The Al-Farabi’s Political Philosophy in the Age of
Globalization
Umirzakova Lyzzat.A.
Kazakh Humanities and
Law Institute of the Ministry of Justice
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
(Astana,
Kazakhstan)
Abstract
The need to appeal to the spiritual heritage
of the past is dictated by the purpose of extraction of lessons for updating
and improvement of the modern society and the formation of the democratic
constitutional state. Al-Farabi’s political philosophy is not similar to
political philosophy and its subject. However, due to this circumstance we
can’t deny the relevance of heritage of the philosopher for the present stage
of the social development. Today in the conditions of the civil society and
attempts to create the global World with democratic values, socio-political
views of the medieval scholar are becoming very important.
Key words: political philosophy, virtuous city, concept of happiness.
Crisis of the 21st century, proving itself in different ways,
with all evidence shows a tendency of globalization of many problems which
demands joint efforts of mankind, achievement of mutual understanding and consent
between the people and countries, strengthening of ties between the East and
the West for its successful solution. The human took the path of polycentric
development and the establishment of constructive dialogue between the East and
the West. All people on the Earth, irrespective of the racial, ethnic,
political distinctions, deeply realize the need for unification and consent in
the face of challenges of the contemporary history.
The issues on origin and functioning of human society,
the principles of organization of the ideal state, the ways of creation of
civil society in the history of philosophy are not new, but are very
challenging under modern conditions. The
present stage of social development, in particular in connection with an
increasing tendency of globalization of many problems, aggravates interest to the
new understanding of a well-known problem.
The modern world with all globalization
processes assume the rapprochement of the people, strengthening of their
cross-cultural interaction. In terms of globalization six aspects intertwine:
political, economical, educational, informational, linguistic and cultural. Globalization
also adjoins issues of intercultural and interethnic interaction between the people. The tendencies of the modern
society in social, cultural, economic, political plans have led to the formation
of cultural society. The modern social reality
becomes multicultural,
where the diverse theoretical and practical dialogues recognize plurality,
richness of cultural and social life, the rights and freedom of a citizen,
tolerance, dialogue of culture. Positive recognition of a value itself and the
importance of distinctions do not exclude discussion on what the process of
acceptance of distinctions and their preservation, replication and
reproduction, include educational environment [1].
In our opinion it is very important
for modern political processes and their understanding to appeal to Abu Nasr al-Farabi’s views. The history of studying
al-Farabi’s views is rich with the names of his followers and researchers, who
made a significant contribution to his heritage throughout several centuries.
We can state that the modern
generation addresses to his ideas again, restoring them to new life,
comprehending their universal and humanistic content in a new context. Such
close and deep attention to encyclopedic heritage of al-Farabi is caused, first
of all, by the substantial pathos of his philosophy focused on a perfection
ideal – the perfect person and perfect society, where all people will live
freely and fairly and where the principles of virtuous life will be realized.
Al-Farabi takes a special place in
the history of public, philosophical and political thought. The appeal of his
works is not only that he accurately developed philosophical system, but also
the principles of political philosophy are accurately formulated in his
political works for the first time.
The research of political philosophy
of al-Farabi gains big relevance in the conditions of the development of the independent
Republic of Kazakhstan, strengthening of democratic transformations, creation
of the constitutional, secular country, the statement of consent in our society.
In this regard al-Farabi’s research, especially his doctrines on policy,
freedom, happiness, the need of mutual aid between people, his appeal to study
sciences, intellectual moral improvement of the person and society are
excessively actualized. Highly important is the concept of the thinker about
political leadership, his ideas about virtuous society, justice, equality,
preservation of peace, prevention of war, condemnation of unfair wars. In this
respect the political philosophy and ideas of the thinker can become a valuable
source for the political education of a younger generation.
As it appears from a variety of works of al-Farabi, in particular from
those which devoted to socio-political issues (“The treatise on the views of the
residents of the virtuous city”, “The Civil policy”, “The statesman’s aphorisms”,
“On achievement of happiness”, etc.), the medieval thinker attached a great
value to the political philosophy, its role and function in society. It is interesting to note that today, for example, “The treatise on the
views of the residents of the virtuous city” can be interpreted not only as composition
on the moral governor, the moral city or on moral inhabitants, but also as the
ethical treatise.
A specific goal is considered there
as an achievement of a certain organic union of the political and philosophical
discourses, it forces to reflex over more essential, more fundamental and
important problems, than it can seem at first sight -to be the person in the
society with equal opportunities. Al-Farabi presented it this way.
