Philosophy, Science, and Religion: the Transmission of (Hidden) Knowledge in the Islamicate World and Beyond (PhD)
Programma
This twenty-hour course offers an introduction to major themes in the intellectual history of the Mediterranean from Classical Antiquity to the early modern period, with emphasis on the Arab-Muslim world. The first part (in English) examines the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Rasā'il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’, 10th century), their philosophical background, their place within the translation movement and Islamic Neoplatonism, and their enduring influence. The second part (in English) presents a series of case studies illustrating the transmission and reshaping of philosophical, scientific, cosmological, and esoteric knowledge over the longue durée, from Virgil and ancient theories of world cycles to Arabic traditions on Alexandria and Baghdad, Dante’s symbolic diagrams, and Renaissance humanism. Two concluding lectures (in Italian) address the Platonic Great Year and a digital approach to the classification of the sciences (M-Classi), opening broader perspectives on the continuity and organisation of knowledge across cultures and epochs.
Obiettivi formativi
This introductory course is intended for students with a broad curiosity for the history of ideas rather than for specialists in Islamic studies or the history of philosophy. No prior knowledge of Arabic, Greek, or Latin is required. The lectures are designed to offer an accessible yet intellectually stimulating exploration of the transmission and transformation of philosophical, scientific, and esoteric knowledge across cultures and historical periods, from Classical Antiquity to the medieval Islamicate world and Renaissance Europe. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Rasā’il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’, 10th century) and on a series of case studies illustrating the circulation of ideas over the longue durée. Throughout the course, all sessions will be accompanied by richly illustrated PowerPoint presentations, and every literary source discussed will be made available in English or Italian translation, allowing students from different backgrounds to engage directly with the texts without requiring knowledge of the original languages. Time will also be devoted to questions and discussion.
Riferimenti bibliografici
· Bosworth (Clifford Edmund), The New Islamic Dynasties, New York, Columbia University Press, 1996.
· Baffioni (Carmela), Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’ (Brethren of Purity), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008 (online at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ikhwan-al-safa/).
· Bausani, Alessandro. L’enciclopedia dei Fratelli della Purità. Riassunto, con introduzione breve commento, dei 52 Trattati o Epistole degli Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ. Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 1978.
· de Callataÿ (Godefroid), Ikhwan al-Safa’. A Brotherhood of Idealists on the Fringe of Orthodox Islam, Oxford: Oneworld, 2005.
· de Callataÿ (Godefroid), ‘Brethren of Purity (Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’)’, in K. Fleet et al. (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three, Part 2013-4, Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2013, pp. 84-90.
· de Callataÿ (Godefroid), ‘For Those with Eyes to See: On the Hidden Meaning of the Animal Fable in the Rasā’il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’’, Journal of Islamic Studies 29.3 (September 2018), pp. 357-391.
· El Bizri (Nader), ed., The Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ and their ‘Rasāʾil’; An Introduction, New York–London: Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2008.
· Encyclopaedia of Islam Online (English), ed. K. Fleet et al., Leiden: Brill (online by subsciption at https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/package/eio?language=en).
· Gutas (Dimitri), Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbāsid Society (2nd-4th/8th-10th Centuries), London and New York: Routledge, 1998.
· Netton (Ian Richard), Muslim Neoplatonists. An Introduction to the Thought of the Brethren of Purity, London: Routledge, 2002.