Ibn Miskawayh, the Soul, and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Truly Happy Sage

162 Pages·2019·1.096 MB·English

by  John Peter Radez

Ibn Miskawayh, the Soul,
and the Pursuit of Happiness
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Ibn Miskawayh, the Soul,
and the Pursuit of Happiness
The Truly Happy Sage
John Peter Radez
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LEXINGTONBOOKS
Lanham•Boulder•NewYork•London
PublishedbyLexingtonBooks
AnimprintofTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc.
4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706
www.rowman.com
6TinworthStreet,LondonSE115AL
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TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Preface ix
Introduction xi
1 IbnMiskawayh—Philosopher,Historian,Sage 1
2 SettingthePhilosophicalStage—MiskawayhandCourtly
CivicHumanism 19
3 TheStructureofIslamicMedievalSociety 37
4 OverviewoftheEuropeanRenaissanceandIslamic
Humanism 47
5 Al-Fauzal-Asghar(Metaphysics) 69
6 Tajaribal-UmamandTahdhibal-Aklaq 87
7 AdabandtheBelles-LettresTraditionandMiskawayh’s
Humanism 113
Epilogue 135
Bibliography 139
Index 145
AbouttheAuthor 149
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Acknowledgments
IwanttothankDr.JohnWalbridgeforhispatienceandassistanceduring
the period when I was researching this book. He is both mentor and
friendwhosoughttobringoutthebestinme.Overtheyears,hestoodby
metomakesurethatIdidnotgiveupdespitetheobstaclesthatlifeoften
throwsatus.
I also want to thank Eric Rodney Alexander for his support and en-
couragement while I was at Indiana University researching the material
forthisbook.HiswordsofencouragementandgenuineinterestinwhatI
wasworkingonhelpedtomakethisworkpossible.
Iwanttothankmyspouse,CalvinTsui,whopatientlyenduredmeas
Iwaswritingthisbook.
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Preface
Iwrotethisbooksothatitcanbereadontwolevels.Ononelevel,thisis
about Miskawayh who melded together the cultural and religious ele-
ments of Islamic humanism thereby creating a special kind of Islamic
cultural humanism to teachushow wecanrise above ourselves, how to
transcend our own human subjectivity to experience an ever-rewarding
mystical union with God. Through the social and intellectual, through
the ethical and practical, Miskawayh shows us how to consider more
fully,moreconsciously,thepurposeofourown existence.Inshort,Mis-
kawayh’sbrandofIslamichumanismisatooltounderstandlife.
Onamoresubtlelevel,Iwrotethisbookasanapologiaforaliberalarts
education.Thenewmantraforeducationtodayistheinfamousacronym,
STEM(i.e.,science,technology,engineering,andmath).STEMispopular
and pushed because it provides practical and applicable results, namely
employment. Its benefits are usually immediate with some guarantee of
social and fiduciary rewards. A liberal arts education, however, is hard-
pressedtocompeteinthisenvironmentbecauseitsvalueislessapparent,
its results less applicable. Society does not readily recognize, much less
appreciate,thoserewardsgainedfromaliberalartseducation.Neverthe-
less,Ibelieve,thereisstillhope.InthespiritofMiskawayh,wehaveonly
to look to history to understand the value of such an education. In both
theIslamicandEuropeanRenaissance,oneneededtheaccoutrementsof
civility acquired from either adab or humanitas in addition to those skills
.d necessaryforhisparticulartradeorvocation.
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