LECTURE 2

THEORY OF ART IN ANTIQUITY

AND MEDIEVAL WORLD
 TIMELINE
ANTIQUITY 700 – 250BC
ancient times; especially : those before the Middle Ages http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antiquity

MEDIEVAL WORLD 500BC – 1500AD:

of or relating to the Middle Ages : of or relating to the period of European history from about
A.D. 500 to about 1500 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
 GREEK THEORETICIANS
• THALES OF MILETUS 624-546BC
• PYTHAGORAS 570-495BC
• SOCRATES 469BC
• PLATO 385BC
• ARISTOTLE 335BC
• PTOLEMY 100BC -178AD
 Thales of Miletus 624-
546 BC
Non-religious explanation of the cosmos

• He founded the Milesian school of natural

philosophy, developed the scientific
method, and initiated the first western
enlightenment.
• Practical thinker (not interested in myth
but in knowledge of the world ant the
stars.
– Greeks like Thales – tried to disentangle
Was the first man of ‘wise’
was given.
science and magic
– Dared to think about the world without first
Politician, geometer,
astronomer and thinker
thinking of God
Pythagoras 570-495 BC
Was a curious blend of scientist and mystic

• He founded a school based on his mathematico-metaphysical

philosophy.
• The pythagoreans talked about cosmical harmony.
– Numbers as the relation of things.
• Number is the ruler of form
– Everthing in the Universe conforms to mathematical rules and
ratios. If we understand number and mathmetical relationships,
we will come to understand the structure of cosmos.
• Mathematical is the key model for philosophical thought.
• Number is the ruler of ideas.
*PYTHAGORAS THEOREM
In algebraic terms, a² + b² = c² where c is the
hypotenuse while a and b are the legs of the
triangle.
Pythagoras 570-495 BC
Was a curious blend of scientist and mystic

• Pythagorean Theorem,
which states that the
square of the hypotenuse
of a right triangle is the
equivalent of the sums of
the squares of the other
two legs of the triangle.
• The theorem is not just
images of geometric form;
it also has real world
applications.

Both architecture applying theorem

Pythagoras
GREEK ARCHITECTURAL ORDER

• Doric
• Ionic
• Corinthian
Temple of Hera I
The Temple of Hera I, also known as the Basilica, is an archaic Doric temple from c. 550 BC. The temple is in the ancient city of Paestum.
Temple of Hera II
• "Without symmetry and
proportion there can be no
principles in the design of any
temple.” (Vitruvius, Ten Books on
Architecture (III.1.1)
 SOCRATES – THE TEACHER OF
PLATO AND ARISTOTLE

Real knowledge, Socrates said, can only be gathered

via dialog: a give and take of questions and answers
where ideas are interrogated until the knowledge is
truly understood. But with a book, that cannot be done
unless one has access to the author. In the excerpt,
he says:
[Writing] will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because
they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external
written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific
which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to
reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the
semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will
have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will
generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the
show of wisdom without the reality.
http://apt46.net/2011/05/18/socrates-was-against-writing/
 The School of Athens is one of the most famous paintings by
the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between
Raphael 1509 and 1510 as a part of Raphael's commission to decorate
with frescoes the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di
Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
• The School of
Athens
• 1509-1510
• Fresco,
• 500 × 770 cm
• Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace
PLATO ARISTOTLE
 PLATO’S
WRITINGS
• First Alcibiades
• Hippias Major
• Hippias Minor
• Ion
• Laches
• Lysis
Transitional and middle dialogues:
• Cratylus
• Euthydemus
• Gorgias
• Menexenus
• Meno
• Phaedo
• Protagoras
• Symposium
Later middle dialogues:
• Republic
• Parmenides
• Theaetetus
• Phaedrus
Late dialogues:
• Clitophon
• Timaeus
• Critias
• Sophist
• Statesman
• Philebus
• Laws
 MIMESIS [IMITATION] THEORY IN
POETRY AND ART.
The mimetic theories judge a work of art in
terms of imitation.
This is the earliest way of judging any work of art
in relation to reality whether the representation
is accurate (verisimilitude) or not.
This model undoubtedly started from Plato and
runs through a great many theorists of the
Renaissance up to some modern theorists as
well.
http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/criticaltheories/about-mimetic-theory.html#sthash.suqNTUuQ.dpuf
 Plato says that

ART imitates the objects and

events of ordinary life. In other
words, a work of art is a copy of a
copy of a Form. It is even more of an
illusion than is ordinary experience.
Plato locates reality in ‘ideas’ or ‘forms’ rather than in the world of
appearances. Therefore, his group of thinkers is the ‘idealist’
one.

