Abū’l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī’s Metaphysical Philosophy

Book excerpt: Abū’l-Barakāt is a renowned philosopher of the Arabic-Jewish milieu who composed in his magnum opus the Kitāb al-Mu‘tabar, a comprehensive metaphysics which challenged the accepted notions of the traditional metaphysical philosophy. ‘Abū’l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī’s Metaphysical Philosophy’ examines the novel philosophical conceptions of the first book of the Metaphysics of the Kitāb al-Mu‘tabar. The aim is to present a developed conception of Abū’l-Barakāt’s systematic metaphysics. This is accomplished by following the order of topics discussed, while translating the relevant passages. These different topics comprise stages of cognition that move from an analysis of time, creation and causality to the conception of a higher spiritual realm of mental entities and a conception of God as the First Knower and Teacher. The epistemological and ontological conceptions are analyzed at each culminating stage. ‘Abū’l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī’s Metaphysical Philosophy’ analyzes vast portions of the metaphysical study for the first time. The book will thus be a valuable resource for all those seeking an original and broad metaphysics, and for students and scholars of Jewish and Islamic Philosophy. Furthermore, it is of importance for those seeking a metaphysics related to scientific theories and those interested in the history of science and metaphysics.