Abstract
This thesis contextualises and compares the conceptual writings of two important medieval thinkers: Ibn Rushd (12th c.) and Marsilius of Padua (14th c.). In particular through its comparative approach, this thesis reveals the similarities and differences in the ideas of these two thinkers on political authority. My distinctive claim is that while these two thinkers have typically been compared from the perspective of establishing Ibn Rushd’s influence on Marsilius, an analysis of the major stages which led up to their conceptualisations of political authority, discloses a more significant set of differences rather than derivational similarities. The development of their respective ideas, I argue, was shaped by the specific historical context in which they were formulated. While Ibn Rushd’s desire to promote Almohad political reform through the acceptance of Greek philosophy on one hand influenced his intellectual project, on the other hand, Marsilius’ desire to assist the Emperor Ludwig to make an intellectual case against the papacy exposes his entirely different polemical objectives. These differences, I also argue, are of particular significance as they allow us to locate the manner of divergence between the respective traditions of western and Islamic political thought.
D.Litt. et Phil. (Politics)