Pirimbek Suleimenov

Al-Farabi Kazakh Natoinal University, Kazakhstan

Social and philosophical concepts of al-Farabi’s

“virtuous city”

Farabi's full name is Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Farabi Uzlağ ibn Tarhan. His birthplace, an ancient Arab city Otyrar, was also called as Barbara-Farab, hence the name Abu Nasr Farabi means Abu Nasr originally from Farab city. Sometimes he was also called Tarkhani.

Abu Nasr started his education at an early age studying in his hometown Otyrar, and then moved to Khorasan. Later, to improve his knowledge he went to Arab’ cultural centre Baghdad. Eager to study Abu Nasr learns from highly educated people.

For example, he learned medicine and logic from a Christian scientist Yuhanna ibn-Haylan, whereas natural science and Greek language - from a well-known translator Abu Bashar Matta. It is also known that Farabi was in good relationships with another famous scientist Abubakar bin Siraj, taught him logic and learnt astronomy from him. Farabi was a mainly self-taught, self-determined and successful person. He focused on Greek science and philosophy, and a rich heritage of Aristotle. Farabi was fluent in Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Greek and other foreign languages [1, 152 p.].

Al-Farabi commented on Greek philosopher Aristotle’s the Categories, the Metaphysics, the Hermeneutics, Rhetoric, the Poetics, the First Analytics, the Second Analytics, the Topics, etc. He also wrote a number of his own works, such as “What to know before learning philosophy”, “Meanings of the Intellect”, “The Great Book of Music”, “The Book of the Enumeration of the Sciences”, “Ringstones of Wisdom”, “Principles of the Opinions of the Citizens of the Virtuous City”, “Civil Politics”, “Attainment of Happiness”, etc. This is how Farabi became a well-known scholar, was considered as a teacher of the East, and titled as “the Second Teacher”.

Farabi’s views on social and philosophical science and natural science are resulted from the cultural, philosophical and scientific ideas of the medieval Nearest and Middle East societies.

Farabi's scientific and philosophical views and approaches has developed in a very complex political, social and economic conditions. Al Farabi’s works are still of current interest. His ideas on the state, leadership, and social and ethical politics have great value for current societies. His works had a great influence on the progress of the European Renaissance. Farabi played a great role in bringing together science and culture of the ancient East and West [2,8 p.].

The fact that his works have not lost its importance can be seen as a proof of his deep wisdom. In general, ancient philosophical views have never gone out of date, their wisdom and knowledge help influence our way of thinking. These include al-Farabi’s works as well.

Abu Nasr al-Farabi works broadly discuss medieval Arab ideas about politics, the state, leadership and law. While Arabic philosophers did not pay attention to the differences between politics, state and government, and considered these concepts synonymous, al-Farabi provides variations of politics and political education. Political issues in Arab-Muslim philosophy are based on ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Plato and Aristotle views. Most of them define politics as a science of a so-called “virtuous city’s” state affairs. Such cities were defined as societies, from small-sized to Arab caliphate, that live together, have a common purpose, and are managed by a single managing power. Relating Greek traditions with Muslim politics have influenced all parts of Arab-Muslim philosophy [3, 13 p.].

According to al-Farabi, who became the father of Arab philosophy, political theory teaches how to maintain and organize virtuous leadership, how the citizens can get wellbeing and mercy, and the ways of achieving such results. He presents his views in the “Principles of the Opinions of the Citizens of the Virtuous City”, “Ringstones of Wisdom” and “Civil Politics” tractates.

One of Farabi’s most valuable and influential works treatise “Principles of the Opinions of the Citizens of the Virtuous City” (Kitab Ara' Ahl al-Madinah al-Fadilah) was written in Egypt in 948. In 942 its first draft “Book of Civilizational Politics” (Kitab Al-Siyasah Al-Madaniyah) was known as a separate work. In the treatise he, influenced by Plato’s ideas on the right social structure, right legislation and right opinions of the citizens, reviews virtuous city from a political point of view. Such an ideal society was called “virtuous city” (Madinah Fadilah).