Aristotle primarily, believe that a form manifests itself through

the concrete and the concrete takes meaning with ordered
principles.

The poet imitates a form of nature and reshapes it and thus he is

both an imitator and a creator.

‘idealists’ (Platonic)
Mimetic thinkers can be grouped as
and ‘mimetic’ (Aristotelian)
http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/criticaltheories/about-mimetic-theory.html#sthash.suqNTUuQ.dpuf
Platonic idealist mimetic mode
locates reality in ‘ideas’ or ‘forms’ and
not in the world of appearances.
Poetic creation is considered by Plato
a copy of a copy twice removed from
reality because it imitates the
external objects of nature
http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/criticaltheories/about-mimetic-theory.html#sthash.suqNTUuQ.dpuf
THE THEORY OF FORM BY PLATO CONSISTS OF
1. THE VISIBLE WORLD THAT IS MADE OF SIGHTS AND SOUND
things in the visible world can change and loose their
beauty
2. THE INTELLIGIBLE WORLD (THE WORLD OF FORMS) THAT
GIVES THE VISIBLE WORLD ITS BEING.
the Form of beauty is eternal, never changes, and cannot
be seen
(source: Kleinan,2013)
Plato and Aristotle on Art as Imitation
(Mimesis)

Plato in his writing entitled Republic

Art is imitation, and that’s bad.
Problems with imitation:
•· Epistemological: Imitation removes us from the reality or truth of something.
•· Theological: Poets and other artists represent the gods in inappropriate ways.
•· Moral and Psychological: A good imitation can undermine the stability of even the best
humans by making us feel sad, depressed, and sorrowful about life itself.

Aristotle, in his writing entitled Poetics

Art is imitation, and that’s all right, even good.
•· Imitation is natural to humans from childhood.
•· Imitation is how children learn, and we all learn from imitations.
•· Tragedy can be a form of education that provides moral insight and fosters emotional
growth.
•· Tragedy is the imitation (mimesis) of certain kinds of people and actions.
•· Good tragedies must have certain sorts of people and plots. (Good people experience a
reversal of fortune due to some failing or hamartia.)
•· A successful tragedy produces a katharsis in the audience.
•· Katharsis = purification through pity and fear.

Source : http://www.uh.edu/~cfreelan/courses/1361/tragedy.html
CARTHASIS/ KARTHASIS: the act or
process of releasing a strong
emotion (such as pity or fear)
especially by expressing it in an art
form. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catharsis

hamartia, also called tragic

flaw, (hamartia from Greek hamartanein,
“to err”), inherent defect or shortcoming
in the hero of a tragedy, who is in other
respects a superior being favoured by
fortune. http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/253196/hamartia
Catharsis Definition
A Catharsis is an emotional discharge through which one
can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or achieve
a state of liberation from anxiety and stress. Catharsis is a
Greek word and it means cleansing.

In literature it is used for the cleansing of emotions of the

characters. It can also be any other radical change that
leads to emotional rejuvenation of a person.

Originally, the term was used as a metaphor in Poetics by

Aristotle to explain the impact of tragedy on the audiences.

