Description: "Why is laughter contagious? Why do mountains exist? Why do we long for the past ever if it is scarred by suffering? Spanning a vast array of subjects that range from the philosophical to the theological, from the philological to the scientific, "The Philosipher Respons" is the record of a set of questions put by the litterateur Abåu òHayyåan al-Tawòhåidåi to the philosopher and historian Abåu °Alåi Miskawayh. Both figures were foremost contributors to the remarkable flowering of cultural and intellectual life that took place in the Islamic world during the reign of the Buyid dynasty in the fourth/tenth centuries.
Brief description: Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī (d. 414/1023) was a prominent litterateur and philosopher in Baghdad.
Review Quotes: "This publication not only offers a new critical reference edition of the Arabic text, but also, through an elegant and fluent English translation, makes this unique work accessible to an audience of non-specialists."-- "Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies"