Arabic Encyclopaedias and Encyclopaedism between the Seventeenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Forms, Functions, Intersections of Adab and Modernity

One of the most interesting aspects with respect to which we measure the modernity of an era is its relationship with scientific and technical knowledge. The Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, par une société de gens de lettres by the French Illuminist D. Diderot was setting for the first major modern cultural initiative. The Encyclopédie marks a significant date in the history and technique as the first collective work, not only entrusted to a scholar or an academy but a “société de gens de lettres” independent from all powers. This paper aims to investigate the way in which Arab intellectuals are related to knowledge (both ‘ilm and adab) in modern age. I shall examine a series of modern and pre-modern encyclopedias produced from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century in Arabic. They will be compared with similar/different Western productions to ascertain the most important stages in the classification of knowledge within the Arab framework. Particular attention will be paid to the criteria of division/classification of the sciences and the organization of knowledge in the various works.