Peter E. Porman on Classical Scholarship and Arab Modernity

A very interesting chapter in Sarah C. Humphreys and Rudolf G. Wagner's Modernity's Classics (Springer 2013) by Peter E. Porman; Classical Scholarship and Arab Modernity , pp.123-141:https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-642-33071-1_6

Here is an excerpt from the auther's conclusions

"We find many reflections and refractions of the role of classical studies in
contemporary Arab and Muslim societies. Ahmad ʿEtma¯n’s play The Goats of
Oxyrhynchus, for instance, engages on at least three levels with the classical past:
firstly, it draws on a Greek source; secondly, it considers Egypt’s relation to her
Hellenistic heritage; and thirdly, it comments critically on the place of this heritage
in modern Egypt. The struggle for modernity continues in many countries of the
Middle East. The interpretation of texts takes centre stage in this process. Here
classical studies have contributed significantly to debates about cultural and religious
authority and identity, as we have seen throughout this article. Again and
again, intellectuals who were trained in the methods of classical scholarship have
provoked controversy by offering interesting perspectives on the history of Arabic
and Islamic thought. These debates, to be sure, continue today with even greater
vigour, as Greek and Latin studies are thriving in Egypt."

Arabic Commentaries on the Hippocratic Aphorisms

Arabic Commentaries on the Hippocratic Aphorisms


Professor Peter E. Pormann is currently pursuing a major research project entitled ‘Arabic Commentaries on the Hippocratic Aphorisms’, funded by the ERC (€1.5m). The project aims to examine the entire Arabic commentary tradition on the Aphorisms, from the ninth to the sixteenth century. The Hippocratic Aphorisms had a profound influence on subsequent generations; they not only shaped medical theory and practice, but also affected popular culture. Galen (d. c. 216) produced an extensive commentary on this text, as did other medical authors writing in Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew. The Arabic tradition is particularly rich, with more than a dozen commentaries extant in over a hundred manuscripts. These Arabic commentaries constituted important venues for innovation and change, and did not merely draw attention to scholastic debates. Moreover, they had a considerable impact on medical practice, as the Aphorisms were so popular that both doctor and patient knew them by heart.

More here: http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/classicsancienthistory/research/projects/arabiccommentaries/