The Attributes of a Philosophy Aspirant from the Perspective of Islamic Philosophers

Islamic philosophers such as Al-Farabi, Ikhwan Ai-Safa, Avicenna, Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra have mentioned a number of attributes for the philosophy aspirant. These attributes are either moralistic or knowledge-based. The knowledge-based attributes are divided into those related to the aspirant’s modes over the process of studying philosophy and those related to knowledge bases considered as pre-requisites for studying metaphysics. Some attributes are relevant to some special philosophical systems and some are common to all. Some are considered as necessary and not subject to substitution and some as unnecessary. From among the moralistic attributes we can refer to keeping away from inordinate desires and aspirations of high positions and adherence to a religious belief system. From among the pre-requisite knowledge bases we can refer to the study of math and science as pre-requisites for the study of peripatetic philosophy. Logic is needed for studying any type of philosophy which requires logical argumentation but it is not essential.