History of Philosophy

Philosophy of the Near East

Eastern Philosophy

The early centuries of Islam were marked by vigorous efforts to articulate its doctrines accurately. As Islam spread across the Near East, it encountered neighboring civilizations, including the rich legacy of ancient philosophy from the surrounding Christian lands. Many Muslim thinkers embraced this ancient philosophy, seeking to develop it within the framework of Islam. The result of this philosophical integration was the emergence of Falsafa, a distinct branch of Islamic thought. The term "Falsafa" translates to "philosophy," but it specifically refers to the philosophical and theological ideas closely linked with ancient Greek philosophy. Falsafa represents an attempt to adapt the heritage of ancient philosophy to Islamic doctrine, evolving in two main directions: one in the eastern regions of the Caliphate and the other in Andalusia (modern-day Spain). Aristotle exerted significant influence on both directions. Proponents of Falsafa styled themselves not as creators of a new type of philosophy but as commentators on Aristotle. Despite their claims, their philosophy diverged from Aristotle’s tradition, interpreting his ideas through the lens of Neoplatonism. Thus, Falsafa became a synthesis of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism within an Islamic context.

The first notable figure in Falsafa was Al-Kindi (c. 801—873), known in Europe as Alkindus. In Baghdad, he founded a philosophical school renowned for its translations of ancient philosophers' works into Arabic. Al-Kindi and his students worked diligently on these translations, aiming to harmonize the Quran, Aristotelianism, and Neoplatonism. While Aristotelian teachings on the transcendence of God and Neoplatonic theories of emanation were at odds, Al-Kindi found a way to reconcile them. He adopted the Neoplatonic idea that the world emanates as a successive unfolding from the first substance but introduced a crucial modification: the second substance does not flow from the first but is created by it ex nihilo.

Al-Farabi (872—950/951), known in medieval Europe as Alpharabius, worked in Damascus and was celebrated as "magister secundus" (the second teacher) after Aristotle. Al-Farabi’s focus was on distinguishing essence from existence, arguing that they are not necessarily connected. Essence must be endowed with existence to manifest in reality. For instance, the essence of a table exists in the mind of the craftsman even before the table is made. The craftsman provides existence to the essence when creating the table. If essence and existence were inseparable, all things would be eternal. Al-Farabi used this reasoning to argue for the existence of God as the creator of all things, significantly influencing both Falsafa and European philosophy.

Aristotle’s concept of the Absolute as the unmoved mover and the first cause of all things influenced Al-Farabi’s teachings. Under Neoplatonic influence, Al-Farabi introduced the notion of emanation and a hierarchy of intellects: the first intellect emanates the second, and so forth. However, like Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi distinguished the first intellect from the transcendent Absolute. Emanation occurs among the levels of intellects, beginning with the first, but the first intellect is created by the Absolute. Al-Farabi identified ten stages of emanation, a number symbolic to Pythagoreans and Platonists. Through these ten levels, he sought to explain the diversity of existence, with each level comprising a triad of intellect, spirit, and sphere of being. The tenth and lowest intellect is simultaneously the Universal Adam, embodying the ideal human essence.

Muslim philosophers inherited Aristotle’s division of the intellect into the active (which apprehends things and generates knowledge) and the passive (which retains and applies knowledge). For Al-Farabi, the passive intellect is the individual intellect of each person, while the active intellect is shared by all and represents the universal human essence. Analogous to his ontology, Al-Farabi developed a political system, categorizing cities and countries as either virtuous or flawed, with virtuous ones governed by philosopher-kings and priests.

Avicenna (980—1037), also known as Ibn Sina, was both a physician and philosopher. Unlike his predecessors Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi, Avicenna did not accept the distinction between necessary and contingent being. For them, God is a necessary being, existing always and necessarily, as existence is intrinsic to His essence. The world, with its diversity, does not have to exist; it exists because God bestowed the attribute of existence upon it. Avicenna argued, however, that since the world is created by God and God’s attributes cannot be separated from His essence, the creative attribute is intrinsic to God. Thus, if God is essentially a creator, He could not but create. Therefore, the world must exist eternally, making it necessary being alongside God. The first act of creation, according to Avicenna, was God's self-awareness.

God cannot remain in ignorance. To know, one must possess intellect; thus, knowledge is the actualization of intellect. As soon as God began to know Himself, He actualized His intellect. Thus, alongside the Absolute, a new reality emerged—the Intellect. However, the Intellect is not something separate from God; it is merely the first expression of God. Every intellect contains thoughts; otherwise, it is not an intellect. The Divine Intellect also contains thoughts. Avicenna distinguished between the Intellect as a principle and the Intellect as a collection of thoughts, referring to them as the First Intellect and the Second Intellect, respectively.

The Second Intellect generates the Soul, which in its essence is an impulse for the realization of the Intellect’s designs. The realization of these impulses constitutes the corresponding sphere of existence. The awareness of this realization creates the Third Intellect, which in turn generates a Soul and a sphere of its own being. Thus, ten Intellects come into being. Avicenna adopted the concept of ten Intellects from Al-Farabi but refined and clarified it in a much clearer form. This doctrine flourished among Avicenna’s followers in Asia but faced devastating criticism from Averroes.

Each successive level of Intellect loses its creative potential. The Tenth Intellect is no longer capable of giving existence to anything else. Each of Avicenna’s Intellects, including the Tenth, is an active intellect that creates knowledge. As each Intellect emanates, those of lower levels have progressively less capacity to generate knowledge. What emanates from the Tenth Intellect can no longer be called being; it is merely shadows of being, dispersing into multiplicity. The more perfect manifestations of the Tenth Intellect are human souls, while the less perfect are material things. Human souls do not create knowledge but merely participate in the Tenth Intellect. Thus, each Intellect is an active intellect, while the human intellect is passive, capable only of retransmitting the contents of the active intellect.

The human intellect cannot abstract from material things. It can only rise above the material sphere through a special glimpse of the higher Intellects, which is possible only through mystical revelation. Avicenna believed that the highest glimpse of the higher spheres of being is prophecy. Therefore, prophets reveal truths that ordinary intellects cannot grasp.