Introdução à Filosofia Islâmica: 1 semestre 2026/2027
Profesor Nuha Alshaar (PhD University of Cambridge)
Department of Philosophy, Uni of Lisbon
Course Description
This course examines the rich traditions of falsafa (Arabic word for philosophy) in Muslim societies. We begin by examining the meaning, the origin, and the development of philosophy in the Islamic World. This includes early socio-political controversies, the emergence of philosophical theology (kalām), Greek philosophy translated into Arabic and (falsafa) or philosophy in the Islamic World. Falsafa is often regarded as the fusion of Islamic beliefs with the Hellenistic culture that flourished in the medieval period. It emerged from the engagement of Arab, non-Arab and Muslim scholars (operating in the Islamic contexts) with Greek philosophy, as they sought to interpret and integrate its ideas within the framework of their own cultural, religious, and social realities. This process was facilitated by the translation of Greek texts into Arabic that started in the ninth century, which we will explore in this course.
You will read articles about various philosophical traditions in Islam and their representatives and extracts from main philosophical texts to understand the core concepts, ideas, and issues that preoccupied the representative figures of Islamic philosophy from Abū Ya‘qūb al-Kindῑ (d. 873) to Ibn Rushd (Latinized name Averroes, d.1198)and beyond. The issues that lend themselves to contemporary theological, scientific, and ethical concerns will be given foremost attention.
During the course, we will discuss important contributions made by philosophers operating in the Islamic East as well as the Iberian Penisula (Spain and Portugal) to key questions, including, free well and reason versus revelation, political thoughts and the attainment of happiness, the relationship between body and mind, the purification of the soul and virtue ethics, friendship, Justice, and animal rights.
Upon Completion of this course, students should be able to:
· Demonstrate an understanding of the main issues in Islamic philosophy.
· Demonstrate familiarity with the concepts, figures and texts of Islamic philosophy.
· Read and comprehend some key texts in the history of Islamic philosophy.
· Write or present a well-researched paper or a presentation on a philosophical topic.
Tools
Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second and Third Edition, Online resource.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Online resource.
History of Philosophy without any Gaps: https://historyofphilosophy.net/islamic-world
Reading for this course
· All readings required for this course will be emailed to students.
- Enseignant: Nuha Alshaar