Ibn Khaldun on Solidarity ("Asabiyah") - Modern Science on Cooperativeness and Empathy: a Comparison
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Electronic version of the article in: Philosophia Naturalis 38, pp. 91-104 (2001)
Ibn Khaldun on Solidarity (“Asabiyah”) - Modern Science on
Cooperativeness and Empathy: a Comparison
Alfred Gierer
Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology
Spemannstr. 35, D- 72076 Tübingen
e-mail: alfred.gierer@tuebingen.mpg.de
Abstract political rulership, and related general social phe-
nomena to basic features of human behaviour in-
Understanding cooperative human behaviour
depends on insights into the biological basis of fluenced by kinship, expectation of reciprocity, and
human altruism, as well as into socio-cultural de- empathic emotions.
velopment. In terms of evolutionary theory, kin-
ship and reciprocity are well established as un- Kinship - reciprocity - empathy: Evolutionary
derlying cooperativeness. Reasons will be given sources of altruistic behaviour
suggesting an additional source, the capability of
a cognition-based empathy that may have evolved One of the central anthropological problems is
as a by-product of strategic thought. An assess- the biological basis of altruistic behaviour.1 It en-
ment of the range, the intrinsic limitations, and the compasses a wide range of ’prosocial’ activities
conditions for activation of human cooperativeness that are primarily directed to the well-being of oth-
would profit from a systems approach combining ers or the interests of the group as a whole. It
biological and socio-cultural aspects. However, underlies the cooperativeness of the species homo
this is not yet the prevailing attitude among con- sapiens exceeding by far that among animals in
temporary social and biological scientists who of- extent, complexity, sophistication and variability;
ten hold prejudiced views of each other’s notions. the corresponding capabilities and dispositions are
It is therefore worth noticing that the desirable in- therefore expected to be encoded, however indi-
tegration of aspects has already been attempted, rectly and rudimentarily, in human DNA. And yet
in remarkable and encouraging ways, in the his- the degree, range and mode of expression is highly
tory of thought on human nature. I will exemplify culture-dependent, and variable among individu-
this with the ideas of the fourteenth century Arab- als within a given culture, being strongly influ-
Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun. He set out to ex- enced by social factors. It is not that certain be-
plicate human cooperativeness - “asabiyah” - as haviours are genetically determined whereas oth-
having a biological basis in common descent, but ers are culture-dependent; rather, genetic disposi-
being extendable far beyond within social systems, tions provide for capabilities, boundary conditions
though in a relatively unstable and attenuated fash- and constraints, thus setting the stage for cultural
ion. He combined psychological and material fac- and social factors to operate. Therefore, an ade-
tors in a dynamical theory of the rise and decline of quate understanding eventually requires a systems
1approach taking both biological and social factors game theory.
into account. But this is not yet the prevailing at- It is obvious that altruism among relatives as
titude; in fact, the intellectual level of discourse well as cooperation based on expectations of reci-
is much higher within biological and within social procity are strong motives in human society, but
science than between the two fields. it is also evident that human solidarity and other
As for the contribution of evolutionary biology, forms of altruism cannot be fully explained on this
an explanation of “altruistic” behaviour seemed basis. One reason is that the standard explana-
relatively easy as long as evolutionary forces were tions provided by evolutionary biology do not suf-
assumed to operate on groups or even species. ficiently consider the role of empathy.3
On this assumption, the evolution of genetically- Human empathy, the capability of feeling vi-
encoded cooperative dispositions could be ex- cariously the needs of others and of sharing emo-
plained because they served the aggregate fitness tions of suffering and joy, anxiety and hope, in-
of the group. However, it is now widely accepted cludes cognition-based empathy, taking others’
that selection with respect to biological “fitness” perspectives and playing others’ roles.4 In terms
operates primarily on individuals (or, more pre- of evolutionary theory, the capability of human
cisely, on individual genes and combinations of empathy while based on rudiments of empathy
genes) rather than on the group. Under these aus- in non-human primates, may have evolved, in its
pices, altruism is more difficult to explain in evolu- cognition-based form, as a by-product of the basic
tionary terms. If most members of a group cooper- human capability for strategic thought.5 The lat-
ate, increasing the fitness of other group members ter requires representations of one’s own possible
at the expense of the fitness of the individual, an future states for assessment of their emotional de-
occasional occurrence of a mutant giving rise to a sirability, but also the representation of possible
genetical dispositon to defect would endow its car- states of others including their emotional assess-
rier with increased fitness and thus the gene encod- ments, allowing anticipation of their behaviour.
