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Learning outcomes |
Topics of Medieval Philosophy aims to make students able to:
Knowledge and understanding:
1) Be able to situate Omar Khayyam and Ibn Rushd in historical and geographical terms;
2) Identify and contrast the themes present in the Rubaiyat. Odes to wine, with the themes of The Book of the Decisive Discourse;
3) Be able to read and explain, to fellow students, passages from their main works in the programme.
Skills and application:
4) Be able to make informed judgements about complex historical and cultural processes, such as the relationship between reason and imagination, and “Oriental mysticism” and “Western rationality”;
5) Be able to identify and research, in libraries and on the internet, a specific bibliography on the authors' thinking;
6) Be able to produce a short original research paper of up to 10 pages on one of the points 3 or 4 of the programme and, using relevant secondary bibliography, present and defend it orally.
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Syllabus |
From the “poetic wine of the Mashreq” to the “rational tea of the Maghreb”:
1. Introduction and explanation of the contrast between “East” and “West”. General presentation of the two authors: Omar Khayyam, Persian poet. The Rubaiyat, symbol of intellectual intoxication. And Ibn Rushd, Andalusian qa?i, physician and philosopher: expression of philosophical and legal reason.
2. On the possible relationships between ‘wine and philosophy’: intoxicating wine; mystical wine; the wine of wisdom. The contrast between the “tea” and ‘coffee’ of Reason.
3. The main philosophies of the Rubaiyat: Time, ‘the impermanence of beings and the search for the meaning of life’; Carpe diem...
4. The main themes of Kitab Fa?l al-Maqal: do the Qur'an and Shari?a prohibit or require philosophical reflection? What is Philosophy? (...)
5. Conclusion. Islamic philosophy (not only) confronted with the ‘art of living in the present’ and/or the need to consider ‘the future, eternity, and the ultimate ends of man.
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Main Bibliography |
KHAYYAM Omar, Rubaiyat. Odes ao vinho, Moraes Editores, Lisboa, 1981
IBN RUSH, O Livro do Discurso Decisivo, INCM, Lisboa, 2006
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AMINRAZAVI Mehdi, The Wine of Wisdom. The Life, Poetry and Philosophy of Omar Khayyam, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, 2025
HAMADANI ?osayn Ma??umi, et alii, “Khayyam, Omar”, In: Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, Brill, Leiden, 2020
KHAYYAM Omar, Edward FitzGerald’s Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, H.W. Bell, London, 1901
MOUSAVIAN, Seyed N., et alii, “Umar Khayyam”, In: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Eds. Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman, Stanford, Stanford University, 2024
PESSOA Fernando, Poemas de Fernando Pessoa. Rubaiyat, INCM, Lisboa, 2008
ROSA José Maria Silva, “O ‘Conflito das interpretações’ no Discurso Decisivo de Averróis”, In: Diafanias do Mundo, UCE, Lisboa, 2012, pp. 301-314
ZALTA Edward N., Uri NODELMAN, Colin ALLEN, R. Lanier ANDERSON, “Ibn Rushd [Averroes]”, In: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, Stanford, 2021
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Teaching Methodologies and Assessment Criteria |
The sessions of this optional course will be conducted in a seminar format. The methodology will involve reading, dialogue, debate, and discussion with students. Rotating reading (by texts/participants), which is also an element of continuous assessment (40%), will be assigned before each session, alternating between the "Rubaiyat" and §§ of the "Decisive Discourse", followed by explanation and critical commentary. Students will also be required to prepare a short personal research paper on a topic (10 pp., 40%), to be defended orally. At the end, on a date to be agreed, each student must proceed with the solemn recitation, from memory, of two or three Rubaiyat, in a final extramural ‘symposium’ (20%). In this type of methodology, the effective attendance of students is essential. Minimum attendance: = 75%. Participation, demonstrated interest, quality of oral presentation, diligence, and autonomy will also be considered across the board. The minimum grade to take the exam is 6.
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