Ibn Khaldûn's Philosophy of History

A Study in the Philosophic Foundation of the Science of Culture

Muhsin Mahdi

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781317366348
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This book, first published in 1957, is the study of 14th-century Arab historian Ibn Khaldun, who founded a special science to consider history and culture, based on the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle and their Muslim followers. In no other field has the revolt of modern Western thought against traditional philosophy been so far-reaching in its consequences as in the field of history. Ibn Khaldun realized that history is more immediately related to action than political philosophy because it studies the actual state of man and society. He found that the ancients had not made history the object of an independent science, and thought it was important to fill this gap. A factual acquaintance with the conclusions of Ibn Khaldun's reflections on history is not the same as the full comprehension of their theoretical significance. When these fundamental questions are answered, it becomes possible to pose the specific question of the relation of Ibn Khaldun's philosophy of history, or his new science of culture, to other practical sciences and, particularly, to the art of history. After an exposition of the major trends of Islamic historiography, part of this book attempts to answer this question through the analysis of the method and intention of the sections of the 'History' where Ibn Khaldun himself examines the works of major Muslim historians, shows the necessity of the new science of culture, and distinguishes it from other practical sciences.

General Index

[All references are to pages; italic numbers refer to footnotes only. This index includes proper names, foreign technical terms (in italics), titles of books referred to in the text (under authors’ names), and a selective analytical index of subjects. References to authors and their works in the footnotes are not indexed, except where the reference contains bibliographical information, or where the author is discussed or quoted. The Arabic definite article (at-) is usually not mentioned, and is never considered in alphabetization. For a complete list of Ibn Khaldûn’s works and other primary Arabic sources, see Bibliography, pp. 297–310.]

A

‘abbâr, 65

‘Abbâsids, 60

Abbott, Nabia, 13

‘Abd al-‘Azîz, 47, 104

‘Abd al-Wâdids. See Ziyânids

Âbilyy, 33, 34–37, 125

Abraham, 165

Abû al-‘Abbâs, 45, 51–52, 57

Abû ‘Abd Allâh, 38, 44–45

Abû Bakr, 264

Abû Dharr, 240

Abû Ḥammû, 39, 45, 47–48

Abû al-Ḥasan, 23, 28, 34, 37

Abû ‘Inân...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Table of Contents
• I. Historical Background and Fragments of a Biography
• II. Philosophy and the Law
• III. From History to the Science of Culture
• IV. The Science of Culture: Its Subject Matter and Problems
• V. The Science of Culture: Its Principles and Method
• Summary and Conclusion
• Bibliography
• General index