On the transmission of Greek philosophy to medieval Muslim philosophers

Abstract

There are two dominant approaches towards understanding medieval Muslim philosophy: (1) Greek ancestry approach and (2) religiopolitical context  approach. In the Greek ancestry approach, medieval Muslim philosophy is interpreted in terms of its relation to classical Greek philosophy, particularly to  the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. The religiopolitical context approach, however, views a thorough understanding of the religious and political  situation of that time as the key to the proper understanding of medieval Muslim philosophy. Notwithstanding the immense significance of the two  approaches for understanding medieval Muslim philosophy, the question on the reason behind medieval Muslim philosophers’ preference for Plato’s  Republic over Aristotle’s Politics in political philosophy is not accurately answered. This preference is usually attributed either to the availability or  unavailability of the text or to the suitability or unsuitability of the text for Islamic theological views. However, this article shows that neither the  availability or unavailability of text nor its suitability or unsuitability for Islamic religious and theological views can appropriately explain medieval Muslim  philosophers’ preference for Plato’s Republic over Aristotle’s Politics in their political thought. This article proposes that the key to understand this  preference lies in understanding the transmission of Greek philosophy to medieval Muslim philosophers.

Contribution: This study highlights the  significance of the thorough understanding of the transmission of Greek philosophy to medieval Muslim world as one of the important approaches  towards proper understanding of medieval Muslim philosophy, particularly medieval Muslim political philosophy.