The Nature of Human and Nonhuman Animals in Classical Islamic Philosophy

This chapter presents the similarities and differences between human and nonhuman animals in order to provide a proper characterization of what it means to be a human being according to two major Islamic philosophers, Alfarabi and Avicenna. The first section explains the characteristics of sense perception and intellectual knowledge, introducing a relevant aspect that will serve to distinguish between human and nonhuman animals, that is, self-awareness (al-shuʿūr bi-al-dhāt); the second section deals with the capacity to articulate language among human and even some nonhuman animals; the third section discusses the characterization of human beings as zôon politikon (hayawān madanī), defining in which sense this feature is essential to human nature. Finally, the chapter offers some concluding remarks regarding the notion of “human being” in the Islamic philosophical tradition.