The present volume 2-1 of Philosophy in the Islamic World continues the work begun in 2012 with Volume 1 (8th to 10th centuries). The project of compiling an independent series on the subject as part of the Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie is now taking shape ever more clearly, not least because Volume 4 (19th to 20th centuries), edited by Anke von Kügelgen, is being published simultaneously, forging a link not only with the Middle Ages but also with the present.
The ambitious plan of compiling a comprehensive history of philosophy in the Islamic world has thus been shown to be attainable, although it is proving to demand considerable time and energy from all contributors. This also applies to the two tasks still before us: the publication of the second part of Volume 2 on the 11th and 12th centuries (2-2, on the Western Islamic world) and the compilation of Volume 3 (13th to 18th centuries), which has been considered a particular challenge from the very first. The former has been scheduled for 2024, while extensive preparations for the latter have already been carried out. Among these are a detailed plan of the volume, assembling a team of authors to cover a wide range of topics, and the publication of The Development of Arabic Logic (1200–1800) (Basel 2019) by Khaled El-Rouayheb, which is closely linked to Volume 3 in its subject matter as well as its structure (cf. El-Rouayheb’s Preface, p. 11).
There are several reasons why the discussion of the 11th and 12th centuries has been presented in two volumes and not one, as originally intended. Along with practical considerations, the decisive reason was a weighty one inherent in the subject matter: recent studies, including the extensive work on this series, have shown that the philosophy of the 11th and 12th centuries was not a uniform phenomenon that could be reduced to one single development. It cannot simply be described as the ‘classical age’ and the crowning evolution of the older, ancient and Islamic trends, as was done for a long time (‘from al-Kindī to Ibn Rušd’). On the contrary, it is characterised by innovative approaches and controversies (for details cf. the Introduction to this volume), which developed differently in the different regions of the Islamic world, leading ultimately to a momentous parting of the ways. Thus, we have chosen to present the divergent developments in the central/eastern and in the western Islamic world in separate narratives – despite the undeniable connections between them.
The division of the material implies distributing the chapters on Jewish and Christian authors between the two volumes. In two cases, this turned out to be straightforward. The discussion of the philosophical tradition of the Syriac Christians in the 11th and 12th centuries (by Hans Daiber) belongs to Volume 2-1 (cf. § 7 in the present volume) because of subject matter and geographic location, and because it follows on from a corresponding chapter in the previous volume (cf. Vol. 1 § 2). The section on the Arabic – Latin translations (by Dag Nikolaus Hasse and Charles Burnett), in its turn, could only be assigned to Volume 2-2 (cf. Vol. 2-2, § 6) because these translations were carried out in Spain and other regions around the western Mediterranean. Allocating the substantial chapter on the Jewish authors of the Islamic world, written by Mauro Zonta (†) for the Grundriss, however, was less obvious. This chapter is, in fact, an exceptional case in that its discussion begins in the 3rd/9th century and continues through to the 10th/16th century, spanning the chronological range of volumes 1 and 3. All the same, its main focus is on the Jewish authors of the 5th/11th and 6th/12th centuries, who were almost without exception active in the western Islamic world. For this reason Zonta’s contribution, in spite of the range of topics it covers and its chronological and geographic breadth, has been assigned to Volume 2-2 (cf. Vol. 2-2, § 5).
It was only possible to complete the present work because of the many people who contributed to it with great dedication. My heartfelt thanks are due to all of them. Renate Würsch not only composed several subchapters but occupied a key position in the editing team, as she already did for Vol. 1, contributing to essential decisions, which she carried out with her customary expertise, care, and diligence. I was always able to contact Anke von Kügelgen, who was simultaneously working on Volume 4, for most profitable exchanges on every aspect of the subject as well as the organisation of the series. My thanks go to all the authors of this volume for their many years of intensive collaboration with the editing team, and with one another other in the case of collaborative chapters (cf. esp. the long list of authors for § 1, but also § 2, § 4, and § 5). I particularly wish to include David Reisman, our colleague who sadly died too young, in my gratitude; he submitted the first version of § 2.1 which was subsequently edited and significantly expanded by Ahmed H. al-Rahim.
At the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies in Zurich I was able to rely on numerous helpful colleagues. Johannes Thomann carried out extensive research, revised and contributed subchapters on astronomical subjects, and assisted in the final editing. James Weaver provided indispensable assistance translating and editing extensive and complex English manuscripts. Patric Schaerer, who is to take on the production of Volume 3, contributed with great precision to the final revision of 2-1 and compiled the comprehensive indices to the volume. Nicolas Hintermann and Katarina Roberts worked on the project while still students, contributing to its success with their research and by sourcing relevant texts. Schwabe publishers also supported our work: at the management level, where David Hoffmann, Wolfgang Rother, and Susanne Franzkeit above all championed it; in the editorial office, where Angela Zoller and Andreas Schatzmann copy-edited the text with precise understanding of the subject and the language; and finally with ‘Programmleitung Philosophie’, which has been carried out by Christian Barth with great expertise and admirable commitment for some time now. Gratitude is also due to the support from the overall series editors of the Grundriss; previously Helmut Holzhey and now Gerald Hartung and Laurent Cesalli, with the latter in particular promoting the requirements of our series and its future continuation.
Many colleagues from the fields of Islamic Studies and Philosophy, too, contributed to the project’s success with their advice and readiness to assist. At various times Peter Adamson, Asad Q. Ahmed, Sonja Brentjes, Nadja Germann, Henning Sievert, and Georges Tamer provided me with essential information on a variety of topics. Anke von Kügelgen, Dominik Perler, and Robert Wisnovsky read the introductory chapter of the volume critically and provided comments and suggestions that contributed materially to its final form. Furthermore, a year (2019–2020) spent at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) allowed me to conduct fruitful conversations with many people at the institute itself and in the city overall, as well as enabling me to complete my work on this book in an unusually quiet setting.
Lastly thanks are due to several institutions and people who generously funded our project: the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF; Schweizerischer Nationalfonds [SNF]) which funded a staff position over several years; the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (Schweizerische Akademie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften [SAGW]), which allowed us to arrange regular meetings of authors; the Dr Charles Hummel Stiftung and Dr Ulrich Albers who helped us through lean times by providing financial support for our work.
Ulrich Rudolph
Zurich, May 2021