Dissertation Defense: Eriko Okamoto
Candidate: Eriko Okamoto
Major: Arabic and Islamic Studies
Advisor: Felicitas Opwis, Ph.D.
Al-Farabi’s Theory of Science and His Ihsaʾ al-ʿulum
This study deals with the classification of the sciences in Arabic and Islamic philosophy. It does so through an examination of the tenth-century philosopher Abu Nasr al-Farabi (d. 339/950) and his treatise Ihsaʾ al-ʿulum (Enumeration of the Sciences). Scholarship to date has largely approached to this influential text with a focus on the history of early Arabic classificatory systems, tracing their Greek roots and impact on subsequent Islamic, Christian, and Jewish writings. The present study builds on this work but foregrounds the ontological and epistemological bases of al-Farabi’s treatise, offering a more comprehensive analysis of his division of knowledge.
My central argument is that al-Farabi’s notion of science (ʿilm) is far more nuanced than scholars have typically recognized, being broader than that of his Greek predecessors. His Ihsaʾ al-ʿulum provides a window onto the complex internal and hierarchical structures of knowledge. At the same time, I analyze this treatise by drawing on a number of his other works, such as the Kitab al-burhan (Book of Demonstration) and the Tahsil al-saʿada (Attainment of Happiness), which open up new readings of the Ihsaʾ al-ʿulum. As I show, what seems a straightforward work—one that simply “enumerates” the sciences—contains, on closer inspection, a sophisticated approach to the division of knowledge. Ultimately, this study illuminates different aspects of al-Farabi’s approach, identifying his influences, innovations, as well as contradictions that surface in considering his treatise as a whole.