Human nature in the light of Al-Farabi’s theologico-metaphysical system

Abstract

Being a prominent and profoundly prolific thinker, Abu Nasr al-Farabi is well-known in many spheres of sciences of his time. In particular, he was interested in the very nature of human being and origin. In his On the Perfect State (Section IV. Man. Chapter 11-12), al-Farabi explains in detail limbs and organs of human body, as well as human ability of reproduction. As a thinker who carried out a thorough analysis in all areas of research, while describing the essence of man, al-Farabi pays considerable attention to the physiology of human body. Here he describes human organs, depending on their relationship with the nutritive faculty and the faculty of sense. Al-Farabi’s understanding of the human body and organ functions is largely based on an understanding of human nature within the framework of ancient culture, where traditions of a healthy lifestyle have been formed. At the same time, in his analysis of the bodily nature of man, al-Farabi follows a deeper ideological trajectory, namely, the proof that man is a kind of pinnacle of divine creation in the world of beings created by Allah. In the field of anthropological physiology, as in other areas, al-Farabi provides the idea of divine providence as a fundamental concept, based on which his entire religious and metaphysical system is subsequently built.