ABSTRACT
Ahmad ibn Miskawayh (d. 421/1030) was a member of a distinguished group of thinkers who combined political careers with philosophical activity. As treasurer of the Buwayhid ruler Adud al-Dawlah, he was very much part of the practical side of his society, while as a member of the group of intellectuals including al-Tawḥīdī and al-Sijistānī he contributed a great deal to theoretical debate at the time. Although many of his contemporaries were rather disparaging about his work, not to mention his person, he is an interesting thinker who displays much of the style of the times. Miskawayh wrote on a wide number of topics, as did so many of his contemporaries, and although there can be no question but that his work is less distinguished than that of Ibn Sīnā, what we know of it today provides evidence of some very interesting contributions to the development of philosophical thought. Within philosophy itself Miskawayh’s main claim for attention lies in his well-constructed system of ethics, with which we shall largely be concerned here.
