Books of Definition in Islamic Philosophy

<p>Islamic Philosophy has unusual origins. Originally a hybrid of Greek philosophy and early Islamic theology its technical language consisted of a number of words translated from the Greek. This book studies how Islamic philosophers of the ninth century AD such as al-Kindi al-Farabi and Ibn Sina developed an indigenous set of terms and concepts. Their Books of Definition influenced the revision of the Arabic language to incorporate these new fields of knowledge.<br><em>Books of Definition in Islamic Philosophy: The Limits of Words</em> uses the work of these philosophers as a basis from which a comparison with their Greek precedents is enabled. The book presents a framework for incorporating an Islamic and historically contextualised philosophy into a continuum of world philosophers. At the core of this framework is Ibn Sina's <em>Kitab al-hudud</em> which the author has translated into English and situates it in its correct geopolitical framework. In establishing a historical and literary context for the writing and circulation of Ibn Sina's definitions the book breaks new ground in the integration of Islamic philosophy within a general history of philosophies.<br>This fascinating and comprehensive study will be of interest to scholars and postgraduate students of Islamic Philosophy.</p>