ing for defection would spread in the population; This is best achieved if representations of others
therefore, a general dispositon toward cooperative- are connected to one’s own emotional centres, sim-
ness would not be evolutionarily stable. How could ilar as self-representations are. The capability of
altruism evolve nevertheless? strategic assessment affects the fitness of the indi-
Two main reasons have been identified.2 First, vidual, so no group selection needs to be involved.
cooperation between close relatives can be evolu- It is therefore plausible that the evolution of the
tionarily stable, because genes encoding disposi- human brain has established such linkages.6 How-
tions toward cooperation can survive, if not in the ever, a secondary effect is that it elicits empathic
individual carrier acting altruistically, then in the emotions. This, in turn, may lead to behaviour
relatives carrying the same genes as the altruistic aimed at relieving pain and achieving well-being
actor. They would thus increase in number within of others, ultimately for the sake of one’s own
the population. Such dispositions for cooperation positive emotions; empathy, including cognition-
may extend towards individuals sharing socializa- based empathy, is a motive of altruistic, includ-
tion, whether they are genetically related or not, ing cooperative, behaviour. Though genetic evo-
because kinship is statistically correlated with fa- lution is expected to attenuate altruist helping be-
miliarity. Secondly, there can be “reciprocal altru- haviour in favour of the egoistic outwitting of oth-
ism”, with cooperation reducing one’s fitness com- ers, socio-cultural effects may contribute to stabi-
pensated by reciprocal cooperation by the partner lizing the dispositions toward altruism at a moder-
leading to an increase of one’s fitness later. There ate average level. In this, the motive of establish-
is an extensive literature on the conditions for re- ing reputation within larger social groups may play
ciprocal altruism to evolve, analyzed in terms of a major role, as does the internalization of values
2in the course of education. The human potentials allies in larger political units. He insists, however,
evolved up to some prehistoric stage proved to be that such extended asabiyah is relatively unstable
of such widespread applicability that their evolu- and endangered by gradual corruption, especially
tionary origin does not exhaust the scope of devel- in affluent urban societies.
opment in subsequent cultural diversification and
history. This applies to human language, symbolic
representation, representations of the self in one’s Ibn Khaldun’s “asabiyah”:7 A systems ap-
own mind and strategic thought, and it may apply proach to human cooperativeness and group
to cognition-based empathy and other sources of solidarity
human prosocial behaviour as well. Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) was born and grew up
Empathic altruism and common sense are real in Tunis as a descendant of an aristocratic family
but limited resources of human nature, to be acti- that had emigrated from Moorish Spain. He was a
vated by moderate and considerate means. In mod- scholar of history and law, with a wide field of in-
ern societies that require rapid adaptation to social terests. He frequently changed posts and employ-
change, an adequate understanding of the range as ers. The ups and downs in his career included in-
well as the limits of cooperativeness is essential for trigues, imprisonment, and escapes. At the age of
realistic and at the same time empathic responses 43, he found a sponsor allowing him a four-years’
to social challenges. The biological boundary con- retreat in a castle near what is now Oran, where
ditions of human cooperativeness cannot be up- he wrote his major work, the “Muqaddimah”, the
set by ideological or moralistic arguments, but the introduction to history. Later on, he assumed high
variety of expression as demonstrated in the his- offices and positions as a judge in Cairo, a city he
torical and cultural record is very large. In deal- found fascinating (“he who does not know Cairo,
ing with these problems, contemporary science can does not know the power of Islam“) as well as ir-
draw on extensive and detailed knowledge in evo- ritating (“people live as if the final judgment were
lutionary biology and the social sciences includ- postponed indefinitely”).
