- Plato was an influential ancient Greek philosopher who founded the Academy in Athens, one of the earliest known institutions of higher learning in the Western world. He wrote dialogues on various topics, including politics, ethics, metaphysics, and aesthetics. - Al-Farabi was an influential Muslim philosopher and scientist who was one of the major figures in the golden age of Islam. He incorporated Aristotelian and Neoplatonic thought into an Islamic philosophical framework. He proposed the idea of a virtuous city ruled by a wise philosopher-king and discussed the traits and functions of the ideal supreme ruler. - Both Plato and Al-Farabi proposed ideal models of government and society ruled by philosopher-

1. Mohammed Zuhair Naji (Faculty ooff CCoommppuuttiinngg))
KKaawwtthhaarr BBaayyoouummii ((FFaaccuullttyy ooff IIssllaammiicc CCiivviilliizzaattiioonn))
UUnniivveerrssiittii TTeekknnoollooggii MMaallaayyssiiaa ((UUTTMM))
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1. Plato
Agenda
• Introduction
• Plato: Education and work
• Plato: The Dialogues
• Plato: Political thinking
• Plato: The Republic
• Final words
2. Al-Farabi
• Introduction
• Contributions
• Practical philosophy (ethics and politics)
• The virtuous City of Al –Farabi
• Description of the Model (Virtuous State)
• Who is The Supreme Ruler
• The Functions of The Supreme Ruler
• The Traits of The Supreme Ruler
• The State Hierarchy
• The Kinds Of States
• Final words

3. • Plato was born around 428 BC.
• He was one of the famous philosophers of ancient Greece.
• His family was among the distinguished in Athens.
– His father descended from the early kings of Athens
• He coined the term Philosophy, which means “love of
knowledge.”
• He travelled to Italy, Sicily, Egypt and others
– In Sicily, he became a teacher of the new ruler, Dionysius the Younger
(the art of philosophical rule)
• He founded the “Academy” which offered classes in
astronomy, political theory, biology, mathematics and others
– Closed by the Christian Emperor, Justinian
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Plato: Introduction

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Plato: Education and Work
• Plato, since his youth, was energetic and fond of study.
• He had distinguished teachers who taught him grammar,
gymnastics and music as well as philosophy.
• Plato was influenced mainly by two scholars during his life:
Pythagoras, Socrates, Heraclitus, Parmenides and Zeno.
• Plato started writing tragedies and epigrams.
– However, upon hearing Socrates' talk, he left that path and joined the
new teacher.
• Plato’s earliest works reflected Socrates' ideas.
• His middle works display Plato’s own philosophy.

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Plato: The Dialogues
• Plato’s writings took the form of dialogue:
– Philosophical ideas were introduced and then discussed and criticized.
– This style of writing was inherited from his teacher Socrates.
• Plato had addressed different topics in his writings:
– metaphysics, ethics, drama, Justice, mankind, Good, realism, etc.
– His dialogues benefited the theory of “Art”, particularly in topics such
as music, poetry, architecture, and drama, as well as Logic and legal
philosophy.
– His theories of education were reflected through the way he ran his
“Academy”.
• Socrates, various Athenians as well as other foreigners, were
the figures of Plato’s dialogues

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Plato: Political Thinking
• He included his political thoughts in his book “The Republic”.
• Plato divides the population into three classes:
1. Philosopher-kings (Statesmen or guardians): who provide the Political leadership
2. Military class (executive force or Auxiliary): who satisfy security needs
3. Producers (workers or craftsmen): who provide the economic structure of the
state
• A person’s particular class is determined by level of education
(i.e. not on the basis of birth or wealth)
• Society elements (individual people) vigorously execute their
functions within their assigned class (specialization)
– Specialization: every man should fulfil the nature of the job that he is
connected to and should abstain from engaging in any other types of
business (doctors, farmers, …)

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Plato: Political Thinking… contd.
Guardians
Auxiliaries
Craftsmen
Reason
Spirit
Desire
Classes of City Classes of the Soul
– Reason: desire for knowledge with no ulterior motive than to
have knowledge
– Spirit: desire to be experienced in a certain way, have others
think of us in a certain way (glory, honor, etc.)
– Desire: instinctual (natural) desires -- sleep, eat, procreate

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Plato: The Republic
• The word “republic” came from a Latin origin “Res Publica”
which means the state or public matters
• The book was written around 380 BC
– At the age of 52
– Considered as Plato’s best work
– The work that had the biggest influence on philosophy and political
theory
• It includes the essence of Plato’s thinking and philosophy.

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The Republic … Cont.
• One of the objectives of the Republic is to exhibit that “Just”
is worthy, and one should engage in just even when it has no
immediate advantages.
– i.e. Justice is independent of the advantages that it may incur.
– Questions for discussion: “Who is a just individual?”, “What is a just
state?” and “Can justice benefit the person who is just?”
• Justice: “In some way then possession of one’s own and the
performance of one’s own task could be agreed to be justice”
(Book IV)
– Political justice: The harmony of the structured political body (the
three classes).
• Injustice: “The meddling and exchange between the three
established orders does very great harm to the city and would most
correctly be called wickedness…

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The Republic … Cont.
• The Republic consists of ten books each of which would fit
onto one papyrus scroll:
– Books: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X
• The Republic consisted of three main parts:
– Part one: discusses the characteristics of an ideal
community and the education of philosopher-kings
– Part two: discusses philosophers,
• Expected to be ideal rulers of the community
• Philosopher-Kings have two jobs (i.e., philosopher and ruler)
– Part three: discusses the advantages and drawbacks of
various political forms of government

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The Republic … Cont.
The discussion of the Republic considers four schemes of
government. These four forms exist in reality and degrade one
by one into each other:
1. Timocracy: the benign military state and government of people who
love rule and honour.
2. Oligarchy: the state is dominated by merchant princes.
• this government emerges as a result of the dispute between those who seek to
collect money in whatever methods, and those who respect wisdom and honour.
– Democracy: due to socioeconomic divide among people during the
Oligarchy period, the poor majority defeat the wealthy minority
• democracy takes the place of oligarchy.
1. Tyranny: this government emerges due to the excessive freedom
granted to state citizens during the democracy stage.