He believed that catharsis was the ultimate end of a tragic

artistic work and it marked its quality. He further said in
Poetics:
“Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and
of a certain magnitude; . . . through pity [eleos] and fear [phobos]
effecting the proper purgation [catharsis] of these emotions” (c.
350 BCE, Book 6.2).
http://literarydevices.net/catharsis/
 Plato’s and Aristotle’s View:
Art is Essentially Mimesis
• Art was potentially dangerous for several • Art was not potentially dangerous for
reasons: PLATO several reasons: ARISTOTLE
A.) Art was essentially deceptive. A.) (Good) Art was essentially
(Ep.) truthful. (Ep.)
B.) Art was mainly concerned with B.) Art was mainly concerned with
sensual pleasure. (M, Ep., Eth.) sensual pleasure, and that’s a
C.) Further, Art was psychologically Good thing. (M, Ep., Eth.)
de-stabilizing. (for the C.) Art was psychologically healthy
individual) (Eth., Ps.) (for the individual) (Eth., Ps.)
D.) Art leads to immorality. (Eth.) D.) Art leads to moral knowledge.
E.) Art was politically dangerous. (Eth.)
(threat to the common good) E.) Art was politically necessary
(Po. Ps.) and healthy. (Po. Ps.)
www2.fiu.edu/~hauptli/TheMimeticTheoryofArt.ppt
 Aristotle’s Critical Responses
• Aristotle was Plato's most famous student
and greatest critic.
• Disagreeing with much else that Plato said,
Aristotle agreed that art was essentially an
Mimesis.
• But, he maintained, (good) art was neither
useless nor dangerous, but rather natural and
beneficial.
www2.fiu.edu/~hauptli/TheMimeticTheoryofArt.ppt
 PLATO INFLUENCE
Aristotle, Augustine, Neoplatonism, Cicero,
Plutarch, Stoicism, Anselm, Descartes,
Hobbes, Leibniz, Mill, Schopenhauer,
Nietzsche, Heidegger, Arendt, Gadamer,
Russell and countless other western
philosophers and theologians.
[in the fields of Rhetoric, Art, Literature,
Epistemology, Justice, Virtue, Politics,
Education, Family, Militarism]
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Aristotle_vs_Plato
 ARISTOTLE INFLUENCE

Alexander the Great, Al-Farabi, Avicenna,

Averroes, Albertus Magnus, Maimonides
Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Ptolemy, St.
Thomas Aquinas, Ayn Rand, and most of
Islamic philosophy, Christian philosophy,
Western philosophy and Science in general
[Politics, Metaphysics, Science, Logic, Ethics]
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Aristotle_vs_Plato
GREEK ART periods
Geometric Art 900 – 660BC | This early period from Greek art
history shows how ancient artists adorned many of their works (vase
paintings in particular) with precise geometric patterns.
Archaic Art 650 – 480BC During the Archaic period, Greek artists
came into contact with ideas and styles from outside of Greece. It
was also a time when vase painting and sculpture began to reflect
Greek ideals.
Classical Art 480 – 323BC Often referred to as the "Golden Age" of
Greece, the Classical era was a time when perfection was achieved
in the arts - the Parthenon was constructed during this fruitful period.
Hellenistic Art 323 – 31BC In the Hellenistic period, new ideas
permeated Greek art, and emotion, drama, and realism began to
influence the appearance - and subject matter - of Hellenistic
sculpture.
 IC AL ART ?
T IS C LASS
W HA

Classical art refers to ancient

Roman and Greek art and
architecture. Primarily concerned
with geometry and symmetry
instead of individual expression.
www.drawingself.com/art_mvmnts.html

, “C LA S S IC A L” re fe rs to th e
As a historical term d the art
n d va lu e s th a t ch a ra ct e ri ze
principles a classical
o f a n ci e n t G re e ce … … th e
and thought
e th a t a rt is a n im it a ti o n o f nature
premis d in http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartb
oard/shop/batewj/class.htm
W.J Bate cite
 "Diskobolos" (Discus Thrower) by
Myron. Roman copy of a Greek
bronze original. c. 450 BC.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

"Myron has created the enduring pattern of

athletic energy. He has taken a moment of
action so transitory that students of athletics
still debate if it is feasible, and he has given it
the completeness of a cameo." The moment
thus captured in the statue is an example of
rhythmos, harmony and balance. Myron is often
credited with being the first sculptor to master
this style. Naturally, as always in Greek athletics,
the Discobolus is completely nude. His pose is
said to be unnatural to a human, and today
considered a rather inefficient way to throw the
discus.[1] Also there is very little emotion shown
in the discus thrower's face, and "to a modern
eye,it may seem that Myron's desire for
perfection has made him suppress too
rigorously the sense of strain in the individual
muscles,“

Kenneth Clark, The Nude(1956:239)

It was the first time in human history that the human body
was studied for its aesthetic values, and was treated as an
autonomous universe.

The classical Greek sculptor was more of a magician than an

artist. He transcended ordinary subjects into extraordinary
universal signs. And in the process, he reversed thousands of
years of artistic tradition when he shifted the focus from the
supernatural and unknown, to more earthly matters.
http://www.greeklandscapes.com/greece/athens_museum_classical.html
 "Diskobolos" (Discus "Nike alighting on a
Statuette of a man Lady of Auxerre (KORE) Thrower) by warship"
and centaur, ca. 750 c. 650-625 B.C. Louvre Myron. Roman copy of a (Nike of Samothrace),
b.c.; Late Geometric Museum, Paris Greek bronze original. c. 190 bc. Marble, 8'1"
Greek c. 450 BC. high.
Bronze Museo Nazionale Romano,
Rome. Louvre, Paris.

