EXCAVATING THE IMAGINATION: THE ARABIC AFTERLIFE OF ARISTOTLE’S PHANTASIA By Jessica L. Radin A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of the Study of Religion University of Toronto @Copyright by Jessica L. Radin 2018 EXCAVATING THE IMAGINATION: THE ARABIC AFTERLIFE OF ARISTOTLE’S PHANTASIA Jessica L. Radin Doctor of Philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto 2018 ABSTRACT : This dissertation focuses on the afterlife of Aristotle’s work on the imagination, specifically in the work of al-Farabi, Ibn Rushd, and Maimonides. Drawing on previous scholarship that has investigated the philosophical and psychological role of the imagination in Aristotle, this dissertation considers the role that Aristotle’s Rhetoric had to play in later Arabic readings of Aristotle. This dissertation demonstrates that it wasthe rich life of Aristotle’s Rhetoric in the Arabic world that lead to a slow-burning association of imagination and politics. For al-Farabi, Ibn Rushd, and Maimonides, the imagination is the psychological feature of human beings that make us susceptible to persuasive speech. Since the images of imagination in human beings are restrained and directed by the rational faculty, they can also be directed, although not restrained, by the power of persuasive speech. The imagination allows human beings to imagine the world differently from the way it is, but at the same time it is not intrinsically capable of ascertaining which future or change is good. But human reason, with its deliberative powers, allows us to distinguish between persuasion based on emotional triggers and habitual desires and the truly remarkable innovations that can stem only from the partnership between imagination and reason. In thought the evolution of the idea of the imagination was linked with an appreciation of Rhetoric , absent in the Latin world, which manifested in concerns about persuasion, manipulation, reactionary potential of the imagination. They turn to reason as a bulwark against the power of desire and anger, and therefore the means by which we can avoid being led entirely by our emotions and the images that they invoke. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I must thank the members of my dissertation committee, who made this project possible. In addition to their critical input, they have all contributed to the direction and focus of my research and development as a scholar. Dr. Kenneth Hart Green has spent over half a decade talking to me, sometimes arguing with me, and in all situations demonstrating that academic discourse is most productive and meaningful when it is imbued throughout with respect. Dr. Amira Mittermaier has helped me navigate the shoals of the dissertation process, and raised questions about my interpretation of Arabic philosophy that, coming from her own specialty, have helped me read these philosophers with fresh eyes. Dr. Clifford Orwin has been a joyous sparring partner and challenger, someone who has reminded me of the detailed accuracy necessary to pull together the evidence for any kind of interesting conclusion – much of the linguistic analysis in this dissertation is the result of my desire, spawned in our conversations, to ensure that the linkage between thinkers is evident and established. Dr. Ruth Marshall has reminded me constantly that though this is a dissertation on classical and medieval philosophy, the implications of my conclusions regarding rhetoric and imagination are important for understanding the modern political landscape. I must thank the entire Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto, particularly Fereshteh Hashemi, Irene Kao, and Marilyn Colaco. Fereshteh knows all and looks after the graduate students as we stumble around blindly – nothing would get done in the Department without her. Irene and Marilyn keep us out of bureaucratic disaster and general bankruptcy. The entire department works to provide its students with the teaching opportunities that can be decisive on the job market, and I cannot thank them enough for the chances they took on me. I have only slowly learned how remarkable a Deparmtent I was privileged to study in – we are a community of scholars, bound together by our joys in our work and that of our colleagues, by the shared tragedies and losses of colleagues, and by care of each other and commitment to scholarship. There are few places left in North American academia where I could say the same. I would also like to thank the Anne Tannenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies. Being a member of the Collaborative Program in Jewish Studies has widened the vistas of my research; not only has the Centre helped fund my research, it is a place where I have come to know colleagues in other departments who I never would have known otherwise. I have been overjoyed at the Centre’s willingness to support my research, be it in Toronto, St. Petersburg, or