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The Interaction of Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn Al-Nafīs

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The Interaction of Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn Al-Nafīs PULMONARY TRANSIT AND BODILY RESURRECTION: THE INTERACTION OF MEDICINE, PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION IN THE WORKS OF IBN AL-NAF ĪS (D. 1288) A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Notre Dame in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Nahyan A.G. Fancy ________________________________ Phillip R. Sloan, Director ________________________________ Ahmad Dallal, Director Graduate Program in the History and Philosophy of Science Notre Dame, Indiana December 2006 PULMONARY TRANSIT AND BODILY RESURRECTION: THE INTERACTION OF MEDICINE, PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION IN THE WORKS OF IBN AL-NAF ĪS (D. 1288) Abstract by Nahyan A.G. Fancy Traditionally, historians of science have only been interested in Islamic science because of its relationship to Greek science, and in the ways in which it was instrumental in transporting Aristotle, Ptolemy and Galen to the West. Moreover, the successes and failures of Islamic science have been judged according to the metric of the Scientific Revolution. As such, the actual context of the works of Islamic scientists and physicians has been overlooked, thereby producing a skewed picture of science in Islamic societies. This dissertation seeks to correct this picture by placing Islamic medicine firmly within its context. In the process, it provides a new framework with which to understand the relationship between reason and revelation in Islamic societies, and suggests new ways to revisit the entire problem of the decline of Islamic science. The dissertation specifically examines the corpus of writings of an Egyptian physician-jurist, Ibn al-Naf īs (d. 1288), best known to Western historians of science as the discoverer of the pulmonary circulation of blood. Although his discovery has been Nahyan A.G. Fancy known for a century, there has been no study that situates Ibn al-Naf īs’s discovery within the context of his time. This dissertation seeks to fill that lacuna. Focusing on his views on the soul ( nafs ) and spirit ( rūh)—two concepts central to theological discussions about the afterlife and medical physiology, this dissertation positions Ibn al-Nafis’s philosophical and physiological discussions against the background of earlier and contemporary philosophical, medical and theological works. Through this contextualization, this study reveals that Ibn al-Naf īs’s new theory of the pulmonary transit of blood is the offspring of his new psychology and physiology. It also reveals that on the basis of his new physiology, Ibn al-Nafīs rejected the Galenic theory of pulsation and posited a new theory in its stead—an important point that has hitherto been missed by historians. Moreover, this work reveals that Ibn al-Naf īs’s new physiological and psychological theories are themselves the direct result of his solution to the thirteenth century debates over reason and revelation. Consequently, the dissertation problematizes existing historical accounts, and seeks to replace historical models that posit an antagonistic and destructive relationship between reason and revelation during this period. To Papa and Mummy, ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................vi A Note on Transliteration and Dating...........................................................................viii Chapter 1: Building a Niche for Islamic Science in the History of Science.................1 1.1 The Theoretical Obstacles to Studying the History of Islamic Science......8 1.2 Revisionist Historiography: Its Successes and Limitations........................17 1.3 Extending the Scope of Revisionist Studies ...............................................25 1.3.1 Rationality and the Authoritative Resources Model.......................27 1.4 Chapter Summaries.....................................................................................31 Chapter 2: Ibn al-Naf īs: A Rational Traditionalist or a Traditional Rationalist? .........34 2.1 The Socio-Political Context of Thirteenth Century Cairo and Damascus..36 2.2 Problems in Reconstructing the Life of Ibn al-Naf īs..................................44 2.3 Ibn al-Naf īs: A Traditionalist-Philosopher-Physician?...............................48 2.4 The Place of Reason in the Study of had īth ................................................57 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................73 Chapter 3: Rationalizing Revelation, Rejecting Autodidactism: Ibn al-Naf īs’s Response to the Fal āsifa .............................................................................76 3.1 Falsafa in the Thirteenth Century and the “Heritage of Ibn S īnā”.............79 3.2 Autodidactic Learning and Falsafa ’s Challenge to Traditionalism............86 3.3 Rejecting Autodidactic Learning, Accommodating Falsafa ......................95 3.4 Anthropomorphism and the Authority of Revelation .................................109 3.5 Bodily Resurrection and the Problem of Individuation..............................122 3.5.1 Ibn S īnā, the Ammonian Synthesis and the Problem of Individuation...................................................................................128 3.5.2 Soul, Spirit and Monistic S ūfism: The Case of Ibn T ufayl ............137 3.5.3 Ibn al-Naf īs: A Traditionalist, a Faylas ūf, but no S ūfī ...................144 3.6 Conclusion ..................................................................................................150 iii Chapter 4: Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: Fruits of a New Physiology, Fruits of a New Psychology........................................................................157 4.1 Spirits, Faculties and Souls: The Intertwined Legacy of Aristotle and Galen...........................................................................................................159 4.1.1 Aristotle’s One Soul-One Chief Organ Physiology........................160 4.1.2 Galen’s Three Chief Organ Physiology..........................................168 4.1.3 Summary.........................................................................................175 4.2 Sowing the Seeds for an Aristotelian Galenism: Physiology During the Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement .......................................................178 4.2.1 Hunayn and the “Galenic” System of Physiology..........................179 4.2.2 Qust ā ibn L ūqā: Towards a more Aristotelian Galenism................183 4.2.3 Summary.........................................................................................188 4.3 Avicennian Physiology: Reconciling and Going Beyond Aristotle and Galen...........................................................................................................189 4.3.1 Ibn S īnā and the Philosophical Limits of Medicine........................190 4.3.2 Ibn T ufayl: Aristotelian Par Excellence ? .......................................198 4.3.3 Summary.........................................................................................202 4.4 Ibn al-Naf īs’s Physiology: The Result of a Truly Hylomorphic Psychology..................................................................................................203 4.4.1 The Order of Ibn al-Naf īs’s Medical and Philosophical Writings..205 4.4.2 Redefining Chief Organs and Their Relationships to Soul, Spirit and Faculties ...................................................................................209 4.4.3 The Pulmonary Transit of the Blood and the New Physiology ......218 4.4.4 Ibn al-Naf īs’s New Theory of Pulsation .........................................224 4.4.5 The New Anatomy and Physiology in Defense of Bodily Resurrection? ..................................................................................233 4.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................239 Chapter 5: The Legacy of Ibn al-Naf īs .........................................................................242 5.1 The Anomaly of the Mūjaz .........................................................................244 5.2 The Mūjaz and Tibb al-Nab ī: A Preliminary Excursus ..............................251 5.3 Concluding Remarks...................................................................................254 iv Bibliography .................................................................................................................259 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to all my committee members for their help over the years. I took my first graduate course in Islamic philosophy with Father David Burrell, and he has always been there to help me navigate those treacherous waters. Prof. Robert Goulding has provided me with insightful comments throughout the duration of this project and it is unfortunate that he was unable to see it through. I would like to thank Prof. David Ladouceur for stepping in at the last minute. Prof. Paul Cobb has not only been a great mentor, but a great friend too. I cherish every interaction I have ever had with him. Prof. Ahmad Dallal (co-chair) was kind enough to take me on as his student. Though he may regret it now, especially after the number of times I have harassed him over the years, I have learned a great deal from him; I only wish I could have learned more. Thanks are also due to the University of Notre Dame, the Program in History and Philosophy of Science and the College of Arts and Letters for all their financial support.
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