Happiness in the Thought of Al-Farabi: Theory and Practice

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to understand the notion of “happiness” in the philosophy of the tenth-century philosopher Al-Farabi. The author shall seek, first of all, to understand the significance of happiness and the theoretical and scholarly implications of Farabi’s approach to happiness. In doing so, the author intends to show, ultimately, the privileged position of humanity within Al-Farabi’s thinking, with happiness being, in the late philosopher’s worldview, the result of the fulfilment of a human of his or her own humanity. If the ultimate “perfection” of humanity is contingent on achieving the absolute, it must be noted that an individual’s practical or theoretical actions can only ever be definitely contained in thought. The corporeal world, in contrast, is a continuous and ever-fluid realm.