Chapter 5 - The Arabic and Islamic reception of the Nicomachean Ethics

Summary

The Graeco-Arabic translation movement

In one of his works of literary criticism, the Syrian scholar Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Khalīl ibn Aybak al-Ṣafadī (1297–1363) included a short passage which has attracted the attention of modern scholars studying the Greek legacy of Arabic intellectual culture. The passage begins with a statement concerning the interest of the Abbasid caliph al-Maʾmūn (reg. 813–33) in Greek books which he had translated into Arabic. As is well known though, Ṣafadī continues, the first person who produced such translations was the Umayyad prince Khālid ibn Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya (c. 668–c. 704 or 709) who had a passionate interest in alchemy. Most modern scholars agree that this pioneering role of Khālid is not more than a legend. Nevertheless, Ṣafadī's account includes a number of details which find ample confirmation in independent sources.

Neither Ṣafadī nor any other medieval author provided a more comprehensive explanation why the Abbasid caliphs should have been interested in having Greek works on philosophy and science translated into Arabic. Modern scholars have speculated about their motivations. Some explanations emphasize practical benefits of scientific works as a starting point. Once they had a taste of the ancient sciences, the Arabs continued to translate. Another explanation focuses on intellectual curiosity and the challenge which the philosophical systems of ancient Greece may have presented. Related to this is the suggestion that philosophical methods of arguing were convenient for the emerging class of Muslim theologians who defended their religious doctrines against Christians and other non-Muslims.