ing psychology, but the relatively weak and often At the beginning and the end of his career, he
prejudiced relation between these two fields is an came in close contact with the political powers
obstacle to a better understanding of human altru- challenging the Maghreb in the West and in the
istic behaviour. In the history of thought on hu- East: Aged 32, he negotiated, in Sevilla, with Pe-
man nature, there are revealing examples of the dro the Cruel on a peace treaty with Castilia; aged
integration of different aspects into one perspec- 68, he was ordered to accompany Egypt’s sultan
tive. One may recall Epicurus’ philosophy of plea- to Syria, which was being invaded by Timur Lenk,
sure, generalizing from immediate sensual expe- only to find himself and some of his associates left
rience to time-integrating friendship and peace of behind in besieged Damascus. The most brutal of
mind; or Schopenhauer’s notion of innate compas- the Mongol invaders arranged a meeting with the
sion as the main source of human altruism. In this famous scholar on the other side.8 Let down by
essay, I will demonstrate the integration of bio- rope from the wall of Damascus, Ibn Khaldun told
logical and social aspects in the thought of one of the conqueror what he wanted to hear, escaped the
the most impressive figures in the history of scien- sack of Damascus under the enemy’s protection,
tific thought, the fourteenth century Arab-Muslim was gracefully released and eventually returned to
historian Ibn Khaldun. One of his basic concepts Cairo, where he died a few years later.
is “asabiyah”, group solidarity. According to Ibn It is his introduction to history, the
Khaldun it arises naturally in groups of common Muqaddimah,9 on which his fame is based.
ancestry, but is extendable to groups with social Toynbee called it the “greatest work of its kind
ties beyond common descent, including clients and that has ever yet been created by any mind in any
3place” - and even with less enthusiasm, giving reason for it is that a client-relationship leads to
post-modern scepticism and scholarly ifs and buts close contact exactly, or approximately in the same
their due, it is hard to overlook that Ibn Khaldun’s way, as does common descent... A pedigree is
were ingenious perspectives on motives and dy- something imaginary and devoid of reality. Its use-
namics of social processes, intellectually equal to fulness consists only in the resulting connections
the best of European thought in these fields. and close context” (Rosenthal / Ibn Khaldun, 1969,
Ibn Khaldun searched for general rules apply- p. 98, 99).
ing to historical and social processes, to be ex- Asabiyah can even arise as solidarity within
plained in terms of elementary human dispositions. large anonymous groups, in particular, when those
However, he also realized that there are singular who feel oppressed follow the revolutionary call of
historical events that cannot be easily subsumed a charismatic leader:
under generalized theories, when “a great change “Sometimes leadership goes to some person
takes place in the world, such as the transforma- from the lowest class of the people. He obtains
tion of a religion, or the disappearance of a civi- asabiyah and close contact with the mob for rea-
lization, or something else willed by the power of sons that fate produces for him. He, then, achieves
God” (Rosenthal / Ibn Khaldun, 1969, p. 115). superiority over the elders and people of the higher
And yet, most changes do follow rules, which class when they have lost the own asabiyah sup-
Ibn Khaldun sets out to specify. In particular he fo- port” (Rosenthal / Ibn Khaldun, 1969, p. 293/294).
cusses attention on cyclic processes of the rise and Thus, although common descent in tribal com-
fall of “dynasties”, that is, elite power-groups. The munities is the source of solidarity, it is extendable
rise of a dynasty is the result of “asabiyah” (”sol- to unrelated but familiar people, with whom so-
idarity”, “group feeling”, “social cohesion”), im- cial life and experiences are shared, and this can
plying a willingness to cooperate, which is partic- be the basis of political power even in large urban
ularly strong in small political units, such as tribal communities. However, such extended asabiyah
groups of nomads. Its basis is biological - common is attenuated and potentially unstable, and this, in
descent. The resulting solidarity is an obvious and turn, is a main cause of the rise and fall of political
undisputed part of human nature: systems. Asabiyah in larger communities leads to
“Compassion and affection for one’s blood re- a concentration of power, often resulting in king-
lations and relatives exist in human nature as some- ship. In the long run this power - unless used with
thing God put into the hearts of men. It makes for atypical moderation and consideration - destroys
mutual support and aid...” “One feels shame, when the solidarity with the people subject to rule, and
one’s relatives are treated unjustly or attacked, and eventually causes the fall of the dynasty.
