154 - The Philosophy of History: Ibn Khaldūn

Posted on 15 December 2013

The historian Ibn Khaldūn applies the methods of philosophy to understand the rise and fall of political regimes.

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Further Reading

• F. Rosenthal (trans.), Ibn Khaldun: The Muqaddima, 3 vols (Princeton: 1958).

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• T. Albertini (ed.), The Actuality of North African Philosopher Ibn Khaldūn, special issue of Philosophy East & West, issue 69 (2019).

• A. al-Azmeh, Ibn Khaldūn: an Essay in Reinterpretation (London: 1982).

• A.F. Alatas, Ibn Khaldūn (New Delhi: 2013).

• A.J. Fromherz, Ibn Khaldūn: Life and Times (Edinburgh: 2010).

• B. Lawrence (ed.), Ibn Khaldūn and Islamic Ideology (Leiden: 1984).

• M. Mahdi, Ibn Khaldūn’s Philosophy of History: a Study in the Philosophic Foundation of the Science of Culture (London: 1957).#

• F. Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography (Leiden: 1968).

In Our Time: Ibn Khaldun

Comments

Declan Foley 15 December 2013

Hi,

For the past few weeks I am having difficulty getting the player to work. It takes a few minutes to start. Does anyone else have this problem?

Peter Adamson 15 December 2013

In reply to by Declan Foley

Hi -

It works ok for me so unless someone else is having trouble maybe it is your connection?

Thanks,

Peter

Tom Roche 16 December 2013

In reply to by Declan Foley

Playback is always better with local/downloaded files.

Hoom 13 July 2016

Is there a name for Ibn Khaldun's theory of nomadic-sedentary cycle? I feel "asabiyya" doesn't quite catch it because it refers to the "solidarity" within the conquering group, not to the cycle itself.

Also, I guess this cycle stopped at some point in history? I mean, recent superpowers such as the Spanish empire, British empire, Soviet Union, United States, etc. did not originate as nomadic tribe with strong cohesion as Ibn Khaldun says. And they all (except the US) collapsed not due to nomadic invasion, but rather they were replaced by a stronger "sedentary" power. How would a follower of Ibn Khaldun respond to this? Is it fair to say that at some point, technological advantages of being sedentary renders Ibn Khaldun's theory obsolete?

I don't know that there is a fixed title for the theory as such; you're right that asabiyya is the supposed causal explanation of the cycle, not a name for the cycle as such.

If we give Ibn Khaldun credit for observing a genuine pre-modern phenomenon - and of course it is disputable whether his model applies to all or even most dynastic change up to his own time - then I agree, the emergence of advanced military technology would surely make it harder, or even impossible, for sheer group identity to lead to the toppling of empires. But I think it remains intriguing and even relevant, just think of the many major powers who have trouble keeping separatist areas or populations under control, even with all the modern armaments!

Kay 17 December 2018

In the Muqqadmiah, in a chapter called ‘the various kinds of sciences’, Ibn Khaldun outlines the eight canonical works of Aristotelian logic studied by Muslim scholars. He mentions a book called Kitab al-Burhan, translated as Apodeictica, which covers determinatives and definitions. I’m kinda confused as to which book exactly he’s referring to, can anyone help me out? Plus, are there any decent translations of Islamic logical works/abridgements/commentaries?

Peter Adamson 18 December 2018

In reply to by Kay

"Burhān" (Demonstration) is Aristotle's Posterior Analytics (the Prior Analytics is Qiyās). The title was also borrowed for works on demonstration by Farabi, Avicenna and others but Ibn Khaldun would, as you say, be referring to Aristotle's logical works.

There is a translation by Majid Fakhry of Farabi's paraphrase of the Posterior Analytics, and Avicenna's Najat and Isharat have had their logical sections translated which would probably be the best things to check out. Have a look at the Stanford Encyclopedia page on logic in Arabic which has extensive bibliography.

 

Tamara Albertini 19 April 2020

Hello there, I love this website and have my students use it. I was wondering whether you wanted to add a special issue on Ibn Khaldun I guest-edited for Philosophy East & West: Politics, Nature, and Society - The Actuality of North African Philosopher Ibn Khaldūn, ed. by Tamara Albertini, Special Issue, PEW 69, 3 (2019).

For more information, see: https://www.academia.edu/41662403/Guest_Ed._Politics_Nature_and_Society_-_The_Actuality_of_North_African_Philosopher_Ibn_Khald%C5%ABn_Special_Issue_Table_of_Contents_

Peter Adamson 19 April 2020

In reply to by Tamara Albertini

Oh yes, thanks! I try to update the bibliographies here on the site as new things come out but this had escaped my notice, I will add it.

Hafez 11 January 2022

Lovely podcast thank you for sharing this knowledge !

No, not that I have ever seen. To be honest Pareto is a new name for me in general!

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