In “The lay on classification of sciences” al-Farabi defines a subject
and the mission of the political philosophy which has the status of civil
science, that is the science related with the problems of public activity of
the person. He writes: “The civil science studies the types of actions and
behavior caused by will; properties, customs, inherited qualities and
characters, from which these actions and behavior originate; the purposes for
the sake of which they are made; which of them have to be in person… It
explains which of them valid happiness and which were imagined… It… explains the
benefit of happiness, favor and advantages… It explains that they take place
only under certain management, which consolidates these actions, behavior,
qualities, properties, customs in the cities and the people… This management
takes place only in the presence of any occupation or ability… This occupation
is what is called as the imperial or supreme power… The policy is the basis of
this occupation” [2; pp.176-177]. Thus, the given fragment contains understanding of a
subject and the essence of the political philosophy, it is clearly visible that
the policy holds the main position among other practical sciences and serves
the purposes of achievement of happiness by the person. As al-Farabi noted “the
virtuous policy” is the only greatest virtue available to the person” [3; p. 256].
According to al-Farabi, the achievement of happiness by the person is
thought as the result of joint activity of people on its achievement by no
means of isolation from society and out of the collective tendency to the achievement
of the benefit of the state in general. The individual and the state is the
uniform purpose of happiness and the achievement are closely interconnected
with each other. According to the thinker, just as the society takes a certain
place both in the structure of the universe; individuals take the certain place
in the structure of the society. Al-Farabi claims that just as all bodies are
interconnected with each other in a living body, so in the state all its
members help each other with achievement of happiness as the purpose and
benefits not only for the individual, but for the all society.
According to al-Farabi’s concept of happiness it is possible to allocate
two main issues revealing its essence: the happiness is a special condition of the
spiritual and the physical harmony, perfection, absolute value, aspiration which
is the reason for human existence. The achievement of happiness as the highest
perfection is possible only in case when a person is a member of the association
and society led by the principle of labor, mutual aid and spiritual
communication. According to the thinker an ideal example of such human association
is the certain “virtuous city”.
One of the essential moments of al-Farabi’s concept, which in our
opinion, shows the political approach, is an idea of belief in possibility of
terrestrial happiness of people as opposed to the official religious ideology
of the time based on Koran doctrines which are approved by the transcendental
nature of happiness, connecting its achievement with the next World. The
philosopher denies “eternity” of moral qualities “from God” and the place of
Allah's will he puts the ability and will of the person defining the course of
life, seeking for self-improvement.
According to al-Farabi the concept of happiness is closely connected
with the metaphysical picture of the World created by him. He connects the
Universe system with the structure of human society, the development of which
happens on the basis of the steps resulting from each other as it occurs in the
World harmony of the Universe with “the First nature".
A transfer link between the person and the First nature is an active
reason, which lies in comprehension, the first nature and all existing in the
sublunary World. It is the reason that allocates the person with force and the
beginning in which the person aspires or can strive for perfection
independently. The person being born already possesses a certain predisposition
to reasonable activity. Transformation of reasonable ability of the person into
the valid actual reason also requires the influence of the active reason the turning
potential ability into actual reason. Only by reaching a stage of active reason
the person has an opportunity of perception of all real and such perception
guarantees a possibility of achievement of absolute, the highest happiness [4; p.233].
To understand the al-Farabi's concept of happiness, it is necessary to underline
two issues: the ethical qualities of a certain person are not congenital. The person has a certain “ethical predisposition”, which is
developed as a result of the actions carried out by the person throughout all
life; the conditions of happiness include both positive and negative moments. The
person is free to choose these or those acts made for achievement of any benefit
that is freedom of choice, possessing creative beginning and making decision in
compliance with requirements of a reason. It is possible to call these moments
as the main political postulates that is capable to lead to the most actual
revaluation of values in our society.
The person has to realize the purpose of life for life development, an
essential moment of which is “temper” formed that are the characteristics of
personality, on which depend actions. A condition of happiness achievement is the
development of good temper and judiciousness. “A good state of temper is that
its state and its parts happen to be such to which good acts, good deeds and
fine actions are always made” [5; p.171]. Virtue
is not given to the person by nature, but gained by the person through
exercises and a habit implementation of fine actions. Al-Farabi emphasizes a role
of habit, considering it as a factor
forming this or that temper. Good temper is developed by force of habit to
commitment, by own will and by good deeds. One of the important concepts of virtue
essence is the concept of measure. This or that action will be a benefit only
in case when it is moderate, in other
words it settles down between two extremes. In the same way any virtue is a
state of mind between two defects: excess and shortcoming.
