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Cambridge University Press: 2005 Although there has been a wave of global interest in the Islamic world since September 11, 2001, there are still relatively few works of scholarship that demonstrate the strong and abiding links between Islamic and Western civilizations. Recently, Professor Muhammad Ali Khalidi of the Department of Philosophy published the first anthology in English of medieval Islamic philosophical texts, entitled Medieval Islamic Philosophical Writings (Cambridge University Press: 2005. Part of the Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy, which also includes works by such seminal figures as Aristotle, Kant, and Nietzche). This addition to the Cambridge series offers a collection of new translations of texts which cover the heyday of Islamic philosophy, from the early tenth century to the late twelfth century. All of these writings reveal the influence of Greek philosophy and also demonstrate striking originality and marked departures from the ancient philosophical tradition. The texts of Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ghazali, Ibn Tufayl, and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) were chosen for their rich influence and possible comparison with the later works of Western philosophers. The selections “focus on metaphysics and epistemology, but also contribute to broader debates concerning the conception of God, the nature of religion, the place of humanity in the universe, and the limits of human reason.” The translations include selections from Farabi’s Book of Letters (Kitab al-Huruf), Ibn Sina’s Book of Salvation (Kitab al Najat), Ghazali’s Rescuer from Error (al-Munqidh min al-Dalal), Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy bin Yaq-zan, and Ibn Rushd’s Incoherence of the Incoherence (Tahafut al-Tahafut). Although some of these texts have been translated before, most previous translations are now quite dated and difficult to find. Professor Khalidi hopes that these new translations will encourage more extensive study of these philosophical writings in the West and make them more accessible to students of the history of philosophy.
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