History of Philosophy

Philosophy of the Near East

Definition

The Near East is the cradle of ancient civilization, culture, and education. This region is the birthplace of numerous distinctive civilizations, including the Egyptians, Jews, Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Persians, and Arabs, each of which developed its own worldview and philosophical stance. The philosophical achievements of these peoples are not always found in standard philosophy textbooks, as their philosophy was often deeply intertwined with religion. Consequently, these contributions are more frequently explored in religious studies or cultural studies. However, in recent decades, there has been a growing body of research into Egyptian, Persian, Sumerian-Babylonian, and other philosophies. One of the first challenges scholars face when studying these topics is the limited number of recorded sources (as essential knowledge was typically transmitted orally) and the vast temporal gap separating these cultures from their modern researchers. Nevertheless, interest in these subjects is likely to yield fruitful results.

Not all Near Eastern philosophical traditions have vanished into obscurity. The Muslim-Arab and Jewish philosophical traditions are well-known and have persisted, primarily because Islam and Judaism have continued to exist from their inception to the present day. The Muslim philosophical tradition began with the emergence of Islam. The preaching of the Prophet Muhammad and the cultural influences of Antiquity, which entered the Muslim world through Christians, sparked the philosophical discourse within Islam. The most active period of Muslim philosophy occurred in the early centuries of Islam, when the religion was establishing its philosophical and theological tradition. This era saw the development of the main currents of Islamic philosophical and theological thought: Kalam, Falsafa, and Ishraqism. This philosophical-theological tradition of Islam is also referred to as Arab philosophy. Despite many of its philosophers not being Arabs, this designation is accurate since they wrote in Arabic. Arabic is also the language of the Quran, making it the language of communication among Muslim intellectuals.

The second major Near Eastern philosophical tradition developed within Judaism during its encounter with ancient and medieval cultures. The dispersion of Jews across the empires of Alexander and Rome allowed them to engage closely with the cultural heritage of these civilizations. Consequently, Jewish philosophical schools emerged at the intersection of the Bible and Western philosophy. Given the influence of ancient and medieval thought on the philosophical traditions of Islam and Judaism, it can be asserted that these traditions are closer to Western philosophy than to the philosophical traditions of the Far East.