Politics in the Practical Theology of Averroes of Córdoba

The present paper aims to study the origins, nature, goals, and description of the ideal political system in the practical wisdom of Averroes, and thereby, to examine his typology of different civilizations, functions, government duties, the scope of individual’s freedom, the scope of government’s power, and the relation between the government and people. The study indicated that from the viewpoint of Averroes, ‘wisdom’ is the main criterion for determining the desirability of government and governing system. Averroes seeks the most important functions of the government in the areas of economic justice, security, unity, culture, and public and private training. Personal freedom is defined under the category of ‘justice and dutifulness’, and is circumscribed by the category of ‘unity’. The method applied in this paper was that of descriptive-analytical method, based on the most important political writings of Averroes and the views of some of the commentators on the Córdoban philosopher.