one wishes to intervene between them and what- The economic correlate of this cyclic process is
ever peril or destruction threatens them” (Rosen- the increase and decrease of the material basis of
thal / Ibn Khaldun, 1969, p. 98). social life. Ibn Khaldun explains this with respect
However, it is not common descent itself that to taxation.
generates asabiyah; it results from common so- “At the beginning of a dynasty, taxation yields
cialization. A stranger proving common descent a large revenue from small assessments. At the
by document will not automatically be accepted, end of the dynasty, taxation yields a small revenue
whereas biologically unrelated clients and allies from large assessments ... When the dynasty fol-
can be integrated to share group solidarity. lows the ways of Islam, it imposes only such taxes
“The affection everybody has for his clients and as are stipulated by the religious law, such as char-
allies results from a feeling of shame that comes to ity taxes, the land tax and the poll tax ... When the
a person when one of the neighbours, relatives, or dynasty continues in power, ... qualities of moder-
a blood-relation in any degree is humiliated. The ation and restraint disappear ... Their customs and
4needs become more varied, because of the pros- rulership are kindness to, and protection of, one’s
perity and luxury in which they are immersed. As subjects ... To be kind and beneficient toward them
a result the individual imposts and assessments ... is part of being mild to them and showing an inter-
increase in order to obtain a higher tax revenue ... est in the way they live ...” (Rosenthal / Ibn Khal-
Eventually the taxes will weigh heavily upon sub- dun, 1969, p. 152/153).
jects and overburden them ... The assessments in- The importance of empathy is implicit in many
crease beyond the limits of equity. The result is other aspects of Ibn Khaldun’s writings as well. A
that the interest of the subjects in cultural enter- noteworthy example is his observation that a good
prises disappears ... Therefore many of them re- political leader should be neither too stupid nor too
frain from all cultural activity ... Finally civiliza- clever. Excessive intelligence and cleverness ren-
tion is destroyed, because the incentive for cultural ders him incapable of understanding normal peo-
activity is gone ... If one understands this, he will ple; he then tends to make demands on his clients
realize that the strongest incentive for cultural ac- that they can neither comprehend nor meet.
tivity is to lower as much as possible the amounts “An alert and very shrewd person rarely has the
of individual imposts levied upon persons capable habit of mildness ... The least of the many draw-
of undertaking cultural enterprises. In this manner backs of alertness [in a ruler] is that he imposes
such persons will be psychologically disposed to tasks upon his subjects that are beyond their ability,
undertake them.” (Rosenthal / Ibn Khaldun, 1969, because he is aware of things they do not perceive
p. 230/231). and, through his genius, foresees the outcome of
The familiarity of such arguments in contempo- things at the start ... The quality of shrewdness is
rary discussions on economic policies cannot de- accompanied by tyrannical and bad rulership and
tract from Ibn Khaldun’s originality in designing by a tendency to make the people do things that
a dynamic systems theory that combines material it is not in their nature to do. The conclusion is
and psychological factors and makes implicit use that it is a drawback in a political leader to be [too]
of non-linear dynamics to explain cyclic processes. clever and shrewd. Cleverness and shrewdness im-
Central to these thoughts is the intrinsic insta- ply that a person thinks too much, just as stupidity
bility of political power. The unilateral power of implies that he is too rigid. In the case of all hu-
the rulers is more or less an illusion; in fact the man qualities the extremes are reprehensible and
relation between rulers and those being ruled is re- the middle road is praiseworthy” (Rosenthal / Ibn
ciprocal. Rulers can sustain the solidarity of the Khaldun, 1969, p. 153/154).
