Medieval Arabic and Jewish Philosophy
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The purpose of this course is to provide a general and introductory overview of the history of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy, with particular reference to key authors and their works.
The course aims to convey a vision of the history of philosophy that includes "foreign" wisdom, which, through passage via different languages and cultures, has reached Latin Europe and thus constitutes an integral part of Western philosophical history.
The course aims to convey a vision of the history of philosophy that includes "foreign" wisdom, which, through passage via different languages and cultures, has reached Latin Europe and thus constitutes an integral part of Western philosophical history.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Present the fundamental concepts of Islamic and Jewish religion, theology and culture.
- Illustrate the main problems and topics of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy, as well as introduce major authors and their works.
- Reconstruct the fundamental lines of knowledge transmission, from Greek philosophy and science to Arabic philosophy, and from there to medieval Jewish thought.
- Understand specific philosophical terminology through direct reading of texts.
- Develop ability in critically reading, understanding, and contextualizing philosophical sources.
- Describe basic methodological tools for historiographical research.
Application of Knowledge and Understanding:
By the end of the course, students will have acquired:
- The ability to navigate historically and conceptually within the main currents of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy.
- Mastery of philosophical terminology acquired through direct reading of texts.
- Competence in navigating the development of philosophical thought across different cultures and languages.
- The ability to critically read a classic philosophical text.
- The skill to communicate in a conceptually organized manner what has been learned.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Present the fundamental concepts of Islamic and Jewish religion, theology and culture.
- Illustrate the main problems and topics of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy, as well as introduce major authors and their works.
- Reconstruct the fundamental lines of knowledge transmission, from Greek philosophy and science to Arabic philosophy, and from there to medieval Jewish thought.
- Understand specific philosophical terminology through direct reading of texts.
- Develop ability in critically reading, understanding, and contextualizing philosophical sources.
- Describe basic methodological tools for historiographical research.
Application of Knowledge and Understanding:
By the end of the course, students will have acquired:
- The ability to navigate historically and conceptually within the main currents of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy.
- Mastery of philosophical terminology acquired through direct reading of texts.
- Competence in navigating the development of philosophical thought across different cultures and languages.
- The ability to critically read a classic philosophical text.
- The skill to communicate in a conceptually organized manner what has been learned.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Course structure
The course will be divided into two sections: an institutional component and a monographic component.
1. Institutional component
An introduction to the history of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy. This section provides an overview of the central issues, major authors, and their works through a reconstruction of the main stages of development, namely:
· the origins and formation of Arabic philosophy, beginning with the reception of ancient and late-antique Greek philosophy;
· original developments in Arabic philosophy between the tenth and eleventh centuries in Baghdad and the eastern Islamic world;
· the emergence of Jewish philosophy, with particular attention to authors active in Muslim Spain;
· Arabic philosophy in Muslim Spain;
· the transmission of Arabic philosophical works to the Latin Christian world through Arabic-Latin translations.
2. Monographic component
'What does it mean to think?'. Theories of the intellect in Arabic philosophy and in its Latin reception.
This section of the course aims to examine:
· the principal ancient and late-antique sources on the intellect available to Arabic-language philosophers ('De anima' by Aristotle; 'De anima' and 'De anima II-Mantissa' by Alexander of Aphrodisias; 'Paraphrase of the De anima' by Themistius);
· the sections on the intellect in some of the major 'psychological' works of Arabic philosophers ('De intellectu' by al-Kindī; 'Epistle on the Intellect' by al-Fārābī; 'De anima' by Ibn Sīnā [Avicenna]; 'Great Commentary on the De anima' by Ibn Rušd [Averroes]);
· selected moments in the Latin reception of Arabic doctrines of the intellect, with particular emphasis on the relationship between intellect and internal senses, and on the status of the potential or possible intellect and the productive or agent intellect ('De anima' by Albert the Great; 'Quaestiones super III De anima' and 'De anima intellectiva' by Siger of Brabant; 'De unitate intellectus' by Thomas Aquinas) [9 ECTS programme only].
For the 6 ECTS programme, attendance of 40 hours of lectures is required; for the 9 ECTS programme, attendance of 60 hours of lectures is required.
Lecture recording: No.
Teaching provision for non-attending students
Video-recorded lectures reserved exclusively for non-attending students, together with discussion sessions held via videoconference. The recordings will be made available on the Ariel platform. For further details, please refer to the MyAriel noticeboard.
Validity of the syllabus:
One academic year, in accordance with the course regulations.
The course will be divided into two sections: an institutional component and a monographic component.
1. Institutional component
An introduction to the history of medieval Arabic and Jewish philosophy. This section provides an overview of the central issues, major authors, and their works through a reconstruction of the main stages of development, namely:
· the origins and formation of Arabic philosophy, beginning with the reception of ancient and late-antique Greek philosophy;
· original developments in Arabic philosophy between the tenth and eleventh centuries in Baghdad and the eastern Islamic world;
· the emergence of Jewish philosophy, with particular attention to authors active in Muslim Spain;
· Arabic philosophy in Muslim Spain;
· the transmission of Arabic philosophical works to the Latin Christian world through Arabic-Latin translations.
2. Monographic component
'What does it mean to think?'. Theories of the intellect in Arabic philosophy and in its Latin reception.