Al-Farabi’s ideas on virtuous and cruel cities are based on Plato and Aristotle’s theories of an ideal society and types of societies. Plato in his work “The State” provides his ideas on the structure of an ideal society. His “Ideal City” was a utopia based on the criticism of the states at that time. However, there was a clear connection with certain states; it had properties and signs of certain states. According to Plato the basic principle of an ideal society was justice [4, 352-353 p.].

Al-Farabi presented classification of Plato and Aristotle’s cities. He defined an ideal society as a “city where people are genuine, and help each other to live, maintain their lives and get access to good things”, and named it a “Virtuous City” [4, 195 p.].

In the “Principles of the Opinions of the Citizens of the Virtuous City” he provides the following definition of a “Virtuous City”: “A city in which everyone cooperates to gain happiness is a virtuous city, and a society in which all people collaborate to achieve happiness is a virtuous society”. Al-Farabi compares his Virtuous City to a healthy body “all organs of which work together to make sure the body lives and maintains its life”. Compared to Plato and Aristotle’s ideal states al-Farabi’s Virtuous City contains a lot of societies. “There are five parts of a Virtuous City: the virtuous, the linguists, the assessors, the warriors, and the money makers. The virtuous are the wise, the prudent, and those who have opinion about major matter. There are the transmitters of the creed and the linguists; they are the rhetoricians, the eloquent, the poets, the musicians, the scribes, and those who act in the same way as they do and are among their number. The assessors are the accountants, the engineers, the doctors, the astronomers, and those who act in the same as they do. The warriors are the combatants, the guardians, and those who act in the same way as they do and are counted among them. The money makers are those who earn money in the city, like the farmers, herders, merchants, and those who act in the same ways as they do” [5, 305 p.].

Kasymzhanov A. in his book “Al-Farabi” mentions five parts of the virtuous city, and describes the virtuous part as the feudals [6, 146 b]. However al-Farabi states that “the virtuous include the wise, the prudent, and those who have opinion about major matters”. In ancient Greece and medieval East mainly philosophers were called the wise.

That is, al-Farabi considered that philosophers take a due place in society. According to his "The treatise about views of residents of the virtuous city", is very deep idea. In its treatise "the virtuous city", has a big role injustice. Generally the philosopher considers society from two parties and divides it into two: full and not full. It divides full society into 3 categories: big, average, small. It means all people who are on the earth by big society. I divided incomplete society of al-Farabi into four. It: quarters, streets, house and areas.

He considered that to each situation to treat with understanding, it is possible to achieve success in any sphere. If each person helps another, on it the kind city will be under construction. Al-Farabi claimed that each person depends on external circumstances. Because it can't execute everything that is necessary for it independently. "Treatise" contains, though not expressed directly, a postulate of all deductively staged drill al-Farabi: the Universe as the real and physical world where also the person with his gift of thinking enters, is inexplicable without and out of interpretation of this ability to think as a special case of the movement therefore the assumption of some supersensual essence is necessary, function and which life are special type of activities for the translation of a potential state in actual.[7,74-78 p.]

Al - Farabi doesn't recognize violence, he always went on about justice and world peace. Majdi Sanai defined that al-Farabi's thought of the peace city is impossible, unreal if it so, is a utopia" - he went on. About such cities wrote not only philosophers, but also writers of different centuries, poets. All of this, and all have different perceptions on this subject. It is difficult to present on the earth of the person who didn't dream, didn't plan. All people dream, make plans. But emergence of an utopia is not the casual phenomenon, its emergence contacts historic facts.

References

1. Hayrullayev M. M. Al Farabi. Era and doctrine.Tashkent. 1975. Page 152.

2. Burabayev M. S. About the relation to the previous philosophy in Al Farabi's doctrine. Historico-philosophical treatises. Alma-Ata: Science, 1985.

3. Kubesov A. Abu Nasr al-Faraba. Almaty, 2004.

4. Al-Farabi. Social and ethical treatises.Almaty, 1975. - Page 352-353

5. Al-Farabi. Philosophical treatises. Alma-Ata, 1972. - Page 305.

6. Kasymzhanov A.H. Abu Nasr Al Farabi. Moscow, 1982. - Page 146.

7. Altayev Zh. Universal al-Farabi. "Akikat" magazines, 1994, december, 74-78.