ruled only by empathy with their needs and emo- Medieval texts such as Ibn Khaldun’s pro-
tions, and this is what rulers rarely take into ac- voke the standard questions of historical relativity:
count. Can we interpret incoherent segments of translated
“The interest subjects have in their ruler ... lies work as general insights into social behaviour and
in his relation to them. Royal and [other forms of] social systems? The answer, I think, is “yes” in the
governmental authority is something relative [a re- case of Ibn Khaldun’s approach to social dynam-
lationship between ruler and subjects] ... If ruler- ics. His writings are based on specific philosoph-
ship and its concomitants are of good quality, the ical presuppositions, political ideas, and histori-
purpose of government is most perfectly achieved. cal experiences of the fourteenth century Maghreb,
If rulership is good and beneficial, it will serve the but my essay is not concerned with the evalua-
interests of the subjects ... If the ruler continues to tion of Ibn Khaldun as a historian, nor with tracing
keep a forceful grip on his subjects, group feeling of components of his thought to predecessors, nor
will be destroyed. If the ruler is mild and overlooks with understanding the culture of medieval North
the bad side of his subjects, they will trust him and Africa, but with the scope, limits and intricacies of
take refuge with him ... The concomitants of good human cooperativeness in general. Ibn Khaldun’s
5interest is, to a considerable extent, political, deal- term, combining what we call biological and social
ing with the acquisition and maintenance of power, aspects of human nature. It is this capability and
especially of kingship, on the basis of the social willingness to integrate that, in retrospect, appears
values of a Muslim society. However, specific con- as his most creative contribution to understanding
clusions in this field require general insights into human cooperativeness11 .
the scope, sources and limitations of human coop- Modern science in general, and evolutionary bi-
erativeness, and this is a central topic of his theory ology in particular, aims at a deeper understanding
of asabiyah.10 and explanation of the basic conditions of human
cooperativity which have been analyzed in phe-
nomenological and historical terms by Ibn Khal-
Human cooperativeness: Integration of biologi- dun. However, in the present, a realistic assess-
cal and socio-cultural aspects ment and recruitment of cooperative dispositions
Ibn Khaldun considered a level of cooperation also requires overcoming prejudiced separation of
and solidarity as prerequisite for the well-being of sociobiology from the humanities. In my view,
a community. A main source of prosocial attitudes the origins of basic human dispositions are within
is biological, based on common descent in fami- the scope of modern evolutionary theory. Accord-
lies and tribes, but the scope is extendable to peo- ing to the theory, selection operates primarily on
ple who are familiar without family ties, who share individuals, not groups or species, but additional
socialization. However, the farther group solidar- effects of group selection are not altogether ex-
ity is extended, the more unstable and weak it is. cluded, and the selection of general psychic dis-
Its persistence depends on reciprocity and empa- positions may allow for side effects in favour of
thy. Ruling classes in affluent societies often in- altruistic cooperativity (Sober and Wilson, 1998).
dulge in the illusion that they can rule without the As already mentioned, general human capabilities
consensus of the ruled. Then, in fact, asabiyah is are not exhausted by the functions that gave rise
rapidly lost, and this is the kiss of death to ruler- to their selection. This may apply, in particu-
ship, which is then replaced by a new regime. So- lar, to cognition-based empathy. Its neurobiolog-
cial systems, he insisted, flourish most if human al- ical basis, the linkage of representations of others
truism is recruited by mild and restrained political with one’s own emotional centers, could evolve be-
means, which respect the limits of altruism from cause it upgraded the quality of strategic thought,
the outset. thus improving the fitness of the individual; but
Ibn Khaldun’s notes agree surprisingly well side effects were empathic emotions directing pro-
with more elaborate and formalized modern con- social behaviour towards the well-being of oth-
cepts on the roots of human cooperation in de- ers. Such surplus features of neurogenetic evolu-
scent, familiarity, reciprocity, and empathy. The tion may have been stabilized and further devel-
agreement cannot be contingent, but results from oped under the essential influence of socio-cultural
a combination of intelligence, exceptionally wide factors, be it in conjunction with or independent of
and diverse experiences, social and political exper- further genetic changes.
