AvicennianPhilosophy Journal

Practical philosophy has a special place in the works of Farabi, Avicenna and Khajeh Nasir. Household management is defined as a family system and the place and roles of women and men. Regard to the principles and problems of the issue, the three philosophers have similar thoughts, however, there are considerable differences in their ideas about family and particularly women. Following Greek philosophers, Farabi considers human as an essentially civil entity and approaches the personality of a woman with a humanist and virtue-centered perspective regardless to her gender. Avicenna and Khajeh Nasir have a more practical view and insist mostly on the role of men and women in the family system. Of course, Khajeh has a more gender-related and less humanistic view toward women and considers them as the servants of the men, whose main task is to be a mother or a wife. Contrary to Farabi, he states that women should stay hidden at home because their social activities lead to undesirable consequences. Reviewing the ideas of the three philosophers on this issue, this paper would clarify their similarities and differences.