The Philosopher Responds : : An Intellectual Correspondence from the Tenth Century, Volume Two / / Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh, Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī; ed. by Bilal Orfali, Maurice A. Pomerantz.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter New York University Press Complete eBook-Package 2019
• VerfasserIn: al-Tawḥīdī, Abū Ḥayyān,; Miskawayh, Abū ʿAlī,
• TeilnehmendeR: Montgomery, James E.; Vasalou, Sophia.
• HerausgeberIn: Orfali, Bilal,; Pomerantz, Maurice A.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : New York University Press, , [2019]; ©2019
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Library of Arabic Literature ; 24
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

Questions and answers from two great philosophersWhy is laughter contagious? Why do mountains exist? Why do we long for the past, even if it is scarred by suffering? Spanning a vast array of subjects that range from the philosophical to the theological, from the philological to the scientific, The Philosopher Responds is the record of a set of questions put by the litterateur Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi to the philosopher and historian Abu 'Ali Miskawayh. Both figures were foremost contributors to the remarkable flowering of cultural and intellectual life that took place in the Islamic world during the reign of the Buyid dynasty in the fourth/tenth century. The correspondence between al-Tawhidi and Miskawayh holds a mirror to many of the debates and preoccupations of the time and reflects the spirit of rationalistic inquiry that animated their era. It also provides insight into the intellectual outlooks of two thinkers who were divided as much by their distinctive temperaments as by the very different trajectories of their professional careers. Alternately whimsical and tragic, wondering and brooding, trivial and profound, al-Tawhidi’s questions provoke an interaction as interesting in its spiritedness as in its content. This new edition of The Philosopher Responds is accompanied by the first full-length English translation of this important text, bringing this interaction to life for the English reader.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Letter from the General Editor -- Table of Contents -- Map: Buyid and Neighbouring Lands -- On the influence of companions on a person’s character and on the benefits of companionship -- On why people scorn certain forms of ostentatious demeanor and why individuals aren’t simply allowed to do as they please -- On what the soul seeks in this world and on the nature of human beings -- On the nature and attributes of God -- On why people experience fear in the absence of an apparent cause -- On why people fly into a rage when they can’t open a lock -- On why people with small heads have light brains -- On certain beliefs concerning the relation between a person’s facial hair and his character -- On why people racked by suffering find it easy to face death -- On why people denigrate things they fail to attain and are hostile to things of which they are ignorant -- On why it is easier to make enemies than friends -- On why atheists act morally -- On why some people willingly become the butt of other people’s jokes -- On why people love to occupy positions of eminence -- On why we honor people for the achievements of their ancestors but not those of their progeny -- On why the progeny of illustrious people evince an elevated sense of entitlement and self-importance -- On whether it would be more consistent with the true order of things if all people were honored equally -- On different forms of divination -- On why some people dislike being addressed as “old man” while others relish it -- On why people take comfort from knowing they are not alone in their misfortune -- On the virtues of different nations, such as the Arabs, Byzantines, Persians, and Indians -- On why intelligent people are more susceptible to grief -- On why intrinsic merit and worldly fortune do not coincide -- On the meaning of coincidence -- On the nature of compulsion and choice -- On the reason for the wanderlust experienced by certain people -- On why people desire knowledge, and on the benefits of knowledge -- On why people and other animals respond so powerfully to certain kinds of sounds and musical effects -- On why older people are more liable to hope; on the meaning of “hope” and related terms -- On why women are more jealous than men; on the nature and moral status of jealousy -- On why more people die young than die old -- On why people seek likenesses -- On why we find it easier to represent extreme ugliness in our imagination than exquisite beauty -- On why sudden joy affects people so violently -- On why we experience states of suffering more intensely than states of well-being -- On why seeing someone laughing causes others to laugh -- On why human beings are so attached to the world despite the misfortunes and suffering they experience in it -- On why people say the world would fall to ruin if it weren’t for fools -- On the anxiety experienced by people who have something to hide -- On why we are more likely to heed a preacher who practices what he preaches -- On why Arabs and non-Arabs declare their pedigrees in times of war -- On why