Metaphysics as Rhetoric - Alfarabi's Summary of Plato's Laws

Parens argues that Alfarabi, the tenth-century Muslim philosopher, demonstrated that Plato is not the originator of Western metaphysics, and that what appears to be Plato's metaphysics was intended as a rhetorical defense of his politics.
The most widely accepted view in the West today, particularly among postmodernists, is that Plato attempted to ground politics on a rational metaphysics and initiated the tradition of foundationalism that has given rise to systems of oppression ranging from racism, sexism, and ethnocentrism to the technological mastery of the earth. Metaphysics as Rhetoric controverts this view, arguing that Plato was not the originator of this metaphysical tradition. Using as a basis the tenth-century Muslim philosopher Alfarabi's interpretation of Plato, especially his Summary of Plato's "Laws", Parens shows that what appears to be Plato's metaphysics was intended as a rhetorical defense of his politics. Parens demonstrates that rather than seek to establish politics on the definitive metaphysical ground, Alfarabi's Plato analyzes politics on its own terms, phenomenologically.

Über den Autor / die Autorin

Joshua Parens is Bradley Fellow and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Government Department at Georgetown University.

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Joshua Parens
• Verlag: State University of New York Press
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Fester Einband
• Erschienen: 14.09.1995
• EAN: 9780791425732
• ISBN: 978-0-7914-2573-2
• Seiten: 195
• Abmessung: 156 mm x 234 mm x 18 mm
• Gewicht: 472 g
• Serien: Suny Series, Middle Eastern St; Suny Series, Middle Eastern St
• Themen: Sachbuch > Philosophie, Religion > Philosophie: Antike bis Gegenwart; Sozialwissenschaften, Recht,Wirtschaft > Politikwissenschaft > Politische Wissenschaft und Politische Bildung