Four Persian Philosophers

About the Book

This book reveals the early philosophy which began after the revelation of the Prophet Muhammad. It identifies the stepwise growth of Islamic philosophy up until the four major contributors: Alfarabi, Avicenna, Algazali, and Averroes, whose work from the eleventh century to the fourteenth century is still discussed and debated today. Muslim scholars invented algebra, translated writings of Plato and Aristotle, and made important contributions to a variety of nascent sciences at a time when European Christians were luxuriating in the most abysmal ignorance. It was through the Muslim conquest of Spain that classical Greek texts found their way into Latin translation and seeded the Renaissance in Western Europe. In this way, early Islamic philosophy made foundational contributions to human culture.

About the Author

Albert Shansky studied philosophy and religion at Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT. He received Shambhala training at the Naropa University in Boulder, CO and studied Islam at the Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT. He has trained as a lay monk at the Hosshinji Monastery in Obama, Japan and at the Eiheiji Monastery in Fukui, Japan. He is a member of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, the American Academy of Religion, the American Philosophical Association, the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, and the Association of Asian Studies. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.