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Fa>Ra>Bi>'S Virtuous City and the Plotinian World Soul

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Fa>Ra>Bi>'S Virtuous City and the Plotinian World Soul Fa>ra>bi>’s Virtuous City and the Plotinian World Soul: A New Reading of Fa>ra>bi>’s Maba>di' A<ra>' Ahl Al-Madi>na Al-Fa>d}ila By Gina M. Bonelli Institute of Islamic Studies McGill University, Montreal August, 2009 “A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.” ©Gina Marie Bonelli 2009 Acknowledgements I would like to thank above all my advisors Professor Eric Ormsby and Professor Robert Wisnovsky for all of their work in helping me to finish this dissertation. I cannot even begin to estimate the hours spent by Professor Ormsby reading and editing my work, but, based on the copies that he sent back to me stained by his infamous red pen, perhaps I could fathom a guess. I would also like to thank Professor Donald P. Little for providing me with the invaluable advice that “sometimes it is enough to ask the questions.” Since leaving the institute, due to a family illness, I have great appreciation for the frequent emails and occasional phone calls from Professor Uner Turgay and Kirsty McKinnon, which varied from a progress report to a friendly hello, but reminded me that I was still a part of the Institute. Of course, a huge thank you to Salwa Ferahian, Wayne St. Thomas, and Steve Millier at the Institute of Islamic Studies Library for always promptly getting the information and articles to me that I desperately needed. I would also like to mention my undying gratitude for the support given to me from my family and friends. I cannot even begin to thank Rebecca Williams who actually volunteered to read my work and provide insightful advice during the pivotal moments of research and writing. And most of all I would like to thank my brother Joseph for letting me stay at his home while I finished this dissertation and of course for his infinite patience and kindness for listening to my incessant discussions of Plotinus, Augustine, and Fa>ra>bi> and their works. ii Abstract Happiness (sa‘a>dah) materializes as the ultimate goal of man in Abu> Nas}r Muh{ammad b. Muh{ammad b. T{arkha>n al- Fa>ra>bi>’s Maba>di' A<ra>' Ahl Al-Madi>na Al-Fa>d}ila (Principles of the Views of the Citizens of the Best State). But happiness, i.e., happiness in this life and happiness in the afterlife, is only attainable by the virtuous citizen. The prevailing academic vision of Fa>ra>bi>’s Virtuous City essentially can be placed into two categories: either it is an ideal as found in Plato’s Republic or it is an actual city that has been founded or will be established at some time in the future. The difficulty with both of these interpretations is that they limit who can attain happiness. I will argue that we must examine Fa>ra>bi>’s Virtuous City in a different light. I will show that Fa>ra>bi>’s Virtuous City is comparable to the Plotinian World Soul in which it is the genus of all souls and it is the place to which all souls strive to return, and there attain happiness. As a result, it can be argued that Fa>ra>bi>’s Virtuous City is a city that exists in the intelligible world; it contains both citizens that reside within the city and citizens that reside in the material world. Through a comparison of Fa>ra>bi>’s Virtuous City with the Plotinian World Soul, we shall see that Fa>ra>bi>’s Virtuous City is not unlike Aurelius Augustine’s City of God, which is also a city that exists in the intelligible world, and has citizens within both this city and here on earth. By comparing the relevant texts of Plotinus, Augustine, and Fa>ra>bi>, it becomes possible to illustrate how Fa>ra>bi>, like Augustine, utilized the Plotinian Triple Hypostases (The One, Nous, and the World Soul) in order to answer the ultimate questions: Why does man desire iii happiness? How does man attain this happiness? And most importantly, where can man attain this happiness? Fa>ra>bi> tells us that only virtuous citizens will achieve happiness. This leaves us with unanswered questions. If all souls derive from the Virtuous City, then why do they not all return? What defines a virtuous citizen? How does one become a virtuous citizen? These are questions that must be answered in the material world, by us, Fa>ra>bi>’s readers. Fa>ra>bi>’s Al-Madi>na Al-Fa>d}ila, like Augustine’s De Civitate Dei, clearly outlines a specific system of knowledge