GEOMETRIC CLASSICAL
PERIOD ARCHAIC HELLENISTIC

One-dimensional More realistic figure.

Simplified
rigidity of Archaic The sculpted figure
unrealistic came to be seen as The emotional and
kouros and kore
figure moving in a direction dramatic aspects of
figures
through space. The
sculpture
/
http://library.thinkquest.org/23492 perfect human body
The style of the Classical period in Greek Sculpture developed from the conventions of
the earlier Archaic Period. Through the Classical period (which is usually divided into
Early, Middle, and Late Classical periods), the human figure evolved from the one-
dimensional rigidity of Archaic kouros and kore figures, to a more realistic figure
which interacted with its three-dimensional environment.

The important concept of weight shift was first applied to sculpture in the Early
Classical period. With this application, the sculpted figure came to be seen as moving
in a direction through space, rather than merely standing in it, as in an Archaic
statue. The Middle (High) Classical period saw the application of a Platonic canon
of proportions to sculpture; the sculpted figure could represent the
sculptor’s ideal of a ‘perfect’ human body.

Finally, in the Late Classical period, sculpture began to be realized as a three-

dimensional form, which took up and enclosed space. The figure could be viewed,
like a ‘real’ object, from any three-dimensional angle. With the figure spatially
defined, the Classical style gave way to the later Hellenistic period, during which
development of the emotional and dramatic aspects of sculpture was to continue.
http://library.thinkquest.org/23492/
 "Nike alighting on a warship"
(Nike of Samothrace),
c. 190 bc. Marble,
8'1" high.
Hellenistic period
Louvre, Paris.

It was created to not only honor the goddess, Nike, but

to honor a sea battle. It conveys a sense of action and
triumph as well as portraying artful flowing drapery
through its features which the Greeks considered ideal
beauty.
 The Classical Theories were revived in the Renaissance Period
14th through the 16th century

• (French for 'rebirth', or Rinascimento in Italian), was

first used to define the historical age in Italy (and in
Europe in general) that followed the Middle Ages
and preceded the Reformation, spanning roughly the
14th through the 16th century. The principal
features were the revival of learning based on
classical sources, the rise of courtly and papal
patronage, the development of perspective in
painting, and the advancements of science.
• Birth name :Leonardo di Ser
Piero da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
• Born :April 15, 1452
Died :May 2, 1519
Amboise, Indre-et-Loire,
Frankreich
• Nationality :Italian
• Field :Many and diverse
fields of arts and sciences
• Movement :High
Renaissance
• Famous works :Mona Lisa,
The Last Supper, The
Vitruvian Man
 Mona Lisa
• Leonardo Da Vinci, circa
1503–1507
• Oil on poplar
• 77 × 53 cm, 30 × 21
inches
• Musée du Louvre, Paris
 The Virgin of the Rocks
• Leonardo Da Vinci,
1483-1486
• Oil on panel
(transferred to canvas)
• 199 × 122 cm, 78.3 ×
48.0 inches
• Louvre, Paris
LEONARDO – The Last Supper1499. Tempera on plaster 460 x 880 cm (15 x
29 ft.)
 Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti
Simoni
• (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly
known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance
painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer.
Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his
versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a
high order that he is often considered a contender
for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man,
along with his rival and fellow Italian Leonardo da
Vinci.
 The Creation of Adam,
Michelangelo's work in the
Sistine Chapel. 1908 - 1912.

Interior of the Sistine Chapel

 High Renaissance Period [1498 – 1520]
.

What are the common

characteristics
of this period style?

