ABSTRACT
In two recent articles, I have argued that al-Kindī (died soon after 256 AH, 870 CE), a philosopher whose career seems to have reached its height under the ‘Abbāsid caliph al-Mu’taṣim, put forward an innovative and unusual view of human freedom. He held, or so I claim, that a power (quwwa) of choice (ikhtiyār) or volition (irāda) may be exercised even in cases where the choice is determined, that is, causally necessitated by something external. In modem parlance, he was a compatibilist. I have tried to show this in Al-Kindī and the Mu‘tazila:. Divine Attributes, Creation and Freedom, a paper presented to the School of ‘Abbāsid Studies but now published elsewhere. 1 I also pointed out, in another recently published paper, that the great astrologer Abū Ma’shar, who was an associate of al-Kindī, shares this view of human freedom. 2 1 am grateful to James Montgomery, the editor of this volume, for the chance to summarize these findings here and to give a further piece of evidence from the circle of al-Kindī.