Al-Farabi makes practical recommendations on the
structure of such ideal state construction, which would provide achievement of
happiness by each of its members. Naturally, according to their opportunities
and abilities. Achievement of happiness for the person is possible only in a similar
society. “The person is related to (types) beings that can reach the necessary
in affairs and receive the highest perfection only through association of many
people in one place of residence” [6; pp.48-49]. By nature for existence and satisfaction of the
requirements the person needs coexistence and joint work with other people. Therefore,
practical implementation of happiness is possible, from the point of view of
al-Farabi, is exclusive in the Virtuous city that is a place, where people have
the purpose of mutual aid [7; p.305].
Human happiness is in an absolute
value. Therefore, there is a limit of aspiration for all people. For people to
be happy, it is necessary to know what the original happiness is. Achievement
of happiness requires theoretical justification. Therefore, al-Farabi
integrally coordinates ethics and policy with the theory of perception.
Moreover, ethics and policy represent the end of general concept of the World,
being connected with its principles.
Knowledge about fine, fair surely has to be also confirmed by practical
orientation. Except theoretical knowledge, virtuous actions are necessary.
In this case there is a need to emphasize an important aspect of the
problem of unity of individual and society which is mentioned by al-Farabi and that
it is far from World outlook and ideological installation on a priority of the
single separation and self-isolation of the individual from the life of
society, its interests and the purposes, though such views took place in
philosophy of a classical antiquity and the Second Teacher was familiar with
them. It is enough to remember in this context his characteristic of ignorant
cities, where he condemns the way of life, behavior and psychology of egoism
and self-isolation. This idea of the thinker, certainly, represents achievement
in the field of universal problems of the modernity, in many respects, owing to
the dominating alienation, broken society and is accepted today as a
methodological basis in the sphere of regulation of political processes and
activity of political institutes.
Important and undoubtedly, crucial issues in political philosophy of
al-Farabi is the idea of unity of human community. This idea is being made
actual in modern conditions not only because of various challenges of the third
millennium in front of the mankind there is a problem of association of efforts
of all World community, but also because of the internal problems of the modern
Kazakhstan which demand transformation of it into democratic, originally free
state. Successful achievement of this purpose, in turn, demands consolidation
of efforts not only of democratically adjusted sectors of society, but also of
various forces, organizations and their unity in the movement to the uniform
purpose – creation of the democratic state. That is why, being initially “fateful”
to live in society, the person has to be guided constantly by idea of unity –
unity with the nature, unity of society, unity of policy and the right, unity
of moral and the right, unity of thought and an act.
Also considering political processes of the
modern Kazakhstan, it is necessary to pay attention to the problem, solution of
which induces us to focus on political philosophy of al-Farabi. Civil society
in Kazakhstan, as well as its institutes, is formed in many respects, thanks to
informal communication of individuals, where the main condition is a valuable
consensus. It concerns the major moral values, on which civil society is based,
and rules of conduct of its members, turning them into a moral community,
capable to work as a unit. A strength of civil society as the association based
on valuable consensus is the priority of moral over the priority of legal,
about what the medieval thinker mentioned in his time. [8; pp.248-249].
So, for example, claiming that
the virtuous city is the association of people who develops on the basis of
mutual respect and mutual aid in order to achieve happiness for the benefit of
all, al-Farabi did not deny a variety of the public associations taking place
in society especially as he could constantly observe them in rather structured
feudal society. Therefore, he also states this variety, giving classification
of so-called “city” associations (“the ignorant cities”), classification by “profession”
(shop, craft associations), classification by prevalence in person of this or
that “type” of soul, and also by the ability of a person to learn “theoretical
bases” of the doctrine about achievement of happiness and others.
Thus it is important to emphasize that according to al-Farabi political
institutes and political forms of communication of people they act as an external
forms of valid consolidation in society and as an external they cannot resolve
valid tasks of association of people. They can be resolved verily only, first
of all, when problems of moral and moral perfection of people will be resolved.