and a specific way of life; in this way, both Fa>ra>bi> and Augustine provide the criteria by which human beings can become virtuous citizens and citizens of the City of God. Plotinus’ concept of the undescended soul may also provide us with another way of looking at these virtuous citizens and citizens of the City of God, in that these citizens become aware of the higher part of their soul and assimilate themselves to the intelligible world. These citizens must live in the material world, i.e., in the non-virtuous cities and the City of Man, but they too can be citizens of those cities that exist in the intelligible world. Fa>ra>bi> and Augustine leave us with a choice to make: of which city will we become citizens? iv Résumé Le bonheur (sa‘a>dah) apparaît comme l’objectif ultime de l’homme dans (Maba>di' A<ra>' Ahl Al-Madi>na Al-Fa>d}ila) Idées des habitants de la cité vertueuse de Muh{ammad b. Muh{ammad b. T{arkha>n al-Fa>ra>bi>. Mais le bonheur, c.-à-d., le bonheur dans cette vie et le bonheur dans la vie après la mort, est seulement possible pour le citoyen vertueux. La vision courante de la cité vertueuse de Fa>ra>bi> propose essentiellement seulement deux catégories: ou c’est un idéal comme trouvé dans Le République de Platon ou c’est une cité réelle qui a été fondée ou qui sera établie à un moment donné dans l’avenir. La difficulté avec tous les deux interprétations est qu’ils limitent le nombre dé ceux qui peuvent atteindre le bonheur. Pour cette raison, je soutiendrai que nous devons examiner la cité vertueuse de Fa>ra>bi> dans une lumière différente. Je montrerai que la cité vertueuse de Fa>ra>bi> est comparable à l’âme du monde de Plotinus dans laquelle c’est le genre de toutes les âmes et c’est l’endroit auquel toutes les âmes tâchent de rentrer: l’atteindre fait le bonheur. Ainsi, on peut soutenir que la cité vertueuse de Fa>ra>bi> est une cité qui existe dans le monde intelligible; elle contient à la fois les citoyens qui résident dans la cité et aussi les citoyens qui résident dans le monde matériel. Par une comparaison de la cité vertueuse de Fa>ra>bi> avec l’âme du monde de Plotinus nous verrons que la cité vertueuse de Fa>ra>bi> n’est pas différente de la cité de Dieu de Aurelius Augustine; ça aussi est une cité qui existe dans le monde intelligible, et qui a des citoyens et dans cette cité et ici sur terre. En comparant les texts justicatifs de Plotinus, Augustine, et Fa>ra>bi>, il devient possible d’illustrer comment Fa>ra>bi>, comme Augustine, a v utilisé les Hypostases Triples de Plotinus (L’un, Nous, et L’âme du monde) afin de répondre aux questions finales: Pourquoi l’homme désire-t-il le bonheur? Comment l’homme atteint-il ce bonheur? Et d’une maniére plus importante, où peut l’homme atteindre ce bonheur? Fa>ra>bi> nous indique que seulement les citoyens vertueux réaliseront le bonheur. Ceci nous laisse avec des questions sans réponse. Si toutes les âmes dérivent de la cité vertueuse, alors pourquoi ne font-elles pas toutes le retour? Que définit un citoyen vertueux? Comment fait un devenu un citoyen vertueux? Ce sont ces questions qui doivent être adressées dans le monde matériel, par nous, les lecteurs de Fa>ra>bi>. Al-Madi>na Al-Fa>d}ila de Fa>ra>bi>, comme De Civitate Dei de Augustine, décrit clairement un système spécifique de la connaissance et une mode de vie spécifique; dans cette façon, Fa>ra>bi> et Augustine fournissent les critères par lesquels les êtres humains peuvent devenir les citoyens vertueux et les citoyens de la cité de Dieu. Le concept de l’âme non descendue de Plotinus peut-être nous fournit une autre façon ère de regarder ces citoyens vertueux et ces citoyens de la cité de Dieu, par laquelle, ces citoyens se rendent compte de la partie plus élevée de leur âme et s’assimilent au monde intelligible. Ces citoyens doivent vivre dans le monde matériel, c.-à-d., dans les cités non-vertueuses et la cité de l’homme, mais ils peuvent eux aussi être les citoyens de cette cité qui existent dans le monde intelligible. Fa>ra>bi> et Augustine nous donnent un choix á faire: de quelle cité devenons-môns des citoyens? vi Table of Contents. Acknowledgements . ii. Abstract . iii-iv. Résumé . v-vi. List of Abbreviations. x-xi. Introduction. 1-15. Part One Chapter One: Historiography. 16-58. I. Historiography of Arabic Philosophy. 16-27. I. a. Gutas’ Critique of Leo Strauss. 18-22. I. b. Politics and Neoplatonism. 22-27.
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