The Political Regime
by Al-Farabi · Kitab al-siyasa al-madaniyya
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 940
- Era
- Medieval
- Form
- Political theory
- Language
- Arabic
- Length
- Short · 80 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Political Writings, Volume II, translated by Charles E. ButterworthCornell University Press, 2015The first complete English translation of the Political Regime, with the Summary of Plato's Laws.
These links go straight to Amazon and Bookshop.org and earn this site nothing today. Prices are the same either way. How this works.
A treatise in two parts, also known as The Principles of Beings. The first describes the order of the cosmos, from the First Cause through the separate intellects and the heavenly bodies down to the sublunary world and the human soul. The second turns to politics, arguing that human beings reach perfection only in association, and classifies cities into the virtuous city ruled by a philosopher-prophet and the ignorant, wicked and errant cities that fail to aim at true happiness.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Political Regime are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