In many respects the characteristic of an ideal of the virtuous city seems
avaricious in regard of a detailed statement of political aspects. First of
all, the most important for al-Farabi is the moral essence of the person as a
carrier of good and love, and then a problem of creation of conditions, in what
the moral would be cultivated and implemented. Therefore, he doesn't also have
that ideal state with a detailed statement of its political organization, way
of managing, about which Aristotle mentions, there is no criticism of political
regimes inherent in Plato and other details concerning political aspects of the
ideal state. There are no such details, because for al-Farabi they are “secondary”
signs of association of individuals in society and inside of it. Therefore, for
the philosopher the virtuous city is “the city, where association of people has
the purpose of mutual aid in affairs, by which the happiness is found”, and the
society, where people help each other with cultivation of moral and moral
behavior in order to achieve happiness is called a virtuous society. To
understand the essence of such society means to understand who a morally
perfect person is, what virtues he has to possess, what the mechanism of its formation
is. In this regard, our contemporaries will not actively object to such
statement and solution of problems of the political organization of society. Thereby,
it is possible to hope, he will make a contribution to a modern research
perspective, making important the historical potential.
To understand an ideal of the perfect state, so-called a virtuous city
is possible through “negative definition” of the person, that is in the essence
through what the moral person should not be and the critic of Al-Farabi of the
so-called “ignorant” cities gives much information in this sense. For al-Farabi
knowledge is a moral virtue, and in this context he follows the best
aspirations and motives of the Socratic school. Moreover, an educational
orientation of philosophy of the medieval thinker is ontologically implanted,
therefore, the cities opposite to the virtuous city are determined, first of
all, by a cognitive sign as “the ignorant cities”. The moral and psychological
characteristic, making acceptance of a way of life and behavior of their
inhabitants as a standard of moral perfection is impossible and becomes an
indicator of ignorance of the cities. As the “ignorant” cities are the
description of tightly consumer relation of the person to the World, where the best,
pragmatical values, images of defects and moral shortcomings of the person are
rather wide a range of which, according to al-Farabi are formed: from egoism,
vanity and laziness to cunning, avarice and love of power.
The ignorant city, thus, is subdivided into some cities: “city of need”,
“city of exchange”; “city of meanness and misfortune”, “ambitious city”, “voluptuous
city”. Distinction of people's opinions on happiness as the highest perfection
of the purpose, to which the person has to aspire, predetermines the meaning of
their lives. Al-Farabi understood that mainly interest and motives of people
are based not on distracted speculations, and on such ideas as why it is
necessary to live for, on ”real”, “life philosophies” (the love of power, voluptuousness,
wealth, ambition, etc.).
So far the moral beginning defines humanity “measure” in the person, and
the problem of the governor of the virtuous city coincides with a problem of
searches of an ideal, whose concept “head of state” coincides with the concept
“perfect person”. Thus, in al-Farabi's philosophy, the modern language is a
well-known issue of the political leadership. In this sense, the work”Statesman's
Aphorisms” is of great interest. It
emphasizes that “the true governor is the one who is in art by means of
which he manages the cities, as the purpose and a subject of aspiration sets the
creation of original happiness, which is a limit and the purpose of art of
board for himself and other citizens” [9;
p.198].
The head of the virtuous city manages not according to his own will and
a whim, but according to the divine law and mission, which meaning is
comprehended in the forms of rationality and deep education of all sectors of
society and is accepted by society as a norm, the law by truthful governor and leading
all citizens to happiness. That is why, according to al-Farabi, the concepts
“imam”, “philosopher”, “legislator” coincide and are embodied in a political
leader – the head of state.
Abu Nasr al-Farabi, as well as other thinkers of the Islamic
Middle Ages, tried to find the meaning of human life in the imperfect world. In his political philosophy al-Farabi emphasizes an aspect of a problem
of public administration, which testifies that the true head of state naturally
takes the place as the best among the best. His virtuous person is not only the
person with acute mind and heightened sense of debt, but also the person with
heart. “First of all there
has to be a heart, which serves only then as the reason of existence of all
other body organs … – the head of this city has to exist first of all to serve
and then to be the reason of existence of city association and its members…”. The
head of state has to correspond to a number of requirements imposed to the
highly moral personality, has to possess twelve necessary qualities: good
memory, proud soul, honor, perfect health, congenital tendency to knowledge and
ability to training others, love to justice, hatred to tyranny and others. This
person “reached perfection and became the reason and concept in an act” [10; pp.
317-319]. Thus, the ideal of the state
governor of al-Farabi coincides with an idea of the perfect person, for destiny
of other people can be entrusted only to the perfect person. The intelligent
one can teach people to reason; the virtuous one can bring up virtuous people
and demonstrated them a way to happiness.
It is necessary to comply with the principle of “golden mean” in
management and in the life activity. “The ones who create the middle and
moderation in moral qualities and actions, – wrote al-Farabi, – are a mayor and
governor; the art, by means of which this (middle) is created, is art of public
administration” [11; p.190].
