Ibn Sînâ, On Governance
• God gave us the power to reason by means of language
• If everyone were equally wealthy, none could work for another
• How close people are to one another in their ethical and moral
temperaments
Family
• Every man, unlike animals, needs to prepare a surplus of food
• He needs to appoint someone to protect his supply: his wife
○ That is the reason for starting a family
• The man who has wife, children, servants, and followers is also
required to govern them well
○ These are summary statements concerning why governance is
necessary
Man’s Governance of His Soul
• Once he governs his soul well, he will not falter in governance of the city
• It behoves a person to set his soul in order by governing it with reward and punishment
Comings and Goings
• A comfortable livelihood
• To spend on taxes, alms, favour and to hold back some of it as a saving
• To cover expenses and keep them in order lies between extravagance
and stinginess
His Wife
• Deference of woman for her husband
His Son
• Once the young man developed a certain mastery of his profession, the plan for him involves seeking a way to earn money and taking on the responsibility of providing for his livelihood from it.
His Servants
• A man’s servants are his arms and legs
• Treat them nicely
• Once you have selected a servant, consider what task is most suitable
for him.
• One should not chastise his servant
The name of the book is On Governance. Although we might anticipate for Ibn Sina to sets up the rules of governance of the cities at the first glance, he hardly mentions it. Instead, he speaks of the governance of the man's family, soul, livelihood, and servants. Because once a man is able to govern his family and his soul, he will not have difficulty in the governance of the city.
Keywords: reason, language, family, surplus of food, wife, deference, children, son, servants, governance, soul, reward, punishment, livelihood, extravagance, stinginess, organology, interconnectedness
• God gave us the power to reason by means of language
• If everyone were equally wealthy, none could work for another
• How close people are to one another in their ethical and moral
temperaments
Family
• Every man, unlike animals, needs to prepare a surplus of food
• He needs to appoint someone to protect his supply: his wife
○ That is the reason for starting a family
• The man who has wife, children, servants, and followers is also
required to govern them well
○ These are summary statements concerning why governance is
necessary
Man’s Governance of His Soul
• Once he governs his soul well, he will not falter in governance of the city
• It behoves a person to set his soul in order by governing it with reward and punishment
Comings and Goings
• A comfortable livelihood
• To spend on taxes, alms, favour and to hold back some of it as a saving
• To cover expenses and keep them in order lies between extravagance
and stinginess
His Wife
• Deference of woman for her husband
His Son
• Once the young man developed a certain mastery of his profession, the plan for him involves seeking a way to earn money and taking on the responsibility of providing for his livelihood from it.
His Servants
• A man’s servants are his arms and legs
• Treat them nicely
• Once you have selected a servant, consider what task is most suitable
for him.
• One should not chastise his servant
The name of the book is On Governance. Although we might anticipate for Ibn Sina to sets up the rules of governance of the cities at the first glance, he hardly mentions it. Instead, he speaks of the governance of the man's family, soul, livelihood, and servants. Because once a man is able to govern his family and his soul, he will not have difficulty in the governance of the city.
Keywords: reason, language, family, surplus of food, wife, deference, children, son, servants, governance, soul, reward, punishment, livelihood, extravagance, stinginess, organology, interconnectedness