An Introduction To Islamic Philosophy

254 bo o k re vi ews
An Introduction to Islamic Philosophy

By Massimo Campanini, with translation by Caroline Higgitt
(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 208 pp. Price PB
£18.99. EAN 978–0748626083.
This book has many virtues. It is concise, clear and moves at a rapid pace. The
author has a good grasp of the central issues in Islamic philosophy and does a
sound job in expounding them here. He also has the advantage of being based in
Italy and so is more aware of continental trends in understanding Islamic
philosophy than are most of those living in the English-speaking world. I
particularly appreciated his emphasis on the arguments in Islamic philosophy,
which are presented as arguments around a serious issue and not just the sparring
experiences of random thinkers. The reader can quite readily come to grips with
some of the central issues in Islamic philosophy and understand where the main
battlelines are drawn. The main emphasis is on Peripatetic (mashsh:8i)
philosophy, although Campanini does also briefly mention aspects of Sufi and
Ishraqi thought. Their lack of role in the book is evidenced though by the fact
that neither term appears in the index.
It is on this point that I want to suggest that we cannot any more restrict
Islamic philosophy to only a part of it. Campanini repeats the mantra that after
Ibn Rushd his style of philosophy came to an end in the Islamic world. It is true
that there was not another Ibn Rushd, but plenty of later thinkers did incorporate
Peripatetic ideas in their philosophies, especially in the Persian world, and in any
case it was not unusual for the Peripatetic philosophers to involve themselves
with a variety of ways of doing philosophy, including mystical approaches, with
no apparent difficulty. Ibn Rushd is unusual in apparently having no interest in
mysticism. Philosophy certainly did pause in the Arab world after his death, but
carried on within the lively intellectual atmosphere of Persia, where it still
continues to flourish and develop. We don’t really get much sense in the book
either of modern Islamic philosophy and it would be a shame if readers were to
think after finishing this book that there was no such discipline. A final worry is
that the translator does not always succeed as well as one might expect in finding
the right English expression—what for instance is ‘the involution of the Islamic
world’ (p. viii)?
Despite these concerns, this is an excellent book, and the main thinkers that
Campanini analyses are explained very well indeed, especially when they are at
their most difficult. The account of al-F:r:b; on the intellects is a masterpiece of
exposition. The topic is highly technical and also seems rather mysterious to
modern readers, yet Campanini within a short space provides a perspicuous
account that dissolves much of the obscurity. Of course, longstanding
philosophical debates are not likely to be resolvable within a short space, and
they are not here, but the reader is put in the position of understanding the
debate, grasping who argued what and why, and also can appreciate why
the debate is important. Campanini brings in just enough theology to make the
philosophy’s context comprehensible without turning this into a text on theology,
and that is surely the right approach.
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He also steers an appropriate course between explaining the historical context
of the thinkers and their arguments, and presenting nothing more than a history.
We get to find out as much history as we need, given that for many English
speakers that history is relatively unknown. We also get a variety of different
topics explored, including politics and ethics, the philosophy of action, and the
central notion of tawA;d or unity. In many ways the emphasis is on epistemology,
metaphysics and ontology, and Campanini does not flinch at the prospect of
explaining such issues in an introductory work.
The question that arises for any book that describes itself as an introduction is
whether it succeeds in living up to that label. This book certainly does, and will
be useful on a wide variety of courses in classical Islamic thought. Those who
know something of the area will also find much to interest them here. For the
author to include those aspects of Islamic philosophy which are largely excluded,
such as Sufi and Ishraqi thought, would have at least doubled its size and not
necessarily improved its accessibility. To concentrate on some central thinkers is a
good idea, and the author does actually range widely through the Islamic world
for his subject matter.
Those of us who teach Islamic philosophy owe a debt of gratitude to
Campanini for a very useful and lively account of the subject.
Oliver Leaman
University of Kentucky
E-mail: [email protected]
doi:10.1093/jis/etp013
Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism

By Charles Tripp (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006),
240 pp. Price PB £17.99. EAN 978–0521682442.
This is a well-written book by Charles Tripp, a Reader in Politics in the

Department of Political and International Relations in the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London. His many publications include Iran and
Iraq War (1988), Iran–Saudi Arabian Relations and Regional Order (1996), and
A History of Iraq (2000, 2002).
The book deals essentially with the intellectual response of the Muslim world
to the secular and material ethos of Western civilization during the latter’s
penetration of nearly all aspects of Muslim life, including philosophy, education,
politics, society and economics. The front cover of the book clearly reflects this
theme by depicting Muslim civilization as a shabbily dressed poor labourer
standing perplexed in front of an ATM (automatic teller machine), with his legs
crossed and one slipper off, trying to figure out what to do. The ATM stands for
Western civilization with its advanced technology, which has developed,
according to Tripp, as a result of the tremendous growth made possible by the
social and economic dynamism of capitalism. The Muslim response has taken the
form of a wide range of strategies developed by Muslim scholars to remain true

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254 bo o k re vi ews

An Introduction to Islamic Philosophy

Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism

This is a well-written book by Charles Tripp, a Reader in Politics in the

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