abstract:

This article reassesses the relationship between the tenth-century Muslim philosopher Abū al-Ḥasan al-'Āmirī (d. 992) and the pre-Socratic Greek thinker Empedocles. Earlier scholarship has focused on al-'Āmirī's popular work al-Amad (Afterlife), in which Empedocles, or rather a medieval construct known as pseudo-Empedocles or Empedocles arabus, is largely celebrated as a sage with Qur'ānic pedigree. By focusing for the first time on two largely unstudied treatises by al-'Āmirī, I argue that al-'Āmirī actually holds an overwhelmingly critical view of the authentic, historical Empedocles, a view formed through his engagement with arguments from Aristotle's Physics and On the Soul. Al-'Āmirī finds in Aristotle the evidence needed to ascribe to Empedocles an unorthodox position on material determinism and the role of providence in natural generation. Curiously, he is able to make similar accusations against Galen. This article also highlights al-'Āmirī's complicated position at the confluence of Neoplatonic metaphysics, Galenic physiology, and Aristotelian natural philosophy.

摘要：

本文重新评估了 10 世纪穆斯林哲学家 Abū al-Ḥasan al-'Āmirī（卒于 992 年）与前苏格拉底希腊思想家恩培多克勒之间的关系。早期的学术研究集中在 al-'Āmirī 的流行作品al-Amad（来世），其中 Empedocles，或者更确切地说是一种被称为伪 Empedocles 或 Empedocles arabus 的中世纪建筑，在很大程度上被誉为具有古兰经血统的圣人。通过专注于通过AL-'Āmirī首次在两个基本上未得到研究论文，我认为，AL-'Āmirī实际持有正宗的，历史恩培多克勒的压倒性批评态度，通过他与亚里士多德的观点参与形成一个视图物理和在心灵. Al-'Āmirī 在亚里士多德中发现了将恩培多克勒对物质决定论和天意在自然生成中的作用的非正统立场所需要的证据。奇怪的是，他能够对盖伦提出类似的指控。本文还强调了 al-'Āmirī 在新柏拉图形而上学、盖伦生理学和亚里士多德自然哲学的交汇处的复杂地位。