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Al-Farabi: Introduction
• Abu Na r Muhammad ṣ ibn Muḥammad Farabi
– known in the west as Alpharabius.
• Al-Farabi is considered the founder of Islamic Philosophy.
• He was born in 870 in a small city named “Farab” (now in
Uzbekistan.)
• He is best known for his principles in the “views of the Inhabitants
of The Virtuous City”.
• He studied in Khorasan, Iran and then Baghdad.
• The main influence on al-Farabi‘s philosophy was the Aristotelian
tradition of Alexandria
• Some other significant influences on his work were the planetary
model of Ptolemy and elements of Platonism particularly
metaphysics and practical philosophy

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Al-Farabi: Contributions
•Al-Farabi made contributions to the fields
of logic, mathematics, music, philosophy, psychology,
and education.
•Al-Farabi wrote important books:
1. The Necessity of the Art of the Elixir (in alchemy).
2. Kitab al-Musiqa (in music)
3. He discussed the therapeutic effects of music on
the soul in his treatise “Meaning of the Intellect”

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Al-Farabi: Practical philosophy
(ethics and politics)
• The practical application of philosophy is a major concern
expressed by al-Farabi in many of his works,
• while the majority of his philosophical output has been
influenced by Aristotelian thought, his practical philosophy is
unmistakably based on that of Plato
• It is obvious that Al-Farabi practical philosophy (political
science) was influenced by two major factors:
• One was the “Mutazilah“ movement in theology
• the other was the translation of Greek texts.

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The virtuous City of Al –Farabi
• According to Al-Farabi, the society is natural and very important to
man.
• Because it is only through society that he finds a full satisfaction of his physical,
intellectual and moral needs.
• Thus, he attain the perfection proper to his nature.
• Al-Farabi classified the societies into two types : perfect and
imperfect.
• Furthermore he identified three kinds for each type as follows :
1) Perfect Society
(1) The Highest: The World State.
(2) The intermediate: The Nation State.
(3) The Lowest: The City State.
1) Imperfect Society
(1) The Village.
(2) The Suburb of a city.
(3) The street and house.

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Description of the Model (Virtuous State)
• Al- Farabi said: “Just as the world one harmonious whole
ruled by the highest authority of God; just as the stars and
the sub – lunar world are linked up and follow one another;
just as human soul is one in different powers; just as the
human body is an organized whole moved by the heart; in
like manner the state is to be regulated and patterned after
these noble models”.
• These are Al-Farabi’s words
• According to him, the virtuous state must have a hierarchy
of rulers coming under the control of a supreme head or
prince.

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WHO IS THE SUPREME RULER
1. He must be a human being who actualizes his rational faculty or is
in contact with the Active Intellect.
2. He must have certain traits.
• In this regard Al- Farabi differentiates between the ruler-philosopher
and the ruler- prophet
• though they are joint in the common function of being the linkage
between the divine beings and the citizens who do not have direct
access to knowledge of them.
3. A human being possesses three faculties for knowledge: sensation ,
imagination and reason
4. While the rational faculty is the only one that has access to the
knowledge of the divine beings.
• It must exercise strong control to insure that the copies offered by the
imaginative faculty are good imitations.
• But it may happen in rare cases that the imaginative faculty is so
powerful and perfect that it overwhelms all other faculties and
proceed directly to receive or form images of divine beings.
• This rare case is the case of prophecy

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THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SUPREME RULER
The supreme ruler is the main source of all powers and knowledge in
the regime. Accordingly, he conducted certain functions:
1.Teaching: makes known what happiness is
2.Guiding: arouses determination to do things necessary for attaining happiness.
3.Have excellent comprehension of everything that must be done
4.Classifies the society and determines the ranks
5.Have the ability to make others perform the functions for which they are fit.

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THE TRAITS OF THE SUPREME RULER
In order to carry out these functions, the ruler must have certain traits:
1.Great Intelligence.
2.Excellent memory
3.Eloquence
4.Firmness in the achievement of good
5.love for justice
6.love for study
7.love for truth
8.aversion to falsehood
9.contempt for wealth.. temperance in food, drink and enjoyment
According to Al-Farabi , the supreme ruler can be more than one human being
because the above mentioned traits sometimes can not be found in one man.

24. THE STATE HIERARCHY
The State Hierarchy has three elements:
1- The Supreme Ruler
2- The Wise Or Philosophers.
3- The Followers Or Believers
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Divine beings
The ruler- prophet The ruler philosopher
Wise citizens
Followers or Believers

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Kind of state Virtuous Ignorant Perverted Mistaken
Aim Ultimate
happiness
Lower
ends
(good or
Bad)
Lower ends Lower ends
Regime virtuous ignorant Wicked of
immoral
Astray
Citizens
characteristics
- Posses or follow
those who posses
correct similitude
of knowledge of
divine and natural
beings and
happiness
- At in accordance
with that
knowledge
Didn't
acquire
any
knowledg
e about
divine and
human
perfection
s
- Posses
knowledge
about divine,
perfections
and happiness
- don't add act
according to
their
knowledge
- Don't posses true
knowledge or
correct similitude
- act according to
false or incorrect
knowledge
THE KINDS OF STATES

26. Was what Al-Farabi proposed ever achieved?!
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