The Epistles of the Brethren in Purity (Rasā'il Ikhwān al-ṣafā). Mathematics and philosophy.
Beautiful Letters| N° d'inventaire | 21587 |
| Format | 13.5 x 21 |
| Détails | 312 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2019 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | |
Presentation and translation of six epistles by Guillaume de VAULX D'ARCY. Collection "Medieval Wisdom" of Belles Lettres. The Epistles of the Brothers in Purity, an anonymous encyclopedic work composed of 52 epistles and of unknown dating, have gone through history with the prestigious title of "Quran of the Imams", philosophical key therefore to the book of God. What is presented as a sum of profane knowledge (from the science of number to magic), could only emerge more mysterious, obscure, even impenetrable, attributed equally to falsafa, the Muʿtazilites, the Sufis, Ismailism, and šīʿism. This translation of six epistles (on arithmetic, geometry, harmony, the wisdom of death, metaphysical principles, and government) aims to finally read the work in the light of reason and take its mathematical beginnings seriously: the arithmetic sequence certainly establishes the order of numbers, but also recounts the Creation, reconciles science and religion beyond their contradictions, outlines the strategy for conquering power, and establishes the just political system. Such a reading leads to the resolution of the problem of the authorship of the work: who are the Brothers in Purity, people have been asking since the end of the 10th century? No one, or all those who shed their individuality and become "one soul among many bodies." But who, then, is the author of this concept of brotherhood? Aḥmad b. aṭ-Ṭayyib as-Saraḫsī (?-899), student of the great philosopher and mathematician al-Kindī. The important presentation that precedes the translation intends to demonstrate this.
Presentation and translation of six epistles by Guillaume de VAULX D'ARCY. Collection "Medieval Wisdom" of Belles Lettres. The Epistles of the Brothers in Purity, an anonymous encyclopedic work composed of 52 epistles and of unknown dating, have gone through history with the prestigious title of "Quran of the Imams", philosophical key therefore to the book of God. What is presented as a sum of profane knowledge (from the science of number to magic), could only emerge more mysterious, obscure, even impenetrable, attributed equally to falsafa, the Muʿtazilites, the Sufis, Ismailism, and šīʿism. This translation of six epistles (on arithmetic, geometry, harmony, the wisdom of death, metaphysical principles, and government) aims to finally read the work in the light of reason and take its mathematical beginnings seriously: the arithmetic sequence certainly establishes the order of numbers, but also recounts the Creation, reconciles science and religion beyond their contradictions, outlines the strategy for conquering power, and establishes the just political system. Such a reading leads to the resolution of the problem of the authorship of the work: who are the Brothers in Purity, people have been asking since the end of the 10th century? No one, or all those who shed their individuality and become "one soul among many bodies." But who, then, is the author of this concept of brotherhood? Aḥmad b. aṭ-Ṭayyib as-Saraḫsī (?-899), student of the great philosopher and mathematician al-Kindī. The important presentation that precedes the translation intends to demonstrate this.