Ibn Khaldun relies on laws so much, and to him, these laws hold true for all the societies sharing the same features. It does not matter whether these societies are located in different geographies or lived in different time. Ibn Khaldun knows that the laws he determined for Arab bedouins apply, as well as, to Berbers, Turkomen, and Kurds.[1] He argues that these laws are not biologically constructed, but determined by social cohesion, lifestyle, wealth and occupation.[2]C. Isaawi claims that “when discussing the national characteristics of such peoples as the Arabs or Jews, he is very careful to stress that such features as, for example, the insubordination of the Arab bedouin or the cunning of the Jew are to be explained not by their racial origins but by their mode of life and their past history”[3] I do not agree with Isaawi in this statement. We very well know thatIbn Khaldun weighs greater importance to the other social factors, and for him the physical conditions are of great significance in determining the characteristics of nations and races. Nonetheless, in Muqaddimah, he clearly talks about the essences of the races. For instance when he mentions the people ofSudan, describes them as the wild animals who cannot speak. In Ibn Khaldunian parlance, essence of nations and races can be modified by environmental factors, but this does not mean that there is no essence. To put it correctly, there are essences/cores of nations and races which are open to external impact.

N. Schmidt points out that “he is confident that there is an intelligible sequence, a causal connection, an ascertainable order of development, a course of human events following observable tendencies, in accordance with definite laws, he also believes that in proportion as history becomes what in its nature it is, it will be able to predict the future”[4]. To me, it is very interesting to claim that, by using history, stretching the lines from past to the future, we can predict the future; since such kind of a ‘big’ claim can be made, only if is he managed to cover a sufficient amount of history from the manuscripts. And also such a claim entails a mind which can evaluate all these sources in a critical and coherent manner within the confines of a theory. However, while reading theMuqaddimah, the writer paid the price of coming up with such a theory. He spent necessary amount of mental and physical study.

He is the first scholar coming up with this kind of causal theory before his successors in Western world who appeared in the scene after several centuries. Nathaniel Schmidtt, exhibits this originality with these words: “… long before Montesqieu, he clearly discovered and laid down the law of causality in its widest application to human society; that he observed the similarity of all historic processes (‘the past and the present are as much alike as two drops of water”), and explained it by the tendency to imitation and adaptation; and that he regarded science, art, and religion as products of social action.”[5] In the Muqaddimah, as well, we see this kind of attitude to past events very overtly. Ibn Khaldun, ostensibly puts forward that events take place in line with an intelligible causal chain. In the foreword of Muqaddimah, it is very obvious: “The inner meaning of history, on the other hand, involves speculation and an attempt to get at the truth, subtle explanation of the causes and origins of existing things, and deep knowledge of the how and why of events.”[6] The following part is more interesting. He continues that “([h]istory,) therefore, is firmly rooted in philosophy. It deserves to be accounted a branch of philosophy”[7]. It is interesting, because he does not talk about historical philosophy, or any other branch of science; but a history as sub-field of philosophy. This allocation implies a lot, for me, about the scientific taxonomy of fourteenth century.

stay tuned......

Source:

http://www.worldbulletin.net/ibn-khaldun/123489/ibn-khalduns-methodology-and-fundamental-concepts

References:

http://97.105.52.213/en/artical/22486/Ibn-Khaldun-fundamental-concepts