''The Theology of Aristotle'', also called ''Theologia Aristotelis'' () is a paraphrase in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

of parts of

Plotinus Plotinus (; , ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a Greek Platonist philosopher, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neoplatonism. His teacher was the self-taught philosopher Ammonius ...

' '' Six Enneads'' along with Porphyry's commentary. It was traditionally attributed to

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, but as this attribution is certainly untrue it is conventional to describe the author as "

Pseudo-Aristotle Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their works to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known a ...

". It had a significant effect on

early Islamic philosophy Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar (early 9th century Common Era, CE) and lasting until the 6th century AH (late 12th ...

, due to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic interest in

Al-Kindi Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ; ; ) was an Arab Muslim polymath active as a philosopher, mathematician, physician, and music theorist Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understandin ...

(Alkindus) and

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

, for example, were influenced by Plotinus' works as mediated through the Theology and similar works. The translator attempted to integrate Aristotle's ideas with those of Plotinus — while trying to make Plotinus compatible with

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and

, thus yielding a unique synthesis.

Overview

''The Theology of Aristotle'', with ''The Letter on Divine Science'' and ''The Sayings of the Greek Sage,'' a collection of fragments, together form the ''Plotiniana Arabica''. They seem to have been adapted by Ibn Na'ima al-Himsi, a Christian, and edited by

al-Kindi Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ; ; ) was an Arab Muslim polymath active as a philosopher, mathematician, physician, and music theorist Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understandin ...

, a Muslim (both writers were active in the ninth century). There is also a longer version of the ''Theology,'' the authorship of which is uncertain. According to

Shlomo Pines Shlomo Pines (; ; 5 August 1908 – 9 January 1990) was an Israeli scholar of Jewish and Islamic philosophy, best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide of the Perplexed''. Biography Pines was born in Charenton-le-Pont near P ...

, it may have been written by

Isma'ili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...

s. Paul Fenton, on the other hand, thought it may have been derived from

Egyptian Jews The history of the Jews in Egypt goes back to ancient times. Egyptian Jews or Jewish Egyptians refer to the Jewish community in Egypt who mainly consisted of Egyptian Arabic-speaking Rabbanites and Karaites. Though Egypt had its own community ...

. Just as there is an Arabic paraphrase of Plotinus' Six Enneads, blending it with Aristotle's thought, so also there is an Arabic paraphrase of Aristotle's ''

De Anima ''On the Soul'' (Greek: , ''Peri Psychēs''; Latin: ) is a major treatise written by Aristotle . His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different operations. Thus plant ...

,'' blending it with Plotinus' thought. Thus later

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—''falsafa'' (), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and p ...

, and European philosophy which built on the Islamic philosophical texts, were based on this

Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

synthesis.

Editions

Text

* Badawi, Abdurrahman, ''Aflutin Ind Al’Arab. Plotinus apud Arabes: Theologia Aristotelis et Fragmenta Quae Supersunt'', Cairo 1955 (repr. Kuwait, 1977 and 1995): Arabic original * A critical edition, following the order of the Arabic, is due to be published by the European Research Council project "Ideas, Advanced Grant 249431", under the supervision of Cristina d'Ancona.

Translations

Franciscus Patricius Franciscus Patricius (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Franjo Petriš'' or ''Frane Petrić''; Italian language, Italian: ''Francesco Patrizi''; 25 April 1529 – 6 February 1597) was a philosopher and scientist from the Republic of Venice, orig ...

, ''Mystica Aegyptiorum et Chaldaeorum: a Platone voce tradita, et ab Aristotele excepta et conscripta philosophia edente Francisco Patricio'', Ferrara 1591: Latin translation * H.-R. Schwyzer (ed.), ''Plotini Opera - Tomus II: Enneades IV-V . Plotiniana Arabica ad codicum fidem anglice vertit Geoffrey Lewis'', Paris 1959: English translation, following the order of the text of Plotinus * Luciano Rubio (tr.), ''Pseudo-Aristóteles, Teologia'' (Madrid 1978),

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

* Catarina Belo (tr.), ''A Teologia de Aristóteles'' (2010), translation into Portuguese, based on Badawi's text

References

* Peter Adamson, ''Arabic Plotinus: A Philosophical Study of the 'Theology of Aristotle, Gerald Duckworth & Co, London, 2002. * M. Aouad, ''La Théologie d'Aristote et autres textes du Plotinus arabus'', in R. Goudet (ed.) ''Dictionnaire des Philosophes Antiques'', Éditions du CNRS, Paris, 1989, pp. 541-90. * F. W. Zimmermann, ''The Origins of the so-called Theology of Aristotle'', in J. Kraye, W. F. Ryan and C. B. Schmitt (eds) ''Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages. The Theology and other Texts'', The Warburg Institute, London, 1986, pp. 110-240. * C. D'Ancona, ''The Greek Sage, the pseudo-Theology of Aristotle and the Arabic Plotinus'' in R. Arnzen and J. Thielmann (eds), ''Words, texts and concepts cruising the Mediterranean Sea'', Peeters, Leuven, 2004, pp. 159–76. * C. D'Ancona, ''Pseudo-Theology of Aristotle, Chapter I: Structure and Composition'' in Oriens, Brill, Leiden, 2001, pp. 78–112. * Paul Fenton, ''The Arabic and Hebrew Versions of the Theology of Aristotle'', in J. Kraye, W. F. Ryan and C. B. Schmitt (eds) ''Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages. The Theology and other Texts'', The Warburg Institute, London, 1986, pp. 241–264. *

Dimitri Gutas Dimitri Gutas (; born 1945, in Cairo) is an American Arabist and Hellenist specialized in medieval Islamic philosophy, who serves as professor emeritus of Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations a ...

, ''Greek thought, Arabic culture : the Graeco-Arabic translation movement in Baghdad and early ʻAbbāsid society (2nd-4th/8th-10th centuries)'' (1998: London, Routledge) *

, ''La longue récension de la Théologie d'Aristote dans ses rapports avec la doctrine ismaélienne'', in ''Revue des études Islamiques'' 22, 1954, pp. 7-20. * E. K. Rowson, ''The Theology of Aristotle and Some Other Pseudo-Aristotelian Texts Reconsidered'', in ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 112, 1992, pp. 478–84. * Georges Vajda, ''Les Notes D'Avicenne Sur La 'Théologie D'Aristote, in ''Revue Thomiste'' 51, 1951, pp. 346-406. (Translation of

's commentary on the Theology).

On the other works

* Georges Anawati, ''Le néoplatonisme dans la pensée musulmane: état actuel des recherches'', in ''Plotino e il neoplatonismo in Oriente e Occidente'', Rome, 1974. (Contains text and translation of the "Letter on Divine Science"). * Rüdiger Arnzen, ''Aristoteles' De anima : eine verlorene spätantike Paraphrase in arabischer und persischer Überlieferung'', Brill, Leiden, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Theology of Aristotle Philosophical literature of the medieval Islamic world Neoplatonic texts Pseudoaristotelian works Plotinus Arabic literature

Overview

Editions

Text

Translations

See also

References

Further reading

On ''The Theology of Aristotle''

On the other works