Abu Al-Barakat`s psychology : critical edition of the section on soul (Al-Nafs) from Al-Mu Tabar Fi al-Hikmah with analysis and translation of selected texts

Abstract

The problem of soul is among the most important issues discussed in Islamic philosophy. Many important works on soul have been written by Muslim philosophers and most of them did contribute something in the development of the philosophical psychology in Islam. Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi’s Book on Soul (Kitab al-Nafs) is one of those important literatures which reflect the later development of the psychological discussion in Islamic philosophy. His reputation as a critic of the Peripatetic philosophy in Islam has placed his works and philosophy in a spot which attracts the supporters as well as the opponents to read and study them. This study entitled Abu al-Barakat’s Psychology: Critical Edition of the Section on Soul (alNafs) from al-Muc tabar fi al-Hikmah with Analysis and Translation of Selected Texts, as it is motivated by the above motivation, is also an attempt to place and make available one of his important and certainly among the most valuable works on soul in Islamic philosophy. It comprises of three major parts namely the analysis, the translation of the selected texts of the Book and the critical edition of its Arabic text. The analysis part focuses on the selected problems concerning the very nature of human soul such as its definition and existence, its immateriality and substantiality, its soul-body relationship, and its faculties and unity. This is followed by the translation part which comprises a complete translation of the selected five chapters on the nature of soul and its perception. The most important part is the critical edition of a complete Arabic text of Kitab al-Nafs which would be the first critical edition ever. It is undeniable that there are many unexpected and important views raised by Abu alBarakat in this work which, in some instances, may give a critical impact on the Peripatetic reputation especially of Ibn Sina.