Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

Multicultural society in Farabi's political philosophy

Document Type : Scientific Research Manuscript

Author
N. Keikha
Assistant Professor in Political Sciences, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.22035/jicr.2024.3219.3516
Abstract
This article examines the thoughts of Abu Nasr Farabi in terms of attention to multicultural society and raises the question whether minorities and different ethnic and religious groups are recognized in Farabi's thought. If the answer is yes, how does this happen? In this study, in the two parts of ontological foundations and political-social foundations, topics such as the precedence of philosophy over religion, communal city, the great society, the use of allegory and imagination, the evolutionary formation of language and society, and the increasing complexity of language along with the evolution of society and the impact of Farabi's ontological debates on the acceptance of pluralism in society, have been discussed. In discussing the formation of society, Farabi talked about how different cultures were created and then how they faced each other. A communal city gives the same status to minorities and different groups as advanced democracies do today. The great society in his thought is made up of all nations and is more complete than a single country. Philosophy, which is based on universal rational reasoning and methodology, determines the practical and theoretical opinions of religion and provides a common language for all the residents of a city, and thus, hadithism and religious appearances do not replace rational truths. All of these make Farabi's thought rich and efficient source for analyzing and investigating a multicultural society and show the acceptance and desirability of a multicultural society in his thought.
Keywords
cultural pluralism
minorities
Farabi
culture
religion. philosophy

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 17 April 2023
  • Revise Date 09 August 2023
  • Accept Date 08 September 2023