Method, Structure, and Development in al-Farabi's Cosmology.

AuthorNetton, Ian Richard
PositionBook review

Method, Structure, and Development in al-Farabi's Cosmology. By DAMIEN JANOS. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, vol. 85. Leiden: Brill, 2012. Pp. xiv + 433. $221. 166 [euro].

The study of al-Farabi has become a veritable industry. Damien Janos acknowledges as much when he observes, "The scholarship on al-Farabi is increasing rapidly, and it is difficult to keep track of all the new studies being published on this fascinating and enigmatic thinker" (p. xi). The observation is clearly made with some feeling.

Janos's book is his rewritten and modified McGill 2009 Ph.D. thesis. Endeavoring to do his revision was difficult for two reasons: firstly, this plethora of works emanating--to use an apposite term!--from scholars of Islamic philosophy worldwide, and, secondly, the fact that "virtually every aspect of al-Farabfs philosophical system is the object of controversy or serious disagreement among scholars" (p. xi). To give just one example, he notes that "the classification proposed by Mahdi appears arbitrary, and it is also on these grounds that one should regard Druart's otherwise compelling interpretation of al-Farabi's metaphysics with some skepticism" (pp. 314-15). In the light of such perceived differences one does, indeed, begin to wonder whether, in this case, difference of opinion is a sign of the mercy of God or mere confusion. I do not propose to enter the arena of such differences but rather to show what makes Janos's work different, to identify his aims, and, within his own set parameters, to disclose the elements of his success. Where appropriate I have used Janos's own words to highlight the way in which he has built a magisterial contribution to Farabian studies.

In one chapter of my own volume entitled Allah Transcendent (Routledge, 1989), I characterized our medieval Islamic philosopher as one who was in search of order. I suggested that this "search for order proceeded on two main fronts: political and theological" and I went on to examine our author's writings and philosophy with regard to such concepts as the attributes of God, essence and existence, emanation, and proofs for the existence of God. I was particularly intrigued by his use of emanation and his emanationist hierarchy.

That was just one way of "doing" al-Farabi, however. There have been many and diverse others. Janos perceives the need for a completely fresh approach. Noting that al-Farabi's "cosmology has not yet been the object of a specialized...

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