Educational Views of Ahmed Ibn-e-Muhammad Ibn-e-Ya’qub Ibn-e-Miskawayh | Introduction to Philosophy | Course code 8609 | B.Ed Solved Assignment |

QUESTION 

Enlist the educational views of Ahmed Ibn-e-Muhammad Ibn-e-Ya'qub Ibn-e-Miskawayh.

Course: Introduction to Philosophy

Course code 8609

Level: B.Ed Solved Assignment 

ANSWER  

AHMAD IBN MUHAMMAD IBNYA`QUB -IBNMISKAWAYH

Ahmad Ibn Muhammad ibnYa`qub, surnamed Miskawayh, is also known as Abu 'Ali al-Khazin. Miskawayh appealed to Greek philosophy. He studied history, philosophical disciplines, and alchemy. He is recognized as an eminent theistic thinker, historian, moralist, and historian of Persia. The most significant part of Miskawayh's philosophical activity is devoted to ethics. Three important books of Miskawayh on ethics are Tartib al-Sa`adah, Tahdhib al-Akhlaq, and Jawidan Khirad.

IbnMiskawayh’s objectives and theory of education were based on the Aristotelian theory of education which specified intellectual, moral, and physical education aiming to produce good human beings from the social point of view and attaining eternal happiness and self-realization. Similar to Plato and Aristotle, Ibn Miskawayh believed that education is linked to statecraft. Therefore, he visualized an education system that could fit the people to perform the duties entrusted to them by the state. Like Aristotle, he presented the view that physical education must precede intellectual and spiritual education. To IbnMiskawayh, the goal of life was to combine human will with the Divine Will.

Proper education must, therefore, minister to the needs of the body no less than the aspirations of the soul. Thus asceticism was entirely unacceptable to him. Ibn Miskawaih emphasized that the need for religious education is therefore apparent because of aiming to combine human will and Divine Will. For IbnMiskawayh aim of religious education was not merely to shield against irreligion but to construct the conscience of the child.

In  “Tahdhib al-Akhlaq”, Miskawayh connected moral philosophy with psychology and stated it doctrine of the soul. In the history of philosophical thought, Miskawayh is one of the influential personalities among Muslims. He was unique from others due to his concern for ethics. Therefore, he was considered the first ethical thinker among Muslims. Miskawayh’s scientific output is not confined to the field of ethics and philosophy, but he also made notable contributions to history, chemistry, literature, and other subjects.

Miskawayh ‘s "Tahdhib Al-akhlaq" is considered the most famous book. In this book, he explained the education of young boys. According to Miskawayh, knowledge precedes action, and ‘moral happiness’ is happiness enabling the human being to live happily, following the requirements of virtue. Hence, human beings can attain personal happiness through intellectual effort, and endeavoring to acquire the sciences enabling their thought inclusive of all areas. For Miskawayh, ethics are very closely associated with the objective of education. Ethics as a philosophical study is considered a practical philosophy, which strives to decide what should be; so examining this field of study does not lead to philosophical reflection as a final aim, but rather it is used in practical life.

Miskawayh divided philosophy into two parts:

·         a theoretical part and

·         a practical part

According to Miskawayh, each part completes the other. He distinguished between philosophy and religion. He also distinguished between reason and faith. The famous book “Tahdhib al-akhlaq” (Refinement of character) of Miskawayh is a guide to practical conduct. It is considered a primary contribution to the field of ethics. In his philosophical writings, Ibn Miskawayh presents rational rather than scriptural arguments. Often associated by scholars with Neo-Platonist methods, the author makes frequent reference to Aristotle in discussing human nature, requirements for happiness, and the virtuous life. Miskawayh discussed the training of young boys and men.

In his writings, the word “tarbiya” or “tab has been for the training of young boys and men. The meaning of training primarily shows that obligatory training rests on adults, to impart training to young with desirable, morality, knowledge, customs, and behavior, and prepare them in a way to make them acceptable human beings of society.

Miskawayh provided rules for the preservation of oral health for the cultivation of character. These rules describe how different parts of the soul can be brought together into harmony, for the achievement of happiness. As doctors prescribe rules for physical health, the role of a moral philosopher is to prescribe rules for moral health. Moral health is founded upon a combination of intellectual development and practical action.

