For ‘Abd al-Latif, as for al-Farabi’s Plato, philosophical research begins with an investigation of what constitutes the perfection of man as man, which does not consist of a healthy physique, a pleasant face, noble descent, a large group of friends and lovers; nor does it consist in riches, glory, or power, since none of these is able to make man fully and truly happy. For man the attainment of happiness consists in a particular type of knowledge, the knowledge of the substances of all the beings and a certain lifestyle, the virtuous life. Knowledge of things according to their essence is not an end in itself, but is that which must characterize the virtuous lifestyle of the philosopher: in him, in fact, theoretical knowledge is the prolegomenon to action, ethics, and politics. For this reason ‘Abd al-Latif stresses that there is no difference between a man who lives in ignorance and the life of beasts because in ignorance man acts like a beast. A life in ignorance is a life without the search for truth and, hence, inhuman in itself.