Averroes on Family and Property in the Commentary on Plato’s “Republic”, 2022
By: Catarina Belo
Title Averroes on Family and Property in the Commentary on Plato’s “Republic”
Type Book Section
Language English
Date 2022
Published in Plato's Republic in the Islamic Context. New Perspectives on Averroes's Commentary
Pages 113–132
Categories Law, al-Fārābī, Influence
Author(s) Catarina Belo
Publisher(s)
Translator(s)
In this chapter, I will focus on Averroes's position on family and property in his Commentary on Plato's “Republic.” I will lay out his views on the role of parents in the education of children, and the place of women and children within the family and in society. I will examine Averroes's stance on private and collective property, as well as his questions pertaining to the transmission of property. Averroes's primary goal in this commentary is arguably to elucidate Plato's analysis of the structure of the ideal political state, given that, by his own admission, he could not find an Arabic translation of Aristotle's Politics. A distinction can in principle be made between Plato's views as expounded by Averroes, and the latter's own views on a given subject. Averroes’ positions can be discerned in the way he introduces personal comments and references to contemporary al-Andalus. In order to discern Averroes's positions and to discover whether he concurs with Plato on issues such as the question of education and the status of women and property, comparisons will be drawn with his main legal work, Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihāyat al-Muqtaṣid, so as to uncover his position on such legal matters as family law and property law. It seems that Averroes would have preferred to write a commentary on Aristotle's Politics, since Aristotle's views are closer to his own. In spite of the fact that he is writing on a philosopher with whom he has fewer affinities, he succeeds in presenting many of his own views in this commentary on Plato. This is perhaps owing to the fact that Averroes often quotes Alfarabi, who greatly admired Plato's philosophy and held it to be in harmony with Aristotle’s. Thus Alfarabi, who is a great source of inspiration for Averroes, constitutes in this instance a strong link between Averroes and Plato. Averroes draws on Plato and appears to agree with him in many respects. Writing on Plato's work also allows him to expound some of his own views on issues such as virtue, education, the political state, and religion. In the Commentary on Plato's “Republic” there are echoes of works by Alfarabi, in particular The Attainment of Happiness.

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Averroes on Family and Property in the Commentary on Plato’s “Republic”, 2022
By: Catarina Belo
Title Averroes on Family and Property in the Commentary on Plato’s “Republic”
Type Book Section
Language English
Date 2022
Published in Plato's Republic in the Islamic Context. New Perspectives on Averroes's Commentary
Pages 113–132
Categories Law, al-Fārābī, Influence
Author(s) Catarina Belo
Publisher(s)
Translator(s)
In this chapter, I will focus on Averroes's position on family and property in his Commentary on Plato's “Republic.” I will lay out his views on the role of parents in the education of children, and the place of women and children within the family and in society. I will examine Averroes's stance on private and collective property, as well as his questions pertaining to the transmission of property. Averroes's primary goal in this commentary is arguably to elucidate Plato's analysis of the structure of the ideal political state, given that, by his own admission, he could not find an Arabic translation of Aristotle's Politics. A distinction can in principle be made between Plato's views as expounded by Averroes, and the latter's own views on a given subject. Averroes’ positions can be discerned in the way he introduces personal comments and references to contemporary al-Andalus. In order to discern Averroes's positions and to discover whether he concurs with Plato on issues such as the question of education and the status of women and property, comparisons will be drawn with his main legal work, Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihāyat al-Muqtaṣid, so as to uncover his position on such legal matters as family law and property law. It seems that Averroes would have preferred to write a commentary on Aristotle's Politics, since Aristotle's views are closer to his own. In spite of the fact that he is writing on a philosopher with whom he has fewer affinities, he succeeds in presenting many of his own views in this commentary on Plato. This is perhaps owing to the fact that Averroes often quotes Alfarabi, who greatly admired Plato's philosophy and held it to be in harmony with Aristotle’s. Thus Alfarabi, who is a great source of inspiration for Averroes, constitutes in this instance a strong link between Averroes and Plato. Averroes draws on Plato and appears to agree with him in many respects. Writing on Plato's work also allows him to expound some of his own views on issues such as virtue, education, the political state, and religion. In the Commentary on Plato's “Republic” there are echoes of works by Alfarabi, in particular The Attainment of Happiness.

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