tise, and a capability for conceptual generalization. Some major implications of these notions
In terms of philosophy of science, it is remarkable agree fairly well with Ibn Khaldun’s much earlier
to which extent basic anthropological and socio- thoughts on “asabiyah”. It appears that disposi-
logical insights can be obtained by this combina- tions of altruistic cooperativeness and other forms
tion. Though Ibn Khaldun could not draw on mod- of human behaviour directed toward the well-being
ern evolutionary theory or on experimental sociol- of others are a limited but real and very valuable re-
ogy and psychology, his style of thought favoured source in human societies. Though rooted in bio-
a systems approach in a rather modern sense of the logically encoded features of the species man, their
6expression depends on specific socio-cultural acti- 4 The biological basis of human emotions and
vation. Excessive moralistic demands are counter- of distinctly human cognitive and social ca-
productive. The resulting group solidarities can be pabilities is treated by Davidson and Sut-
used or misused. Their proper, constrained and ton, 1995, p. 217-224, and by Povinelli and
realistic recruitment is a major determinant of the Preuss (1995), p. 418-424.
quality of life provided by human societies.
5 Reasons for considering empathy a source of
human altruism that evolved as a by-product
of strategic thought are explicated, and dis-
Notes cussed in the context of neural development,
in two articles of the author (Gierer, 1998a,b).
1 Formal definitions of altruism vary widely
6 Capabilities of self-representation, represen-
(Eisenberg, 1982, p. 3-6) and are not al- tation of others, strategic assessment and em-
ways better than preconceived informal no-
pathy are expected to involve widely dis-
tions. Altruism implies behaviour directed
persed features of connectivity of the neu-
to the well-being of others or the interests ral network. Nevertheless, a limited amount
of the group as a whole, at the expense of
of genetic change, consistent with the rela-
one’s own interests. For concepts of altru-
tively rapid evolution of homo sapiens could
ism to apply to human beings as they are ,
suffice for the generation of such capabili-
too stringent criteria for “true” altruism are ties in the course of human evolution. This
not helpful. Only liberal concepts allowing,
is because the genetic control of brain devel-
for instance, for the actor’s emotional rewards
opment involves hierarchical and combinato-
resulting from altruistic behaviour governed rial mechanisms; therefore, novel combina-
by empathy, or conscience, may contribute to
tions and modifications of existing regulatory
our understanding of the scope and limits of
genes coding for the implementation of the
human cooperativeness. The term “prosocial functional features of the neural network may
behaviour” preferred by some authors is al-
initiate the evolution of additional algorith-
most synonymous to liberal concepts of al-
mic capabilities of the brain.
truistic behaviour.
7 For analysis and explanation of Ibn Khal-
2 The two standard explanations of the evolu- dun’s work, see, for example, Kamil Ayad
tionary basis of altruism, kinship and reci-
(1930); and Al-Azmeh (1982). Ibn Khaldun’s
procity were originally proposed in the pa-
theory of the cycle of regimes is the subject of
pers by Hamilton (1964), p. 1-52 and a chapter in Springborg (1992), p. 270-275.
Maynard-Smith (1964), p. 1145-1147, with
respect to “inclusive fitness”; and in the pa- 8 Fischel (1952) provided a commented trans-
pers by Trivers (1971), p. 35-57 and Axelrod lation of Ibn Khaldun’s autobiographical
and Hamilton (1981), p. 1390-1396, with re- notes on his encounter with Timur Lenk.
gard to reciprocal altruism. The generaliza-
tion of this concept toward the establishment 9 To the Western reader, Ibn Khaldun’s intro-
duction to history is readily accessible in the
of reputation is due to Alexander (1987).
translation by Rosenthal (1969).
3 The social and psychological aspects of hu-
man altruism with an emphasis on the role of 10 In this respect I do not agree with radically
relativistic lines of thought claiming that his-
empathy are treated by, among others, Eisen-
tory is to be understood exclusively in the
berg (1986).
