Theory and Practice

Alfarabi'sPlatoRevisited

Bibliographic Data

ID3137989
AuthorsChristopher Colmo, Christopher A Colmo (corresponding author)
Year1992
Volume86
Issue4
Pages966-976
Publication date1992-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1964348
OpenAlexW2320015816
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited12

According to Leo Strauss, knowledge of the best way of life is crucial to political philosophy. In "Farabi'sPlato," Strauss asks, assuming that the theoretical life can be known to be the best way of life, what is the status of this knowledge? Is the knowledge of the best way of life itself theoretical knowledge or practical knowledge? Without a coherent answer to this question, we cannot be certain that we know what we mean when we claim to know that philosophy is the best way of life. Strauss answers clearly the question about the status of the knowledge of the best way of life by affirming that it is practical, not theoretical, knowledge. For a variety of reasons, this answer is not persuasive in the form in which Strauss gives it

Epistemology · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Law · Marxism and Critical Theory · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought

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