Abstract

LOPEZ-FARJEAT, Luis Xavier. The Syriac tradition as an intermediary in transmitting Greek philosophy to the Islamic context: Aristotle’s Categories. Estud. Asia Áfr. [online]. 2019, vol.54, n.1, pp.27-56. ISSN 2448-654X.  https://doi.org/10.24201/eaa.v54i1.2368.

The aim of this paper is to examine the importance of the Syriac tradition in transmitting Greek philosophy to the Islamic context, starting with an introduction of some historical-philosophical aspects emphasizing the role of Christian Syriac translators. This is followed by a study of the impact of Aristotle’s Categories on the creation of the philosophical vocabulary used to formulate the Trinitarian dogma in the Christian tradition, and on the discussions concerning divine attributes within Islamic theology. Through these two examples, I reveal how the Syriac philosophical tradition influenced some Islamic theologians, and argue that the translation work done by Eastern Christians was remarkably important in specific cases.

Keywords : Syriac tradition; Aristotle; Categories; Islamic theology; Trinitarian dogma; divine attributes.