Explaining Fārābī’s Teleological View of Music

Fārābī’s specific view of music reveals the teleological importance of music for him. In his philosophy, music is connected with logical thought and political philosophy, and this connection plays an effective role in his musical system. The relationship between music, logic, and politics is established through the end of music. That is, the genre of poetry, as a part of logic, determines the end of music and also develops a relationship with civil philosophy (politics) in the course of this relation in the view of Fārābī. The reflection of such relationships can be seen in the definition of music, specifying its principles and source of its formation, types of music, and the classification and ranking of musical instruments. Given the final cause of music and its principles, which mathematics is not capable of explaining, Fārābī distances himself from mathematics when analyzing music. He equates the final cause of music with that of poetry, which is the same provoking of imagination to attain happiness for all. In this way, he emphasizes the imitative aspect of music and defines it as something more than a tool for entertainment. The teleological view yields some consequences for Fārābī’s general approach to music, which are the focal points of this paper.