Fārābī on Rational Training

Reason enjoys a particular significance and place in Peripatetic philosophy in general and Fārābī’s thought in particular, to the extent that he wrote a particular treatise on reason. Moreover, Fārābī as the founder of Islamic philosophy has an unparalleled place in the history of philosophy. Accordingly, to carry out a research on his view concerning reason seems to be very important. The present work aims at exploring rational training based on Fārābī’s theory of reason for which the author has followed an analytic-descriptive method. To this end, the author first treats Fārābī’s view of reason then embarks upon explaining the concept of rational training. According to the findings of this research, rational training in Fārābī is implemented by both practical and theoretical reason. The aim of rational training is to lead man to follow all levels of intellect, ranging from potential intellect to the acquired intellect, in the light of Active Intellect. That is, in the field of rational action and knowledge man should attain intellection; put it in other words, to attain perfect actuality and pure detachment.