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Work #487 · Early

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

al-Kindī (Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb)
c. 850 · Arabic
Philosophical treatise · Islamic Peripatetic philosophy (early falsafa)

al-Kindī's 9th-c. foundational text of Arabic-Islamic philosophy — the first Arab philosopher

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy) (Early)
Time · Extent Finite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

The created-temporal world (departing from Aristotelian eternity).

Space

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

The created-finite cosmos.

Matter

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

Created-finite hylomorphic substance.

Observer

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

The rational philosophical soul.

Energy

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

Energies of intellectual ascent to the True One.

Information

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

Foundational Arabic-philosophical framework.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Fī l-Falsafa al-Ūlā (On First Philosophy)

al-Kindī's thesis of created-in-time world departing from Aristotelian eternity, anticipating al-Ghazālī.