Abstract

In this essay I delve, through the prism of philosophy and sociology of law and politics, into the thought of the medieval Andalusian-Maghrebin thinker Ibn Khaldun. Even if he wrote in the 14th century, in fact, Ibn Khaldun has anticipated many core concepts that are characteristic to sociological and philosophical Western modern thought. I will claim that the scheme he devised for explaining the rise and fall of civilizations can be, with the due care, used to frame and understand the current moral and cultural landscape that, in a difficult dialogue, is engaging the West and the Islamic world today.