History of Islamic Philosophy (Routledge History of World Philosophies, V. 1) [Hardcover]

Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Editor), Oliver Leaman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996 | ISBN-10: 0415131596 | ISBN-13: 978-0415131599

Islamic philosophy has often been treated as being largely of historical interest, belonging to the history of ideas rather than to philosophical study. This volume successfully overturns that view. Emphasizing the living nature and rich diversity of the subject, it examines the main thinkers and schools of thought, discusses the key concepts of Islamic philosophy and covers a vast geographical area. Now available in paperback, this indispensable reference tool includes a comprehensive bibliography and an extensive index.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"praise for the first edition (ISBN 0-415-05667-5): ...the world's leading experts in authentic Islamic philosophy both explain and challenge its core concepts. Essential to literacy in one of the world's great philosophical traditions."
-Philadelphia Inquirer
"praise for the first edition (ISBN 0-415-05567-5): ...the editors deserve praise for assembling an outstanding team of 60 scholars and compiling the single most useful history of this rich tradition."
-Choice
"praise for the first edition (ISBN 0-415-05567-5): ...a refreshing, exciting, approach to Islamic philosophy ...stimulating reading...."
-SOAS Bulletin
"Publication in one single paperback volume of this "History of Islamic Philosophy (it was first published in two volumes in 1996) has made available an excellent reference tool for all those who are interested in Islamic philosophy because they are interested in philosophy and its history in general."
-Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Northwestern Universeity--"Ethics, April 2003
""History of Islamic Philosophy offers a breathtaking overview of the history of Islamic philosophy with detailed discussions by leading scholars in the field concerning the various movements that have given it shape, from its Qur'anic inspiration to the diversity of contemporary expressions in the modern world....This magisterial tome (1,232 pages) is a good one-stop source on contemporary scholarship on Islamic philosophy. It includes a note on transliteration and style, helpful notes on Arabic characters and their pronunciation, endnotes at the end of each essay, two bibliographies by Oliver Leaman (one a helpful bibliographic essay, two bibliographies by Oliver Leaman (onea helpful bibliographical essay, the other an extensive list of introductory texts), and name and subject indices. Professors Nasr and Leaman have done the scholarly community a great service in bringing together this fine collection of essays."
-Philosophia Christi

About the Author

Oliver Leaman is Reader in Philosophy at Liverpool John Morres University. Seyyed Hossein Nasr is Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1211 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415131596
• ISBN-13: 978-0415131599
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,087,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have For Any Mid East Student/Scholar/Researcher, November 12, 2005

By 

P. Smyth - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: History of Islamic Philosophy (Routledge History of World Philosophies) (Paperback)

After spending close to $80 on this book I had to see if it was truley worth it--and it was. The book's articles chronicle almost every major Islamic philosopher (from Sufis to Shi'ites to Sunnis) and their interpretations of Islamic philosophy. I was especially interested to see a large section on Jewish philosophy.

While this one may be incredibly dry for some, the facts, sources, and articles it contains are priceless if you need information on Islamic philosophy.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive overview of Islamic Philosophy, February 24, 2007

By 

Greg (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Islamic Philosophy (Routledge History of World Philosophies) (Paperback)

Unfortunately in the West, even with a lot of first-class scholarship now going on to recover the thought of various periods in the history of both Western and Eastern Philosophy, the course of Philosophy in the Muslim world is relatively unknown. This book, edited by Seyyed Hussein Nasr, gives an excellent and comprehensive history of Philosophy as it has meandered through 14 centuries of Islamic intellectual thought and religious belief.

Anyone who reads this book will quickly realise much of the garbage being said about Islam today as always being a deeply backward part of world civilisation whose essential basis is wars of conquest and terrorism is utter nonsense. Jihadi terrorism itself has its roots in the thoughts of the Egyptian radical thinker and writer Seyyd Qutb, who was disgusted at the excesses of 1950's America, and also to an extent also in the thought of Ayotallah Homeni, the Iranian philosopher and theologian who was deeply influenced by thinkers such as Ibn-Arabi. Yet while these thinkers are important, they only form a small part of the overall very rich tapestry of Islamic philosophical thought, which ranges from schools which followed Aristotle and Plato to mystical schools like those of Ibn-Arabi and Shawradi, and schools which closely examined what would now be called the philosophy of law and politics. Islamic thought also contains a rich tradition in the Philosophy of Religion, which asked questions about what Holy Scripture means and how it is to be interpreted, what can and cannot be said about God, how humans can know God, and so on. Also interesting are Islamic examinations of epistemology, science, and metaphysics, which often contains a range and depth of sophistication equalling that of that found in other world civilisations.

This book is worth reading by any serious student of Philosophy interested to see how humans in another mode of civilisation have attempted to answer the basic questions which seem to puzzle human beings anywhere in the world.