This volume deals with the philosopher Abu l-Hasan al-'Amiri (died 992) and his reception of Neoplatonism, focusing on his Kitab al-Fusul fi l-ma'alim al-ilahiya, the Chapters on Metaphysical Topics (Arabic text with German translation). The Chapters on Metaphysical Topics paraphrase sections of the Elements of Theology by the Neoplatonist Proclus (died 485) and are therefore part of the Arabic Procliana. The commentary analyses al-'Amiri's combination of Greek philosophy with Islamic theology, especially the harmonization of philosophical and Qur'anic terminology (universal Intellect is the Pen, universal Soul the Tablet) and man's position between the two worlds. On the basis of a textual comparison between al-'Amiri's work, the Greek text of Proclus and the Arabic writings of the Liber de Causis-tradition, the book argues for the existence of a "Ur-Liber de causis".

 

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