Machine summary:
2 1t is immaterial whether the ethical trend of his political thought is due 'to his Islamic environment and to his Muslim faith or rather to the influ• ·ence of the philosophers: the Power-State and its successful government form the object of his study, the subject of his advice to.
This is of importance in the case of the philosophers in particular since they are-though primarily interested in the individual soul and its perfection-at least in their political concep• tions guided by the central idea of Law on the one hand and of the indiv• idual as a citizen of a state founded on and guided and directed by Law on the other.
If this were so, Aver• roes would still be within the orthodox political conception even though he stresses the intellectual and ethical qualifications of the ideal ruler and passes over in silence any religious duties of the head of the state.
As behoves a Muslim he first states the aim to be the will of God as postulated by the religious laws in force in his own time.
Averroes interprets Plato's wise polis which possesses knowledge and wisdom as a state whose wise citizens thorouJZhly understand all the laws and statutes.
1 The speculative sciences-demanded by the Law according to a notable · passage in Averroes' Paraphrase-help man in the wise city-state to reach his goal, i.
The ideal philosopher must be guided, how• ever, by those laws and statutes which govern the ideal state without, however, being obliged to live in such a political community.