Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Human social organization is something necessary. The philosophers expressed this fact by saying: 'Man is "political" by nature.'”
Ibn Khaldūn · Historiography / social theory · Medieval · 1377
What does it mean?
People cannot survive alone, so society is not optional.
Did Ibn Khaldūn really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Rosenthal's English. He is quoting the Aristotelian formula, not coining it.
Where it comes from
Muqaddimah, ch. 1, first prefatory discussion, tr. Franz Rosenthal (1958; 1967 ed., vol. 1, p. 89)
Approximate date: 1377.
How to use it
Food, safety, roads: none of it is one person's work.
A mindset reading
Begin social thinking from dependence, not from the lone individual.
Understand the philosophy
He goes on to say society needs a restraining authority, which leads to his theory of rule.
- society
FAQ
What does it mean?
People cannot survive alone, so society is not optional.
Did Ibn Khaldūn really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Rosenthal's English. He is quoting the Aristotelian formula, not coining it.
Which work is it in?
Muqaddimah, ch. 1, first prefatory discussion, tr. Franz Rosenthal (1958; 1967 ed., vol. 1, p. 89) Approximate date: 1377.