The Principal Subject of Ibn Ṭufayl's Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān
GF Hourani - Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1956 - journals.uchicago.edu
GF Hourani
Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1956•journals.uchicago.eduI has so long received from scholars, it may seem surprising that anything new could be said
in answer to the question: What is this book primarily about? I hope to show, however, that
the only scholar to have seriously discussed this question, the late Leon Gauthier of Algiers,
arrived at a conclusion which needs some correction, and that an earlier answer was closer
to the truth. An uncontroversial analysis of the bare structure of the book will provide the
setting in which the question can fairly be asked. There can be little dispute that the whole …
in answer to the question: What is this book primarily about? I hope to show, however, that
the only scholar to have seriously discussed this question, the late Leon Gauthier of Algiers,
arrived at a conclusion which needs some correction, and that an earlier answer was closer
to the truth. An uncontroversial analysis of the bare structure of the book will provide the
setting in which the question can fairly be asked. There can be little dispute that the whole …
I has so long received from scholars, it may seem surprising that anything new could be said in answer to the question: What is this book primarily about? I hope to show, however, that the only scholar to have seriously discussed this question, the late Leon Gauthier of Algiers, arrived at a conclusion which needs some correction, and that an earlier answer was closer to the truth.
An uncontroversial analysis of the bare structure of the book will provide the setting in which the question can fairly be asked. There can be little dispute that the whole book falls into the following parts: 1. The author's introduction: sources of knowledge about mystical philosophy (pp. 3-20). 1
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