Background
Houranl, George was born on June 3, 1913 in England.
Houranl, George was born on June 3, 1913 in England.
Oxford and Princeton Universities.
Taught at Government Arab College, Jerusalem. University °f Michigan, and finally at the State University of New York. Buffalo, as Distinguished Professor of Islamic Thought and Civilization.
Hourani's main philosophical interest was ethics, and he was particularly attracted to the developmer>t of ethics in the Islamic world. Most of his work concentrates upon Islamic thinkers such as 'hn Rushd and the Mutazilite Abd al- •labbar, and he was clearly attracted to the rationalist trend in Islamic thought. This did not "i any way prevent him from discussing clearly and critically the opponents of this position, which he presented in as attractive a manner as Possible. His work on the nature of ethical controversy in the Islamic world is outstanding lor its clarity and comprehensiveness. Hourani played an important role in showing how useful it is to consider the works of Islamic Philosophy and theology from an analytical standpoint. Although he did examine the minutiae of the particular controversies, he was able to Put them within a broader perspective which made them accessible to philosophers in general, n°t just Islamicists. His work on Averroes’ Decisive Treatise, which involved editing, translating and commenting upon the text, brought the uature of the Islamic tradition of philosophy to the notice of a comparatively wide audience. The hnks which he etablished between earlier Islamic thought and modern developments showed how continuous the discussion is and how relevant apparently obscure theological debates are to ntodern political and ethical concerns.