Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/ https://doi.org/10.2...arrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.7...
Article . 2026 . Peer-reviewed
License: CC BY
Data sources: Crossref
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 3 versions
addClaim

From the "Non-Virtuous City" to the "Inner Virtuous City": An Educational Reinterpretation of the Concept of al-Mutawaḥḥid in Ibn Bājja's Thought

از «مدینه غیرفاضله» تا «مدینه فاضله درونی»: بازخوانی تربیتی مفهوم «المتوحد» در اندیشه ابن‌باجه
Authors: Ramroudi, Hamidreza;

From the "Non-Virtuous City" to the "Inner Virtuous City": An Educational Reinterpretation of the Concept of al-Mutawaḥḥid in Ibn Bājja's Thought

Abstract

How a virtuous human being can live in a society that does not conform to desirable rational and ethical standards is an important issue in the philosophy of ethics and politics within the Islamic philosophical tradition. This issue takes a distinctive form in the thought of Ibn Bājja, the sixth/twelfth-century Andalusian philosopher, particularly in his treatise Tadbīr al-Mutawaḥḥid. A significant part of this treatise focuses on the condition of an individual who lives in an imperfect or non-virtuous society while striving to preserve the path toward perfection and happiness. The present study aims to reinterpret the concept of al-Mutawaḥḥid and derive its educational implications for contemporary human beings. It employs a descriptive-analytical approach and distinguishes among three levels: the "primary text," "secondary interpretations," and "contemporary reconstruction." The analysis of the sources indicates that Tadbīr al-Mutawaḥḥid cannot be understood merely as a treatise on the individual's withdrawal from society. Rather, Ibn Bājja formulates the work in terms of a form of regimen aimed at attaining and preserving "spiritual health," which he connects with happiness. Furthermore, the concept of al-Nābit indicates the possibility of the emergence of an individual whose epistemic and axiological orientation is inconsistent with the dominant condition of society.On this basis, the present article proposes the concept of the "inner virtuous city" as an analytical concept. This concept is by no means a historical term used by Ibn Bājja; rather, it is employed to formulate one of the educational implications of his thought. By the "inner virtuous city," the study means an intellectual, epistemic, and ethical order within an individual's life that enables the person, to the extent possible, to preserve the path toward human perfection within an undesirable social environment.The findings indicate that an educational reinterpretation of Ibn Bājja's thought can be formulated around five principal components: intellectual independence, self-regulation, continuous epistemic development, the capacity to live in an undesirable environment, and social participation without rational assimilation. Accordingly, the central implication of this reinterpretation for contemporary education is the idea of "social presence accompanied by rational independence.

Related Organizations
Keywords

Educational sciences, Islamic philosophy, Ibn Bājja; al-Mutawaḥḥid; Tadbīr al-Mutawaḥḥid; non-virtuous city; inner virtuous city; intellect; happiness; education; intellectual independence, علوم تربیتی, ابن‌باجه، المتوحد، تدبیر المتوحد، مدینه غیرفاضله، مدینه فاضله درونی، عقل، سعادت، تربیت، استقلال فکری, فلسفه اسلامی

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    citations
    The total number of citations received by all articles of the researcher of interest.
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
citations
The total number of citations received by all articles of the researcher of interest.
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average