Arabic Philosophy
Please choose one of the following topics to write on:
Discuss the relation of philosophy and religion in some or all of the Arabic philosophers we have read. Some questions you might want to consider: Are they compatible or incompatible? Does religion serve philosophy or does philosophy serve religion? Who should study them? How and to whom do they convey information? What role do they serve in society? Then evaluate their arguments. Who do you agree with, and why?
Discuss the relation of the individual to society in some or all of the Arabic philosophers we have read. Some questions you might want to consider: Do individuals need society to attain happiness or does society serve as a distraction? Do different individuals have different needs? Then evaluate these arguments. Who do you agree with, and why?
Describe the ideal city according to al-Farabi and/or Ibn Sina. Topics you might want to cover include the nature of the first ruler and subsequent rulers, the way the society is structured, and the laws and customs the society is governed by. Then evaluate the city. What are its strengths and what problems do you think it might have?
Compare one, or a few, of the pieces we have read to related thinkers. Please stick with the selections we have read when doing this. Good places to look might be: al-Kindi with Epictetus’ Enchiridion; al-Farabi and Ibn Sina with Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, and Aquinas; al-Ghazali and Ibn Tufayl with the Cave Allegory from Plato’s Republic, Augustine’s Confessions or Bonaventure’s Journey of the Mind to God.