7cultural context of the past and that appar- elements, my article seaks to show that Ibn
ent similarities of past with present patterns Khaldun’s ideas are related to those elements
of thought and actions are nothing but illu- of human social interactions which are com-
sions which can be dissolved by careful pro- mon to man as a species.
fessional historical analysis. Why should one
11 It is remarkable and somewhat surprising that
hesitate to look for general insights on hu-
Ibn Khaldun, despite the thoroughly rational,
man social interactions by studies of four-
teenth century North African society with comprehensive style of his ideas on human
nature and society, adopted a critical if not
emphasis on the relatively large role of inter-
negative attitude towards ‘falsafa’, the line of
nal self-organization in the absence of exter-
nal rule and domination? Admittedly, insuf- Islamic philosophy aiming at a rational un-
ficient consideration of cultural contexts may derstanding of nature. He considered philo-
sophical sciences as detrimental to religious
lead to dubious conclusions; but in terms of
systems’ theory too much emphasis on partic- faith; it is the duty of the Muslim
ular details may obscure interesting general ”not to do what does not concern him. The
problems of physics are of no importance for
features rather than uncovering and elucidat-
us in our religious affairs or our lifelyhoods.
ing them. Evolution has generated a common
biological basis underlying human cognition Therefore, we must leave them alone .... The
science of logic ..... contains things that are
and behaviour, establishing the range as well
contrary to religious laws and their obvious
as the limits of cultural diversity; in my view,
Ibn Khaldun’s approach contributes to the meanings.... It has only a single advantage,
elucidation of this hidden basis. I thus agree namely, that it sharpens the mind ... The stu-
dent of logical argument is able to master the
with Tibi (1996) who emphasizes the general
validity of insights of Ibn Khaldun into the habit of exact and correct arguing and deduc-
nature of human socialization, supporting his ing.... It also affords acquaintance with the
doctrins and opinions of the people of the
views by relevant references to the literature.
world. One knows what harm it can do....
Lacoste (1966), while criticizing generaliza-
tions of Ibn Khaldun’s historical analysis of Whoever studies it should do so only after
he is saturated with the religious law and has
the Maghreb in relation to the history of other
studied the interpretation of the Koran ....”
societies, nevertheless stresses insights into
social dynamics and their relevance for the (Rosenthal / Ibn Khaldun (1969), p. 401-405.
understanding of later colonialism. Even an Ibn Khaldun was aware of the decline of
Arab-Islamic philosophy at his time, and
outspoken critic of attempts to read Ibn Khal-
dun out of context (Anderson, 1983, p. 263- of the flourishing of scientific studies in
273) is satisfied with considering asabiyah a Christian Europe: “..... Civilizing activi-
ties stopped in the Maghrib and in Spain.
primitive element of specifically human rela-
The sciences decreased with the decrease of
tions which can, at the same time, be an im-
pediment to the cohesion of diverse parts of a civilization.... Scientific activity disappeared
there, save for the few remnants .... that are
society. Accepting the “primitive” element as
controlled by orthodox religious scholars ...
based on the biological evolution of the hu-
man species up to the stage of hunters and We hear now that the philosophical sciences
gatherers, and adding the dynamic features are greatly cultivated in the land of Rome
and along the adjacent Northern Shore of the
of social systems as analyzed by Ibn Khal-
dun, Anderson’s view is not entirely different country of the European Christians. They are
from mine. Without denying specific cultural said to be studied there again and to be taught
in numerous classes. Existing systematic ex-
8positions of them are said to be comprehen- Lacoste, Y., 1966, “Ibn Khaldoun”, English trans-
sive, the people who know them are said to lation Verso London 1984.
be numerous, and the students of them very Maynard-Smith, J., 1964, “Group selection and
many. God knows better what exists there ....” kin selection”, Nature 201, 1145-1147.
(Rosenthal / Ibn Khaldun 1969, p. 375). Povinelli, D.J. and Preuss, T.M., 1995, “Theory of
mind: Evolutionary biology of a cognitive spe-
cialization”, Trends in Neuroscience 8,9, 418-
424.
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