The Influence of Plato and Aristotle on Alfarabi
Alfarabi was the first philosopher to attempt to unite political philosophy with Islam. Alfarabi is important because he was able to recover the classical political tradition of Aristotle and Plato and place it within the context of Islamic religious principles. Despite the fact that there is general consensus amongst scholars that Alfarabi clearly draws from Plato in his interpretation of the philosopher-king, there is disagreement over the extent to which the appearance of Aristotle’s citizen in Alfarabi’s work modifies this philosopher-king and whether or not there is an active role for the citizen. Although Alfarabi never explicitly states how his citizen should function within a political or social context, this paper seeks to draw from different claims made within his works to provide an interpretation of the role of Alfarabi’s citizen.
Franklin and Marshall College Archives, Undergraduate Honors Thesis 2008
- F&M Theses Collection