The Ethic of Prudence in Al-Farabi's Philosophy and its Actuality in Contemporary Arab Philosophical Thought

Abstract

This paper deals with the issue of prudence in Al-Farabi's philosophy, treating the notion as an ethical/moral and practical topic that is a theory in both reason and ethics. The work elaborates on the implications of prudence (and imprudence), its foundations, and the presence of religion in the theory. It further addresses the impact of Al-Farabi's concept of prudence on philosophy, particularly in the modern Arab philosophical thought of Fathi Triki and Taha Abdurahman, who drew extensively from Al-Farabi in contemporary issues arising in modern Arab thought.