Renaissance artists achieved perfect harmony and balance in all

aspects of painting, i.e. use of color and light, perspective,
technical precision, imagination and composition
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/renaissance-art-characteristics.html
 Fazit
• The Theories of Antiquity have been the
foundation for artistic practices and artworks
since the ancient Greece through the
Renaissance and until today.
Art, architecture, performing arts or other
related liberal arts disciplines in modern times
have benefitted from the theories and
discourses of these scholars of Antiquity.
MEDIEVAL WORLD
500BC – 1500AD:
of or relating to the Middle Ages : of or
relating to the period of European history from
about
A.D. 500 to about 1500 http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary
 ‘Medieval philosophy’
refers to philosophy in Western Europe during
the “medieval” period, the so called “Middle
Ages.” The notion of a “Middle Age” (or plural
“Middle Ages”) was introduced in the
fifteenth century for the period between the
decline of classical pagan culture in Western
Europe and what was taken to be its
rediscovery during the Renaissance.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-philosophy/#Boundaries
Some Main Topics in Medieval Philosophy

• The problem of the compatibility of the divine attributes.

• The problem of evil. Ancient philosophy had speculated on evil, but the particularly
pressing form the problem takes on in Christianity, where an omniscient, omnipotent,
and benevolent God freely created absolutely everything besides himself, first emerged
in the Middle Ages.

• The problem of the compatibility of divine foreknowledge with human free will. Many
medieval authors appealed to human free will in their response to the problem of evil, so
that it was especially important to find some way to reconcile our free will with divine
foreknowledge
SOURCE : http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-philosophy/#Boundaries
Art theory during the Middle Ages
Three philosophers, St. Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius
and St. Thomas Aquinas, provided significant
contributions to aesthetic theory during the Middle
Ages. These three philosophers employed the two
predominant approaches to philosophy in the
Middle Ages. Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius were
mainly influenced by Plato and Neoplatonism, while
Thomas was mostly influenced by Aristotle.http://www.iep.utm.edu/m-

aesthe/
Augustine set the stage for medieval
Christian philosophers
Augustine set the stage for medieval Christian
philosophers, drawing heavily from the Platonist
and Neo-Platonist traditions.
Augustine made a sharp distinction between the
creation of God (ex nihilo) and the creation of
artists (ex materia).
Augustine developed ideas about rhythm that
are pertinent to his aesthetic theory, especially
the belief that rhythm originates with God. This
idea of rhythm is expounded in Augustine’s De
Musica
Unity, equality, number, proportion, and order
are the 5 main elements in Augustine’s theory of beauty

First, everything exists as a separate whole

unit; therefore, each thing has unity. Simply
put, something cannot have the potential to
be beautiful, unless it exists. And if it has
existence, it will also be a unified whole. Thus,
unity is a necessary element of beauty.
Further, the more unified something is the
more beautiful it will be
 Equality
Second, “The existence of individual
things as units, the possibility of
repeating them and comparing
groups of them with respect to
equality or inequality, gives rise to
proportion, measure, and number”
 Third - Number
Third, “Number, the base of rhythm,
begins from unity”. Number, for
Augustine, measures rhythm. Since
rhythm is based on number, which
Augustine believes is immutable, then it
follows that rhythm is likewise
immutable.
Fourth - Symmetry [or Proportion]

Fourth, “in all the arts it is

symmetry [or proportion] that
gives pleasure, preserving
unity and making the whole
beautiful”
 Fifth - Order.
Fifth, Augustine asserts, “everything is
beautiful that is in due order”. Moreover,
Augustine says, “Order is the distribution
which allots things equal and unequal,
each to its own place”. In other words,
the degree to which things are in their
proper place is the degree in which they
are beautiful.http://www.iep.utm.edu/m-aesthe/#SH3a
 Islamic philosophers of the Middle
Ages
• Avicenna's (Ibn Sina, 980–1037)
• Al-Farabi (c. 870–950) and
• Al-Ghazali (1058–1111).
 TAWHID [Oneness of God]is
foundation of Islamic Art.
• Oneness of God (tawhid), the most
Fundamental, The unshakable faith.
• Based from the kalimah(Laa ilaha ilallah,
Muhamadurrasulullah)
• No visual representation of God or prophet
are allowed in Islam
• No realistic representation of human or
animal figure
 Al-Farabi Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Tarkhan al-Farabi

