Method, structure, and development in al-Fārābi's cosmology / by Damien Janos.

• Superior document: Islamic philosophy, theology, and science, v. 85
• Author: Janos, Damien.
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Islamic philosophy, theology, and science ; v. 85.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (447 p.)
• Notes: Based on the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--McGill University, 2009.

This study—the first monograph devoted exclusively to al-Fārābī’s cosmology—provides a new interpretation of this thinker’s philosophical development through an analysis of the Greek and Arabic sources and a contextualization of his life and thought in the cultural and intellectual milieu of his time. It discusses key cosmological and metaphysical concepts articulated in his works, with a special focus on celestial causation, intellection, and motion. This book also examines al-Fārābī’s cosmological method and particularly the connection between astronomy, physics, and metaphysics. The result is a reassessment of al-Fārābī’s cosmology vis-à-vis late-antique Greek philosophical trends and a clearer understanding of how it creatively adapted and transformed this legacy to establish a new cosmological paradigm in Arabic thought.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Cosmology, the Sciences, and the Scientific Method -- The Architecture of the Heavens: Intellects, Souls, and Orbs -- Matter and Creation: A Shift in Paradigms? -- The Aporia of Celestial Motion -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- Bibliography -- Index.