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This 8 page paper discusses the philosophical ideas of Alfarabi, Avicenna and Maimonides with regard to the idea of a perfect city, and how their ideas differ.
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8 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVVirCit.rtf
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what is a perfect or virtuous city? Philosophers have tried for ages to answer these and similar questions; this paper considers what Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Maimonides had to say about
it. Alfarabi and Avicenna are Islamic while Maimonides is Jewish; thus in trying to determine their perspective we must also take into account the way in which their religion informs
their opinion. Discussion The first thing that strikes us as we read is that the hostility that we now associate with Arabic/Jewish interactions is missing from these accounts. Each acknowledges
his debt to the others where appropriate, and illustrates how close the relationship among the revealed religions truly is. Lets begin with Alfarabi. He says, first of all, that
man, as a species, needs to be with others if we are to function at our best; we are not meant to be alone. This is an attitude he shares
with both Avicenna and Maimonides. He says that there are three types of perfect human societies, small, medium and large; the large societies are many nations; the medium-sized ones are
single nations; and the small ones are cities (Alfarabi, p. 32). The city is the "first degree of perfection" (Alfarabi, p. 32). Alfarabi writes that it is mans purpose
to be happy, but to be happy he has to know what happiness is and how to achieve it (Alfarabi, p. 35). Here we come to the idea of the
virtuous city and its rulers, because it happens that at times men do not know what makes them happy; nor do they know what to do to achieve happiness (Alfarabi,
p. 35). When they are in this state they need guidance, and will look to the supreme ruler for help (Alfarabi, p. 36). The issue then becomes one of determining
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