S2 E3: Al Kindi, The Father of Arab Philosophy with Peter Adamson

Al Kindi, The Father of Arab Philosophy Great to see you for our third episode, which features Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at the LMU in Munich and at King's College London. The way the story of philosophy has been presented is that it started with the ancient Greeks, and then you had the Renaissance, followed by the Enlightenment and then all the way to today. Professor Adamson is keen to tell us what happened in the 2,000-year gap between those famous Greeks - Socrates or Plato or Aristotle - and Thomas Aquinas, described as a founding figure of modern thought. Professor Adamson has hosted a podcast since 2010 called the History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps. He’s also a specialist on Al Kindi, often known as the first Arab philosopher. Enjoy! Chapters 00:00 Introduction 03:09 The Translation Movement 05:55 Falsafah and Kalam 09:01 The Role of Baghdad in Intellectual Exchange 12:11 Motivations Behind the Translation Movement 15:08 Al-Kindi's Philosophy 21:10 The Translation Circles: Kindi and Hunayn 30:11 Al-Kindi's Mandate 36:12 The Legacy of Ibn Sina 39:00 Continuity and Change 42:02 The Modern Landscape