From Greek ‘τὸ ὂν’ to Its Arabic Equivalent ‘Mawjūd’
Subject Areas : Philosophy
Keywords: : Mawjūd, Being, Einai, &, tau, ὸ ὂ&, nu, , That Which Is, Charles Kahn,
Abstract :
In this paper I will try to semantically analyze the subject matter of First Philosophy, i.e. ‘τὸ ὂν’. In doing so, I rely on Charles Kahn’s works. ‘τὸὂν’ in Greek thought mainly refers to what is accessible. This is what mystics mean by “that which is”. To make this clear, I will discuss the Persian equivalent of this Greek word. Then, with reference to Arabic translations of Metaphysics and the equivalents of ‘τὸ εἶναι’, ‘τὸὂν’, and ‘τὸἔστιν’ in these texts, I will semantically analyze those equivalents among which Mawjūd is the most prominent. I will show the background of this word in the Arabic language and especially in The Translation Movement. Finally, I will explain the semantic relation between Mawjūd and its Greek equivalent.
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