An Arab Philosophy of History: Selections from the Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun of Tunis

The Prolegomena of Ibn Khaldun are in many ways the most remarkable manifestation of Islamic philosophical thought. Not only did Ibn Khaldun sum up the accumulated knowledge and leading doctrines of his civilization, but in many fields he broke new ground and anticipated the findings of Western social scientists of the last two centuries. The passages have been grouped to illustrate Ibn Khaldun's views on

Historical Method

Geography

Economics

Public Finance

Population

Society and State

Religion and Politics

Knowledge and Society

The Theory of Being

The Theory of Knowledge

This translation is intended for students of thought, rather than specialized Arabic scholars, and for those interested in the intellectual background of the Arab world.

First published in 1950 and reprinted several times, this revision contains a new chapter and a thoroughly revised and updated bibliography.