Plato in the Shadow of Aristotle; Why Plato's Works Are Under-Regarded in the Translation Movement

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Document Type : Reveiw Article

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1 Graduate of Western Philosophy, Shahid Beheshti University and Islamic Philosophy, University of Tehran

2 Faculty member, Department of Philosophy and Logic, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This article examines the disparity in the translation of Plato and Aristotle during the translation movement. Despite the initial perception that Plato’s philosophy was more closely related to religious teachings, Aristotle’s works were much more popular; almost all of Aristotle’s works were translated into Arabic, while only a limited part of Plato’s works, mainly in the form of reports and excerpts collected by the likes of Galen, were transferred to this language. This article, focusing on historical and content factors, explains the main reasons for this distinction in several axes; the ideological and prophetic attitude towards Aristotle, combined with Al-Ma’mun’s special support for him, led to the comprehensive translation of his works, this approach went so far as to attribute some works of other philosophers to Aristotle in order to increase the acceptance of the translated works. The remarkable eloquence and rhetoric of the Greek language of Plato's works and the necessity of deep familiarity with Greek culture in order to accurately understand his works made the process of translating his works much more complicated.

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Islamic Philosophical Doctrines

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 November 2025

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