ninth century Arabic version of the Republic, cf. Walzer 1985, p. 426.
Melamed argues that late Hellenists preferred Plato’s Republic to Aristotle’s Politics as a basic textbook on politics. This is evident from the fact that there is not even a single commentary on Aristotle’s Politics dating from that time. Since the medieval Muslim thinkers inherited the same manuscripts to which late Hellenists inclined, Plato’s Republic could reach them but Aristotle’s Politics couldn't. However, even if we keep the question of availability aside, the medieval Muslim philosophers would still have preferred Plato’s Republic as it suited their theological and philosophical world view better. For further details see Melamed 2003, pp. 1–2.
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Ali, I., Qin, M. City and Soul in Plato and Alfarabi: An Explanation for the Differences Between Plato’s and Alfarabi’s Theory of City in Terms of Their Distinct Psychology. Axiomathes 30, 91–105 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-019-09439-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-019-09439-w