São Paulo – From April 27th to 30th, the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) will host the First South American Journeys of Arab Philosophy. The event is being organized in partnership with the University of Chile and is open to the public.
According to Jonnefer Barbosa, a professor in the PUC-SP Philosophy course, the journeys “are intended to bring together different lines of research into Arab Philosophy, creating a network for promotion and production (on the topic).” In its four days, the event will tackle key concepts from Arab philosophy and studies carried out by leading Arab philosophers of the likes of Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Averroes.
“First off, when we talk about Arab philosophy, we are referring to a chapter in the history of philosophy, the one that got developed in Arabic language, in the lands of Islam, between the 8th and 14th centuries AD, it could be said,” explained Kamal Cumsille, a professor at the Center for Arab Studies at the University of Chile, in an email interview to ANBA. Cumsille will be one of the speakers at the seminar.
“Arab philosophy is essentially Aristotelian, and therefore essentially naturalistic and materialistic. Its chief concern is with how the world of existing things was created, how we create the concept of this world and of ourselves in this natural world,” said Cumsille.
Rodrigo Karmy, also a professor at the Center of Arab Studies of the University of Chile, points out that “for the medieval Latins in the 12th and 13th centuries, for instance, the philosophic reference point was not Greece, it was the Arab East.”
According to Karmy, who will also be speaker at the Journeys, one of the main differences between Arab and Greek philosophy is the fact that Arab philosophy “was probably the first to directly address the theological-political problem of the difference between reason and faith, between the philosophic word and the word revealed.”
For his part, professor Barbosa explains that “there is a deep-seated habit in Brazilian academic tradition of addressing Arab Philosophy as a specific field of Medieval Philosophy, whenever commenters discuss the important translation of Aristotle’s treatises by Arab philosophers.”
He believes such ‘compartmentalization,’ or the reduction of a complex discussion to historiographic brushstrokes, similar to other fields of Philosophy, prevents us from analyzing the singularities of Arab Philosophy as a space for production of decisive concepts to understanding important subjects ranging from ontology to politics.”
Regarding the leading names in Arab philosophy, professor Cumsille points out that Al-Farabi was the “philosophic authority” before all others. “They would call him second master. He is vastly quoted by both Avicenna and Averroes, and his influence on the entire constellation of Arab philosophers is undisputed,” he stressed.
According to Cumsille, later on, “Avicenna and Averroes would delve deeper, systematize and shed light upon issues Al-Farabi had worked with. Furthermore, Avicenna and Averroes are the two great thinkers of scientific culture from the Medieval West,” he said.
The South American Journeys of Arab Philosophy will be held biennially. The event is free of charge and requires no prior registration.
First South American Journeys of Arab Philosophy
April 27th to 30th
Place: Rua Monte Alegre, 984 – Perdizes, São Paulo, SP
The meetings will be held at Auditorium 333, on the third floor of Edifício Reitor Bandeira de Mello (new building).
The event’s full program is available at http://migre.me/pmWMC
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