An art, which has an aim to

achieve the beauty, is called a
philosophy or in the absolute
sense it is named wisdom.
• https://www.azquotes.com/author/44489-Al_Farabi
Al-Farabi's The Notion of Intelligible
Beauty
The notion of intelligible beauty is included in the
discussion of the names and attributes of God
contained in al-Farabi's al-Madina al-fadila (The
Virtuous City). Among the divine names al-Farabi
lists 'beauty' (al-jamal), 'brilliance' (al-baha'),
and 'splendour' (al-zeena). Although the
connotations of these terms are principally visual
and hence sensible, al-Farabi argues that beauty
in all things is primarily ontological: the more any
being attains its final perfection, the more
beautiful it is.
Deborah L Black cited in http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H020
Al-Farabi : The source of God's Beauty
is His Own Substance
From this he reasons that God, whose
existence is most excellent, is the most
beautiful of beings. Moreover, God's beauty
surpasses all other beauty because it is
essential, not accidental: as defined by his
self-contemplation, whereas created beauty
derives from accidental and corporeal
qualities that are not one with their own
substances. http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H020
Al-Farabi argues that pleasure and
beauty are intimately related
Pleasure and beauty are intimately
related, and that consequently God's
pleasure, like his beauty, is beyond our
comprehension.
God's perception of his own beauty is
the function of an eternal and
uninterrupted act of contemplation,
his pleasure, unlike ours, is continual
rather than intermittent. http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H020
Basis for Islamic Philosophy of Beauty
Saying of the Prophet, "God is Beautiful and He
loves beauty.", can be considered the foundation
of Muslim aesthetics.
Qur`an that emphasizes goodness, truth and
knowledge while placing the principle emphasis
upon Beautiful Deeds (al-amal al-hasanah).
Emphasis on beauty is the ninety-nine Holy
Names of God that in Arabic are the Beautiful
Names of Allah (Asma ‘ul Husna ). H. Princess Wijdan Ali, Ph.D cited in
http://members.tripod.com/naungan_nur_wahyu/id17.html
Foundation of Islamic aesthetics
Sayings (hadith) of the Prophet: "God has
inscribed beauty upon all things"; "God
desires that if you do something you perfect
it"; "Work is a form of worship"; and "God is
beautiful and He loves beauty".
Hence, perfecting ones work becomes a
form of worship and a religious obligation
easily fulfilled by the artist, through
adherence to the faith and its convictions.
AL GHAZALI’s real name : Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad
ibn Ta’us Ahmad al-Tusi al-Shafi’

Born in 450/1058 at Tabaran, one of the two townships of Tus, now in ruins in the
neighbourhood of modern Meshed in Khurasan, Iran
Wrote not less than 72 books
Theology Books
al-Munqidh min al-dalal (Rescuer from Error)
Hujjat al-Haq (Proof of the Truth)
al-Iqtisad fil-i`tiqad (Median in Belief)
al-maqsad al-asna fi sharah asma' Allahu al-husna (The best
means in explaining Allah's Beautiful Names)
Jawahir al-Qur'an wa duraruh (Jewels of the Qur'an and its
Pearls)
Fayasl al-tafriqa bayn al-Islam wa-l-zandaqa (The Criterion of
Distinction between Islam and Clandestine Unbelief)
Mishkat al-Anwar (The Niche for Lights, a commentary on the
Verse of Light)
Tafsir al-yaqut al-ta'wil
Sufism Books
Mizan al-'amal (Criterion of Action)
Jurisprudence
Ihya' ulum al-din, "Revival of Religious Sciences" Fatawy al-Ghazali (Verdicts of al-Ghazali)
Bidayat al-hidayah (Beginning of Guidance) Al-wasit fi al-mathab (The medium [digest]
Kimiya-yi sa'ādat (The Alchemy of Happiness) [a in the Jurisprudential school)
résumé of Ihya'ul ulum, in Persian] Kitab tahzib al-Isul (Prunning on Legal
Nasihat al-muluk (Counseling Kings) [in Persian] Theory)
al-Munqidh min al-dalal (Rescuer from Error) al-Mustasfa fi 'ilm al-isul (The Clarified in
Minhaj al-'Abidin (Methodology for the
Legal Theory)
Worshipers)
Asas al-Qiyas (Foundation of Analogical
reasoning)