Beirut There are too many colleagues to list here, each of whom has contributed to my intellectual development and the retention of my sanity of the course of the PhD program. Special thanks for keeping me on-track and human go to Amy Marie Fischer, Rebecca Bartel, Zoe Anthony, and Jairan Gahan. For cutting me down to size as necessary and reminding of the delicacy and importance of language, I thank my colleague-for-life Nimrod Lin. For keeping things in perspective, for reminding me of all the fun that the world has to offer, and for showing me that I’m not the only deadline junkie in graduate school I thank the (hopefully) eternally recurrent Tomek Frydel. A speial thaks is due to Teresa Mercurio and L’Espreso Bar Mercurio. I’ve probably written half of my dissertation under the influence of your coffee and in the shade of your patio. Thank you for being such a welcome space and having such delicious macarons. My family has survived and even learned to joke about my occasionally disappearances into the black hole of research. My mother taught me to recognize and allow insanity when it is happening instead of wasting time pretending things are easy. My father raised me to meet my deadlines no matter what – may I live up iii to his nickname for me, “the unstoppable force.” To my sisters, Lisa and Emmy; I cannot tell you how much your intelligent questions and critiques – whether about my work or the world around us – has made me understand the vital, contemporary nature of this research. Soon you will both be in college, and I can’t wait to see you take on the world. (It doesn’t stand a chance.) Finally, to my partner Mark – there are no words sufficient for all that you have done. This would not exist and be what it is, nor would I be what I am, without you. iv v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS vi ABBREVIATIONS AND NOTES ON PRIMARY TEXTS vii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 11 CHAPTER 2 43 CHAPTER 3 81 CHAPTER 4 116 CONCLUSION 146 APPENDIX 1 151 APPENDIX 2 152 APPENDIX 3 153 BIBLIOGRAPHY 154 vi ABBREVIATIONS OF FREQUENTLY CITED PRIMARY SOURCES DA : Aristotle’s De Anima. Aristotle: De Anima . Trans and commentary by Christopher Shields. Oxford; Clarendon Press, 2016. Aristotle: De Anima . Edited with commentary by Sir David Ross. Oxford; Clarendon Press 1961. [Greek and English] On The Soul . Trans. by W. S. Hett. Loeb Classical Library, Aristotle VIII . Cambridge; Harvard University Press, 1957 (revised from 1936). [Greek and English] All references are to the line numbers in the Loeb Classical edition of the text. Rh : Aristotle’s Rhetoric . Rhetoric . Trans. and commentary by J. H. Freese. Loeb Classical Library, Aristotle XXII . Cambridge; Harvard University Press, 2006 (reprinted from 1926). [Greek and English] Al-Khatabah: al-tarjimah al-‘arabiah al-quadimah. (The Rhetoric: The Ancient Arabic Translation) Compiled and annotated by Abd Al-Rahman Badawi. Beirut; Dar al-Qalam, 1979. [Arabic] All references are to the section and line numbers of the Loeb Classical edition of the texts. Medina : Al-Farabi’s Virtuous City . Ara’ ‘ahl al-madinah al-fadilah . (Opinions of the people of the Virtuous City). Ed. and trans. Richard Walzer. AlFarabi on the Perfect State . Oxford; Clarendon, 1985. [Arabic and English] Ara’ ahl al-medinah al-fadilah , ed. and trans. Amor Cherni, Opinions des habitants de la cité vertueuse . Paris; Darl Albouraq, 2011. [Arabic and French] DT : Ibn Rushd’s Decisive Treatise . Kitab fasl al-maqal wa taqrir ma bein al-shari’ah wa al- hikma min al-ittsal. (The Book of the Decisive Treatise Determining the Connection between the Law and Wisdom.) Translation, introduction and notes by Charles E. Butterworth. Provo, Utah; Brigham Young University Press, 2008. [Arabic and English] Kitab fasl al-maqal (Decisive treatise) with its appendix (Damima) and an extract from Kitab al-kashf al-manahij al-adilla . Edited by George F. Hourani. Leiden, NE; Brill, 1959. [Arabic] Guide : Maimonides’ The Guide of the Perplexed , vol I & II. Translated by Shlomo Pines. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1963. Dalalat al-ha’irin . Ed S. Munk and I. Yoel. Jerusalem, 1931 [Judeo-Arabic Script]. Dalalat al-ha’irin . Translated from the Judeo-Arabic by Hussein Taha. Freiberg: Al-Kamal Verlag, 2011. [Arabic] vii INTRODUCTION Abstract : In addition to providing an overview of the chapters that follow, this introduction discusses the choice of philosophers (Aristotle, al-Farabi, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Maimonides) who are the context for the forthcoming discussion of the idea of imagination. It acknowledges the choice made in selecting these philosophers, and gives references to where those interested can find more information about what is not discussed here. In what follows, we will trace the evolution of the idea of imagination from Aristotle to Maimonides.