Al Farabi's Life and Influence

Al Farabi's system-building ambitions allowed him to exercise a much greater influence. His biography anticipates that of Avicenna, who was likewise forced to spend his life moving from one city and patron to another. Both were enthusiastic and talented logicians; embraced the late ancient idea that philosophy must be grounded in the study of logic. From Al Farabi, Avicenna took over an understanding of God as a first cause who creates the rest of the universe by emanating it from himself.