Philosophy Books
Maqasid al falasifa (Aims of Philosophers) [written in the beginning of his life, in favour
of philosophy and presenting the basic theories in Philosophy, mostly influenced by
Avicenna's works]
Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), [in this book he refutes the
Greek Philosophy aiming at Avicenna and Al-Farabi; and of which Ibn Rushd wrote his
famous refutation Tahafut al-tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence)]
Miyar al-Ilm fi fan al-Mantiq (Criterion of Knowledge in the Art of Logic)
Mihak al-Nazar fi al-mantiq (Touchstone of Reasoning in Logic)
al-Qistas al-mustaqim (The Correct Balance)
 Al-Ghazali’s Concept of Beauty
Most spiritual philosophers of Islam and one
of the greatest jurists, theologians and Shufi
thinkers of all time, al-Ghazalis awareness of
beauty is of a Sufi perception that could only
relate to God the Beautiful.
For him everything in the universe is created
by God, each created thing reflects Gods
majesty and beauty; therefore each event in
mans life also reveals Gods way of guiding us.
R. H. Princess Wijdan Ali, Ph.D cited in http://members.tripod.com/naungan_nur_wahyu/id17.html
 In his book, Kimia al-Saadah (The Alchemy of
Happiness):Al Ghazali writes of three types of beauty:

• The first is external physical beauty (dhahir)

that he regards as the most debased form.
• The second type is moral beauty (batin) that
he relates to a persons character
• The third type of beauty that al-Ghazali
describes is the spiritual; it is the most
sublime, because it is directly connected to
the of the Almigthty and is attained through
ecstasy.
The first is external physical beauty
(dhahir) that he regards as the most
debased form.
" . . . as to [mans] beauty, he is little more
than nauseous matter covered with a fair skin.
Without frequent washing he becomes utterly
repulsive and disgraceful."
The second type is moral beauty (batin)
that he relates to a persons character
"The former kind of man [a man who is only acquainted with
sensuous delights] will say that beauty resides in red-and-white
complexions, well-proportioned limbs, and so forth, but he will be
blind to moral beauty, such as men refer to when they speak of such
and such a man as possessing a beautiful character. But those
possessed of inner perception find it quite possible to love the
departed great, such as the Caliphs Omar and Abu Bakr, on account
of their noble qualities, through their bodies have long been mingled
with the dust. Such love is directed not towards any outward form,
but towards the inner character. Even when we wish to excite love in
a child towards anyone, we do not describe their outward beauty or
form, etc . . . , but their inner excellences."
The third type of beauty that al-Ghazali
describes is the spiritual
"The heart of man has been so constituted by the
Almighty that, like a flint, it contains a hidden fire
which is evoked by music and harmony, and
renders man beside himself with ecstacy. These
harmonies are echoes of that higher world of
beauty which we call the world of spirits; they
remind man of his relationship to that world, and
produce in him an emotion so deep and strange
that he himself is powerless to explain it."
In Kimia al-Saadah (The Alchemy of Happiness), Al-Ghazali divides
mans nature into three categories: the first resembles animals, the
second resembles devils, and the third resembles angels. Here again
beauty is elevated and associated with God, and the act of its
contemplation with that of the angels:

"Some of thy attributes are those of animals, some of devils, and some of angles, and
thou hast to find out which of these attributes are accidental and which essential. Till
thou knowest this, thou canst not find out where thy real happiness lies. The
occupation of animals is eating, sleeping and fighting; therefore, if thou art an
animal, busy thyself in these things. Devils are busy in stirring up mischief, and in
guile and deceit; if thou belongest to them, do their work. Angels contemplate the
beauty of God, and are entirely free from animal qualities, if thou art of angelic
nature, then strive towards thine origin, that thou mayest know and contemplate the
Most High, and be delivered from the thraldom (thrall?) of lust and anger.“
AL Ghazali from R. H. Princess Wijdan Ali, Ph.D cited in http://members.tripod.com/naungan_nur_wahyu/id17.html
Therefore, to copy living figures from nature, though
never intended to represent God, is regarded as a futile
way of directing the recipient to the contemplation of
transcendence and the truths embodied in tawhid, the
Doctrine of Unity.
For a Muslim, beauty is not an aesthetic portrayal of human attributes;
nor is it copying an ideal state of nature, the concept of which
Renaissance Europe borrowed from the ancient Greeks. The
transcendence-obsessed culture of the Muslims seeks to stimulate in the
viewer or listener, through the contemplation of the beautiful, a
perception of the nature of God, in order to facilitate the realization of the
ultimate union with Him
Medieval philosophy invented the philosophy
of religion. To be sure, ancient pagan
philosophers sometimes talked about the
nature of the gods. But a whole host of
traditional problems in the philosophy of
religion first took on in the Middle Ages the
forms in which we still often discuss them
today.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-philosophy/#Boundaries