KIMURA, SEBASTIANO

KIMURA, SEBASTIANO: V. GIAPPONE, IV: MARTIRI GIAPPONESI.

al-KINDI, ABŪ JŪSŪP JĀ'QŪR IBN TAŅĀQ. - Arab philosopher, theologian, and encyclopedic scholar, known to medieval Latin scholasticism under the name Alkindi or Alchindus, born in Basra and died around 873.

He wrote on a wide variety of subjects, particularly on all branches of logic; he composed a compendium of Aristotle’s Poetics, an introduction to Aristotelian philosophy divided into three parts. He generally followed Aristotelian doctrine while occasionally adhering to Neoplatonism. Some of his treatises were translated into Latin, such as On the Unity of God and the Finitude of the World and another On First Philosophy (ed. Nagy). Many of his other works remain unpublished. In theology, he opposed the doctrine of the existence of eternal attributes in God distinct from His essence. Based on Aristotelian logic, he also contested the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, seeing in it the worship of three gods. Regarding the doctrine of the intellect, al-Kindi distinguishes between four intellects.

BIBL.: A. Nagy, Die philosophischen Abhandlungen des Jā'qub ben Isḥāq al-K. (Beiträge z. Gesch. der Phil. des Mittelalters, Texte u. Untersuch., II, V), Münster 1897; H. Suter, Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber, Leipzig 1900, pp. 23-26; T. J. De Boer, Gesch. der Philosophie im Islam, Stuttgart 1901, pp. 90-97; G. Furlani, Una risalah di al-K. sull'anima, in Riv. trim. di studi filosof. e rel., 3 (1922), pp. 50-63; G. Quadri, La filosofia degli Arabi nel suo fiore, I, Florence 1939, pp. 92-97; M. Guidi e R. Walzer, Uno scritto introduttivo allo studio di Aristotele (Memorie dei Lincei, VI), Rome 1940. Giuseppe Furlani
Cite this article

“KIMURA, SEBASTIANO.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII (1951), p. 440. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/kimura-sebastiano.