The Relevance of Reading Classical Arabic Philosophy Today

Leibniz Lecture 2025 

November 20, 2025.

Austrian Academy of Sciences

In this lecture, Prof. Benmakhlouf highlights several issues he first encountered while studying contemporary logic and the philosophy of language. He emphasizes how Al-Kindî, Al-Fârâbî, and Averroes addressed major theological questions through linguistic and logical tools. By translating key metaphysical concepts into semantic dilemmas, they drew attention to logical reasoning and developed Arabic equivalents for Greek philosophical notions—for example, the use of the Arabic pronoun in place of the Greek copula.

Prof. Benmakhlouf also examines how jurists navigate the transition from the particular to the general, and from literal to metaphorical meanings, following the Aristotelian method as a guiding framework. He argues that contemporary efforts to renew Aristotelian philosophy have much to gain from engaging with the works of Arabic philosophers.

Finally, he considers the anthropological dimension of integrating Arabic philosophy into the broader intellectual heritage of humanity. He stresses that Arabic philosophers were not merely transmitters of Greek thought to Renaissance Europe; they actively contributed to shaping the Renaissance itself and deserve greater recognition within today’s philosophy curricula.