people distinguish between different kinds of air, water, and earth, but not different kinds of fire -- On why people feel happier when they unexpectedly obtain something they weren’t seeking than when they obtain what they were seeking -- On why fine edifices fall to ruin when left uninhabited -- On why men of sublime character beget knaves -- On why our longing for home grows more intense the nearer we come to it -- On the meaning of the dictum that judgement sleeps while passion keeps watch -- On a remark concerning logic made by the dialectical theologian Abū Hāshim to the philosopher Abū Bishr Mattā -- On why some Arabic words are feminine and others masculine -- On whether a human being could know everything -- On why new incumbents are harsh toward the officials they replace -- On why human beings are considered to be orphans after losing their father rather than their mother -- On why chess is so hard to master -- On why people dislike changing their name or patronymic, and why they have a sense of aversion toward certain names and titles -- On the mannerisms of people whose mind is preoccupied, and on why people have so many different ways of behaving when they feel anxious or unhappy -- On different ways of approaching God’s attributes -- On why we find it easier to remember what is correct than what is defective -- On why prosodists tend to produce flat poetry -- On the meaning of the dictum that the learned live longer than the ignorant -- On why it is harder to speak eloquently than to write eloquently -- On the significance of the fact that human beings are the only animals to stand upright -- On why certainty is less enduring than doubt -- On why we laugh harder when a person keeps a straight face -- On the meaning of the scholars’ proposition that a rare instance attracts no ruling -- On the possibility of certain kinds of coincidences obtaining -- On the role of analogical reasoning in the linguistic sciences -- On whether God created the world for a cause -- On why a life of comfort makes people feel oppressed and leads them to behave wantonly -- On why some things are best when they’re new and others are best when old -- On why people who display great piety are prone to arrogance -- On why a warm manner is more pleasing than a cold benefaction -- On why those closest to a king are less inclined to prattle about his person than those at the farthest remove from him -- On Ibn Sālim al-Baṣrī’s claim that God perceived the world while it was nonexistent -- On why the poets love to dwell on the apparitions that come to them in their sleep -- On why people are reluctant to advertise their merits -- On the relative merits of verse as against prose -- On why people feel oppressed when things are prohibited to them -- On why preachers are affected by stage fright when addressing large audiences -- On the anxiety that affects onlookers when they see preachers affected by stage fright -- On why we hate hearing the same thing twice -- On whether the religious Law can conflict with human reason -- On a remark made by Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb concerning the possibility of uttering something that is completely false versus something completely true -- On why excellent souls find repose in the truth and find falsehood repugnant -- On a question put by Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb concerning why animals are generated inside plants but plants are not generated inside animals -- On the nature of alchemy and why people are so enamoured of it -- On a question put by Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb concerning the difference between the words “indeterminable” and “impenetrable” -- On the disagreements between jurists -- On why people despise kings who are governed by pleasure and fear kings governed by reason -- On the physical reactions people exhibit when listening to music -- On why liars often tell the truth but not the reverse, and on whether habits can change -- On certain popular sayings -- On the distinction between different forms of divination -- On why there are four categories for inquiry: whether, what, which, and why -- On the nonexistent -- On why a physician rejoices at the recovery of his patient -- On why money is made of silver and gold and not other substances -- On the specific time when the soul attaches itself to the body -- On whether souls can recollect what they used to know after leaving the body -- On why mountains exist -- On why there are three souls -- On why the sea is located on a particular side of the earth -- On why seawater is salty -- On how we can see things in our sleep without an organ of sense perception -- On a puzzle concerning the possibility of seeking something we do not know -- On why it does not snow in the summer -- On the proof for the existence of angels -- On what justifies the suffering of children and non-rational animals -- On why it takes us longer to hear thunder than to see lightning -- On the possibility that a person may abandon every belief he adopts ad infinitum -- Notes -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Further Reading -- Index -- About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute --

About the Typefaces -- Titles Published by the Library of Arabic Literature -- About the Editor–Translators