Ibn Miskawayh wrote on a wide variety of topics, ranging from history to psychology and chemistry. Still, in philosophy, his metaphysics seems to have been generally informed by a version of Neoplatonism. He avoided the problem of reconciling religion with philosophy.

However, Ibn Miskawayh's work on ethics is of a much higher order and does show evidence of considerable conceptual complexity. In his Tahdhib Al-akhlaq (Cultivation of Morals) he set out to show how we might acquire the right dispositions to perform morally correct actions in an organized and systematic manner. He asserted that the soul distinguishes us from other human beings and from things, from animals, and it uses the body and the parts of the body to attempt to come into contact with more spiritual realms of being. The soul is an independent and immortal substance that controls the body.

According to Miskawayh, humanity is in constant need of adapting to what he was brought up to and became used to in childhood, and also what suits him naturally. If he does not do this, he falls into the place of the worthless, and his connection with God is disconnected. This desolation is confirmed if a person continues in four characteristics:

•   Idleness, Laziness, and wasting life without work and with no human benefit;
•  ignorance and stupidity, caused by failure to investigate and exercise the soul with the teachings of wise men;
• Disrespect, which results from neglect of the soul when it pursues  desires and is unrestrained and seeks to commit sins and evil deeds
• The preoccupation arises from persistence in unpleasant deeds.·          

According to Miskawayh, changing the character of an adult is difficult, because he is nurtured and grown up with it, however, special conditions and self-realization of the extent of his corrupt morals can provide him the purpose for his change. For such a person, it is hoped that he will refrain from (evil) morals gradually and have recourse to the exemplary way by repentance and by keeping company with the good and the wise by the pursuit of philosophy. The reason behind his emphasis on the possibility of refining character purifying souls, and freeing the self from evil habits and the like, stems from his opinion about people, which is that they are either good by nature or good because of the law and learning.

Miskawayh said that good manners are as useful for boys as are also useful to older people; however, these are more useful to the young because they habituate them to the love of virtues and so they grow up accordingly. Afterward, it will not be hard for them to avoid evils, and later it will be easy for them to follow all the prescriptions of wisdom and the regulations of the Law (sharia) and Tradition (sunna). They become accustomed to keeping themselves from the temptations of wicked pleasures; they restrain them from indulging in any of those pleasures or thinking too much about them. They make them desire the high rank of philosophy.

Miskawayh said that when the soul of the boy is ready to accept training; there must be a concern for the boy, and he must be cared for, and not left to one who cannot do this training well or who does not have fine characteristics and excellent habits. According to Miskawayh, the soul has been divided into three faculties:

·         Appetitive,

·         Irascible, and

·         Rational

These faculties appear gradually, as the boys grow until they reach their perfection and are then called rational. Miskawayh also described some methods for the training of the soul. For Miskawayh, the psychological aspect is the most important. Equipped with a personal code of moral conduct, Miskawayh determined seven species of wisdom:

·                     Acuteness of intelligence

·                     Quickness of intellect

·                     Clearness of understanding

·                     Facility of acquirement

·                     Precision of discrimination

·                     Retention, and

·                     Recollection

Miskawayh described eleven species of courage:

•     Magnanimity,
•     Collectedness,
•      Loftiness of purpose,
•      Firmness, coolness, 
•     Stateliness, boldness,
•     Endurance,
•    Condescension,
•    Zeal, and
•    Mercy
•    Affability,
•     Righteousness,
•    Conciliatoriness,
•    Continence,
•    Patience,
•    Contentment,
•    Sedateness,
•    Piety,
•    Regularity,
•    Integrity, and
•   Liberality (which is further divided into six subspecies)

Miskawayh is essentially a historian and moralist. He has mentioned several abstract methods for the training of the soul. These ways include: 

Praise the boy for the good things he does which are acceptable to the adults, and also adults who do good deeds should be praised in his presence. All this emphasizes fine actions, whether performed by him or by adults, and by those considered to be an example for him.

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