The virtuous city is the one whose people cooperate to reach true happiness; cities that aim at wealth, honour or pleasure mistake their goal.
al-Fārābī · Islamic Neoplatonism / Aristotelianism (falsafa)
societyhappinessjustice
Summary
Philosopher
Last reviewed:
al-Fārābī
c. 870–950 · Islamic Neoplatonism / Aristotelianism (falsafa) · Medieval
Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī was called 'the Second Teacher', after Aristotle, for his work on logic. Working in Baghdad and later Aleppo and Damascus, he argued that logic is a universal grammar of thought that stands above the grammar of any single language. In The Virtuous City he joined Plato's Republic to Islamic ideas: the best city is ruled by a philosopher-prophet and aims at the true happiness of its citizens, while cities of wealth, honour or pleasure go astray.
Read more
He held that religion presents in symbols the truths philosophy states in demonstration.
Summary card only.
Start here
The Virtuous City, tr. Walzer, chapters on the ruler and the ignorant cities.
His political philosophy in brief.
Quotations
Key ideas
Logic above language
Logic is to thought what grammar is to words, but universal.
The virtuous city
A good society aims at citizens' true happiness, led by wisdom.
Philosophy and religion
Religion expresses truths in images that philosophy states in proofs.
Major works
The Principles of the Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City (c. 942–950)
Tr. Richard Walzer.
Enumeration of the Sciences (10th century)
Map of knowledge.
Influences
Influenced
Common misreadings
- Saying religion uses symbols is not saying religion is false.
- He is not just Plato in Arabic; the prophetic ruler is his own move.
Famous lines al-Fārābī never said
None of the lines this library files for al-Fārābī is marked Questionable or Misattributed. That is only a fact about these cards. It is not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
FAQ
What is the best book to start with?
The Virtuous City, tr. Walzer, chapters on the ruler and the ignorant cities. His political philosophy in brief.
What is the most famous quote?
This library does not measure fame, and it does not rank lines by how often they are shared. The first line it files for al-Fārābī that is not marked Questionable or Misattributed is “The virtuous city is the one whose people cooperate to reach true happiness; cities that aim at wealth, honour or pleasure mistake their goal.” (The Virtuous City, ch. 15, summary, Summary).
What is the most misquoted line?
None of the lines this library files for al-Fārābī is marked Misattributed or Questionable. That is a fact about these cards, not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
What is one key idea, in a sentence?
Logic above language: Logic is to thought what grammar is to words, but universal.