Emphasizing twelve moral qualities of the ideal governor, al-Farabi
thereby gave point to a problem of moral perfection, focusing attention on the
due and the real. Approving the ideals of the virtuous city and the perfect
person – the governor of such city, al-Farabi proclaimed humanity ideals, in
what the deep meaning of political philosophy consists. In political
philosophy of the thinker there are two aspects of humanity: ethical and
political. The ethical aspect, cultivation of humanistic values expresses the
thinker's views on the person as supreme value of the universe. The political
aspect set up and proved by the philosopher, opens idea about need of creation
of worthy living conditions in the society. On that basis the thinker tries to
prove a moral ideal from a political position. Therefore, his ideas are
important to the present, causing interest to a problem of the political
leader, his personality as the highly moral person capable to lead people and
to implement the policy aimed at the benefit of the person and the state.
One more positive thought of the great thinker is connected with the
dreams of a settled peace between the people. In his opinion, “all earth will
become virtuous, if the people help each other for achievement of happiness” [12;
p. 305].
“The ideal state”, according to al-Farabi, is a condition of a settled
peace, and aggressive war is considered by it as a crime. There is no doubt
that everlasting peace on the earth, national expectations about peaceful life
were in dreams of the thinker on termination of aggressive wars, pernicious for
human society that also doesn't fade into insignificance to the present.
Thus, in the center of philosophical system
al-Farabi there is a subject of the person, his intellectual and moral
improvement, his aspiration to achievement of freedom, to personal and public
happiness, search for a better future. The issues on origin and functioning of the
human society, state, its types, the forms of government, places and roles of
the law, the principles of the organization of the virtuous state and necessary
qualities, features of the person vested with the power (political leader) are
very important nowadays. It should be noted that not all problems, which
excited al-Farabi and which he noted in his works, belong to the past, his many
ideas are essentially important today.
Ideal society is a
result of social, ontological designs of philosophers of all times, an
unattainable goal. Incompleteness of reasoning on virtue is not their
imperfection, after all they also cannot be completed, as they are only
strategies. Being more important again and again, they awaken the mankind to
reflections on possibility of creation of ideal societies. And weren't the
social projects of the XX century only projects, were they? The attempts of
social reorganization, where ideas of moral transformation prevail, won't
become a thing of the past, they will always find a fertile field for
cultivation of single moral rise. Didn't Karl Marx (immorally and false
interpreted in the XX century) say that the original kingdom of communism has
to begin with transformation of the person, but not with something different,
did he?
No matter how we
treated socialism today, its value is huge for the XX century, and its crash is
still not comprehended. Was socialism the last illusion dissipated? Or was
it a lesson of modernist project celebration? Existence and crash of socialism
define not only private life and destiny of social institutes of the XX
century; what and how many of us are defined also depend on it. Socialist
society was the project, which didn't take place, and hardly its restoration is
capable to establish an ideal order. But do we really need it? Generally, it
was formed by immoral apologists [13; с.155]. However,
“virtuous cities” and virtuous people continue to excite minds of mankind not
only in ideal projects, but also in persistent ontological appeals: to change
the world, changing ourselves, becoming the person as a result of
transformation of the world around.
Studying of Al-Farabi’s political philosophy allows to conclude that his
views and ideas acquire big relevance, in the conditions of creation of legal
state and civil society, the statement of the principles of consent and
consensus in society. In this plan social views of
Al-Farabi can become a valuable source at political education of a younger
generation.
This circumstance
confirms a well-known truth that the past is a key to understanding of the
present. Our present is a globalizing World, where the people and cultures
become more and more interconnected and interdependent. To keep the spiritual
potential of al-Farabi’s ontological views, to develop them into new historical
conditions are the problem of our day and our contemporaries. It appears that
the fertile grains of the historical past approach us to understanding of how
genuine our life is, make it invaluable, and induce us to strive for perfection.
References
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3. Al-Farabi.
Social and ethical treatises. - Almaty, 1973. - p. 256.
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Congress “The legacy of al-Farabi and world culture”. - Almaty, 2001. - p.232-239.
5. Al-Farabi.
Social and ethical treatises. - Almaty, 1973. - . p. 171.
6. Ibid. - p.
48-49.
7. Al-Farabi.
Philosophical treatises. - Almaty, 1970. - p. 305.
8. Moon Hee Kwon
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11. Al-Farabi.
Social and ethical treatises. - Almaty, 1973. - p. 190.
12. Al-Farabi.
Philosophical treatises. - Almaty, 1970. - p. 305.
13. Seytahmetov
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