This section of the course aims to examine:
· the principal ancient and late-antique sources on the intellect available to Arabic-language philosophers ('De anima' by Aristotle; 'De anima' and 'De anima II-Mantissa' by Alexander of Aphrodisias; 'Paraphrase of the De anima' by Themistius);
· the sections on the intellect in some of the major 'psychological' works of Arabic philosophers ('De intellectu' by al-Kindī; 'Epistle on the Intellect' by al-Fārābī; 'De anima' by Ibn Sīnā [Avicenna]; 'Great Commentary on the De anima' by Ibn Rušd [Averroes]);
· selected moments in the Latin reception of Arabic doctrines of the intellect, with particular emphasis on the relationship between intellect and internal senses, and on the status of the potential or possible intellect and the productive or agent intellect ('De anima' by Albert the Great; 'Quaestiones super III De anima' and 'De anima intellectiva' by Siger of Brabant; 'De unitate intellectus' by Thomas Aquinas) [9 ECTS programme only].
For the 6 ECTS programme, attendance of 40 hours of lectures is required; for the 9 ECTS programme, attendance of 60 hours of lectures is required.
Lecture recording: No.
Teaching provision for non-attending students
Video-recorded lectures reserved exclusively for non-attending students, together with discussion sessions held via videoconference. The recordings will be made available on the Ariel platform. For further details, please refer to the MyAriel noticeboard.
Validity of the syllabus:
One academic year, in accordance with the course regulations.
Prerequisites for admission
No specific prerequisites.
Teaching methods
Lectures; classroom discussions; guided reading and commentary on texts.
Teaching Resources
Texts common to the 6 and 9 ECTS programmes
Institutional component
· M. Cruz Hernández, 'Storia del pensiero nel mondo islamico', vols. 1-2, Paideia, Brescia, 1999-2000:
vol. I, chs. 5 (pp. 192-216); 6.1-6.13 (pp. 229-261); 7.1-7.13 (pp. 272-324); 8 (pp. 339-368);
vol. II, chs. 3.1-3.3 (pp. 473-481); 3.6 (pp. 484-486); 3.7 (pp. 488-490); 4.3 (pp. 506-526); 6; 7 (pp. 557-669).
Monographic component
· An anthology of texts on the intellect (from Aristotle to Averroes), provided in Italian translation and made available on the Ariel platform.
Additional material for the 9 ECTS programme
· An anthology of texts on the Latin reception of Arabic theories of the intellect (Albert the Great, Siger of Brabant, Thomas Aquinas), provided in Italian translation and made available on the Ariel platform.
Additional reading for non-attending students
(The reading is nevertheless recommended also for students attending the course)
· C. D'Ancona (ed.), 'Storia della filosofia nell'Islam medievale', Einaudi, Turin, 2005, vol. 2, pp. 723-843.
For an adequate contextualisation of the relationship between medieval Islamic philosophical culture and the Latin Christian West, all students are also recommended to read:
· D. Gutas, 'Pensiero greco e cultura araba', ed. by C. D'Ancona, Einaudi, Turin, 2002.
Further bibliographical guidance (recommended readings for further study) will be provided during the course.
Institutional component
· M. Cruz Hernández, 'Storia del pensiero nel mondo islamico', vols. 1-2, Paideia, Brescia, 1999-2000:
vol. I, chs. 5 (pp. 192-216); 6.1-6.13 (pp. 229-261); 7.1-7.13 (pp. 272-324); 8 (pp. 339-368);
vol. II, chs. 3.1-3.3 (pp. 473-481); 3.6 (pp. 484-486); 3.7 (pp. 488-490); 4.3 (pp. 506-526); 6; 7 (pp. 557-669).
Monographic component
· An anthology of texts on the intellect (from Aristotle to Averroes), provided in Italian translation and made available on the Ariel platform.
Additional material for the 9 ECTS programme
· An anthology of texts on the Latin reception of Arabic theories of the intellect (Albert the Great, Siger of Brabant, Thomas Aquinas), provided in Italian translation and made available on the Ariel platform.
Additional reading for non-attending students
(The reading is nevertheless recommended also for students attending the course)
· C. D'Ancona (ed.), 'Storia della filosofia nell'Islam medievale', Einaudi, Turin, 2005, vol. 2, pp. 723-843.
For an adequate contextualisation of the relationship between medieval Islamic philosophical culture and the Latin Christian West, all students are also recommended to read:
· D. Gutas, 'Pensiero greco e cultura araba', ed. by C. D'Ancona, Einaudi, Turin, 2002.
Further bibliographical guidance (recommended readings for further study) will be provided during the course.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination consists of an oral interview lasting approximately 20-30 minutes and is designed to assess the knowledge and skills acquired during the course. The examination is graded out of 30; the minimum mark required to pass is 18.
During the examination, the following aspects will be assessed:
· knowledge of the history of Arab and Jewish philosophical thought, from its origins in late antiquity to the age of Averroes, with particular reference to the main themes, authors, and texts;
· the ability to understand key concepts and arguments;
· the ability to present acquired knowledge in a clear and conceptually coherent manner;
· the ability to read, interpret, and contextualise philosophical texts critically, both from a historical and a theoretical perspective, through the commentary on one or more texts discussed during the course.
During the examination, the following aspects will be assessed:
· knowledge of the history of Arab and Jewish philosophical thought, from its origins in late antiquity to the age of Averroes, with particular reference to the main themes, authors, and texts;
· the ability to understand key concepts and arguments;
· the ability to present acquired knowledge in a clear and conceptually coherent manner;
· the ability to read, interpret, and contextualise philosophical texts critically, both from a historical and a theoretical perspective, through the commentary on one or more texts discussed during the course.
M-FIL/08 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Porro Pasquale
Professor(s)