This 10th-century polymath has a main-belt asteroid named after him: 7057 al-Fārābī. Why? Well, why not. A natural philosopher in the 10th century, al-Fārābī learned from the Greeks, but he wrote for Muslims -- and he's responsible for bringing ancient Greek philosophy to the foundation of Arabic alchemy.
Apr 2022
Defamation and the Devil: False Accusations of Witchcraft
Let’s talk about witch panic. If your crime is not of being a witch, but rather of falsely accusing and then punishing an alleged witch, what led up to that moment? Well, probably more than one thing. There’s a lot of talk about the religious factors that have long been part of p ... Show More
27m 22s
Aug 2021
Reconsidering relations among Greeks, Arabs, science and philosophy
Dr George Saliba, Professor and Director of AUB’s Farouk Jabre Center for Arabic and Islamic Science and Philosophy, explains how his research identifies how Arab and Greek scholars and philosophers jointly articulated new knowledge that went on to spark the European Renaissance. ... Show More
26m 2s
Feb 2017
Maths in the Early Islamic World
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the flourishing of maths in the early Islamic world, as thinkers from across the region developed ideas in places such as Baghdad's House of Wisdom. Among them were the Persians Omar Khayyam, who worked on equations, and Al-Khwarizmi, latinised as ... Show More
49m 7s
<p>In this very long episode, I give an introduction to one of the most significant, yet often misunderstood thinkers and mystics in history - Ibn 'Arabi.</p><br><p>Sources:</p><p>Chittick, William (2005). "Ibn Arabi: Heir to the Prophets". OneWorld Publications.</p><p>Chittick, ... Show More
