The basic principles of Abu Nasr al-Farabi's social philosophy

• Main Author: Halilović Muamer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Center for Religious Sciences Kom, Belgrade 2018-01-01
• Series: Kom: Časopis za Religijske Nauke
• Subjects: al-Farabi; social thought; city; state; collectivist society; family; practical philosophy; political philosophy; government
• Online Access: https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/2334-6396/2018/2334-63961801059H.pdf

Abu Nasr al-Farabi (870-950), one of the founders of Islamic peripatetic philosophy, left an indelible mark in the history of Islamic social thought. He attempted to make a clear comparison between the philosophical utopia and the objective state of the society in which he lived during the rule of the Abbasid dynasty. Therefore, his social theories can be equally useful to historians, philosophers, and sociologists. In order to be able to briefly outline the basic tenets of his social thought, we first clarified the phrases and terms he used most, which include: practical philosophy, social philosophy, political philosophy, politics, government, and society. Next, we proceeded to explain his definition of society and social life, and to conduct a more detailed analysis of his multiple classifications of various societies. Namely, he made a classification of social life both quantitatively and qualitatively. According to the first division, he first pointed out that there were two types of community: complete and incomplete. He then divided each type into a large, medium and small community. In his view, a big complete community is a global world community incorporating all of humanity, a medium-sized complete community refers to a state or a dynasty, while a small complete community is a city. At times al-Farabi considered the big and medium-sized complete communities to be Ummahs, although he used this term more frequently to refer only to a medium-sized complete community, that is, for an Islamic government. On the other hand, according to his classification a big incomplete community is a tribe, medium-sized is a village and small a hamlet. Interestingly, he considered a family to be the germ of social life, but not a separate social unit. For each of these groups and subgroups al-Farabi wrote extensive explanations and explicated their clear characteristics. Al-Farabi's qualitative division of societies is somewhat different, as it more directly incorporates certain segments of his general philosophical thought, most of all his attitude toward bliss. He initiated an extensive debate on the essence of utopia, or the 'city of virtue' as he liked to call it. In the second part of this paper we will consider the basic characteristics of such a city, as well as some other al-Farabi's social classifications.