Happiness in Arabic Philosophy

Date: Saturday, December 7

Time: 4 pm

Fee: 50 AED

Location: Kutubna Cultural Center, Madina Avenues, Nadd Al Hamar, Dubai

Muslim philosophers in Iraq around the year 950 CE were very interested in the question of happiness—lasting and meaningful happiness. They read the works of Greek philosophers and scientists and combined ideas from Platonic and Neoplatonic works with the worldview and approaches of the Qur’an. Through this combination of ideas, they were able to imagine a pathway to happiness that brings together findings and advances in philosophical, scientific, and religious thought of their time. This lecture examines the pathway to happiness found in the works of Neoplatonic Muslim thinkers and discusses the history and philosophy behind it.

Shatha Almutawa earned her PhD in intellectual history, focusing on the history of ideas in tenth-century Iraq. Her doctoral work explored the reception of Greek philosophy in Muslim thought. She has taught courses on Arabic philosophy at American University in Washington, DC, the University of Chicago, and Willamette University, all in the United States. Her scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Arabic Literature, Studia Islamica, and other academic journals, and she has published book chapters in edited volumes and entries in encyclopedias. She is the founder and director of Kutubna Cultural Center.