Alfarabi's Book of Dialectic (Kitab al-Jadal)
On the Starting Point of Islamic Philosophy

Provides the first complete English translation of a central text in the Islamic philosophical tradition, with meticulously researched commentary and interpretation.

David M. DiPasquale (Author)

9781108405430, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 July 2021

362 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.488 kg

'A dependable English translation of Alfarabi’s indispensable work, Book of Dialectic, is a great boon - especially given that the only critical Arabic edition exists in an unpublished French dissertation. In addition, DiPasquale’s fine book reveals why dialectic is central not only to political philosophy but also to the whole of philosophy.' Josh Parens, University of Dallas

Widely regarded as the founder of the Islamic philosophical tradition, and as the single greatest philosophical authority after Aristotle by his successors in the medieval Islamic, Jewish, and Christian communities, Alfarabi was a leading figure in the fields of Aristotelian logic and Platonic political science. The first complete English translation of his commentary on Aristotle's Topics, Alfarabi's Book of Dialectic, or Kit?b al-Jadal, is presented here in a deeply researched edition based on the most complete Arabic manuscript sources. David M. DiPasquale argues that Alfarabi's understanding of the Socratic art of dialectic is the key prism through which to grasp his recovery of an authentic tradition of Greek science on the verge of extinction. He also suggests that the Book of Dialectic is unique to the extent to which it unites Alfarabi's logical and political writings, opening up novel ways of interpreting Alfarabi's influence.

Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Alfarabi's Kit?b al-Jadal: complete English translation
2. Dialectic and political science
3. Dialectic and the principles of all science
4. Dialectic and the method of natural and divine science
5. Dialectic and education
6. Conclusion: Alfarabi and the taxonomy of the medieval Arabic Organon
Glossary A: English–Arabic
Glossary B: Arabic–English
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Islam [HRH], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Islamic & Arabic philosophy [HPDC]