AIslamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present offers a
comprehensive overview of Islamic philosophy from the ninth century to
the present day. As Seyyed Hossein Nasr attests, within this tradition,
philosophizing is done in a world in which prophecy is the central
reality of life--a reality related not only to the realms of action and
ethics but also to the realm of knowledge. Comparisons with Jewish and
Christian philosophies highlight the relation between reason and
revelation, that is, philosophy and religion.
Nasr presents Islamic philosophy in relation to the Islamic tradition as
a whole, but always treats this philosophy as philosophy, not simply as
intellectual history. In addition to chapters dealing with the general
historical development of Islamic philosophy, several chapters are
devoted to later and mostly unknown philosophers. The work also pays
particular attention to the Persian tradition.
Nasr stresses that the Islamic tradition is a living tradition with
significance for the contemporary Islamic world and its relationship
with the West. In providing this seminal introduction to a tradition
little-understood in the West, Nasr also shows readers that Islamic
philosophy has much to offer the contemporary world as a whole.