Abstract
This paper provides an analysis and translation of a previously edited, but
otherwise unstudied work by Miskawayh (d. 1030) entitled On Pleasures and Pains
(Fī al-Laḏḏāt wa-al-ālām). After a brief orientation regarding the Aristotelian
account of pleasure in the Nicomachean Ethics, which is Miskawayh’s main source,
the theory of pleasure set out in On Pleasures and Pains is compared to the discussion of pleasure in Miskawayh’s better known Refinement of Character (Tahḏīb al-aḫlāq).
Despite considerable harmony between the two texts, their treatments of pleasure
differ in that the Refinement accepts, whereas On Pleasures and Pains rejects, the
“restoration” theory of pleasure of Plato’s Timaeus.
otherwise unstudied work by Miskawayh (d. 1030) entitled On Pleasures and Pains
(Fī al-Laḏḏāt wa-al-ālām). After a brief orientation regarding the Aristotelian
account of pleasure in the Nicomachean Ethics, which is Miskawayh’s main source,
the theory of pleasure set out in On Pleasures and Pains is compared to the discussion of pleasure in Miskawayh’s better known Refinement of Character (Tahḏīb al-aḫlāq).
Despite considerable harmony between the two texts, their treatments of pleasure
differ in that the Refinement accepts, whereas On Pleasures and Pains rejects, the
“restoration” theory of pleasure of Plato’s Timaeus.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 199-223 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Arabic Sciences and Philosophy |
| Volume | 25 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2015 |