AVICENNA His Life (980-1037) and Work
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AVICENNA His life (980-1037) and Work By SOHEIL M. AFNAN Introduction I.-Persia in the Tenth Century II.- Life and Works of Avicenna III.-Problems of Logic IV.- Problems of Metaphysics V.- Problems of Psychology VI.- Problems of Religion VII.- Medicine and the Natural Sciences VIII.- Avicenna and the East IX.- Avicenna and the West CONCLUSION AVICENNA'S SUCCESSORS AND COMMENTATORS PREFACE This is an attempt to present to the general reader the life and works of Avicenna, who is beyond doubt the most provocative figure in the history of thought in the East. It is not a defence of him and his system, nor a critique of his philosophy. During his lifetime he was deliberately scornful of defenders and critics alike; he could not think better of them now that a thousand years have gone by. With his position amply justified, and after that extended period when his name hung on the lips of physicians and philosophers from the borders of China to the cloisters of mediaeval Paris and Oxford, it seems best to let him speak for himself. The painted frieze only lately discovered behind a coating of plaster at the Bodleian, is sufficient evidence that he is no newcomer to the Western world. We have felt no temptation to adapt him to modern thought; or to graft his conceptions on to those that belong distinctively to an experimental age. We have wished to give the right historical perspective, and to show him as the product of the impact of Greek thought on Islamic teachings against the background of the Persian Renaissance in the tenth century. The legitimate question whether there is anything of permanent value in his thought has been left for the reader to decide. Yet it has been emphasized that the problems he was confronted with resulted from the conflicting disciplines of two separate cultures brought face to face. He is therefore of more than historical interest. His attitude can be of guidance to those in the East who are meeting the challenge of Western civilization; and to those in the West who have yet to find a basis on which to harmonize scientific with spiritual values. There remains the pleasant task of expressing our thanks to Dr S. Pines with whom we have discussed Avicenna frequently, and who has read some of the chapters of this book, and made valuable S. M. AFNAN Pembroke College, Cambridge, July 1956 2 INTRODUCTION Many factors helped to introduce the remarkable Abbasid Age under the aegis of the Caliphs of Baghdad. Their newly-founded capital had gathered together men from distant countries, and the stimulating élan of Islam was everywhere at work. The change from the Umayyads of Damascus and their tribal loyalties held fresh promise for the non-Arabs who had adopted the new Faith. It was a case of religion uniting people and giving purpose and direction to their lives. The Arabs contributed a high sense of mission; the Persians their culture and sense of history; the Christian Syriacs their linguistic versatility; the Harranians their Hellenistic heritage and the Indians their ancient lore. All mixed freely and joined in an earnest quest for knowledge. The Persians became particularly favored. They had done most to establish the new regime; they had much experience to offer in the field of administration and State finance; and they consequently filled many of the government posts. An unfortunate consequence of this was that racial rivalry reappeared. It led to the unhappy Shu'ubiyya movement with its emphasis on the superiority of the non-Arab races, leading to occasional violence and bloodshed. The association, nevertheless, proved eminently fruitful. All branches of art and literature flourished as never before or since in the Islamic world. A new civilization was being created, and members of all the nations involved made vital contributions. The Caliphs themselves set the pace. Al-Mansur (d. 775) added to his liberal outlook a deep love of learning. Harun al-Rashid who reigned after him established the library known as the Khaznat al- Hikma (The Treasure-house of Wisdom) under the direction of competent and earnest scholars. Material prosperity enabled the people to take an increasing interest in cultural pursuits. There was an intensive study of the Arabic language and grammar, already associated with the two rival schools of Kufa and Basra. The whole corpus of pre-Islamic poetry including some of doubtful authenticity came to be recorded. Rules of prosody were laid down and carefully studied; poetry took forms hitherto not attempted. Public and private libraries began to multiply,1 and high prices were paid for manuscripts. Two factors were to prove of great importance to the subject of our inquiry. In the field of thought there was the emergence of a rationalistic school of theologians who came to be known as the Mutazelites and whose views eventually influenced profoundly some of the Islamic philosophers. In literature there was the gradual development of an as yet hardly existing secular prose as distinct from the purely religious, or the mystical or even the Mutazelite style of writing and terminology. This secular prose was to become the model of Arabic philosophical language and a chief source of its technical terms. It first appeared in the late Umayyad period in Syria and Iraq, and was created by Muslims of foreign extraction, mostly Persians. At first it was used for correspondence concerned with the administration of the new empire and the organization of secretarial offices. Its chief exponent was Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, a school-master who rose to high office under the Umayyads. With the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750 (132 a.h.) it developed in the form of court- 3 literature and belles-lettres. The Caliphs from the time of Umayyad Hisham realized the necessity of some guide to help them to formalize their relations with the various communities they were now to rule. This they found in the court-literature of the erstwhile Sasanian empire which although at the time of its conquest was hopelessly divided within itself, deeply impressed the Arab conquerors by its outward majesty and efficient system of administration. It was from them [the Persians] that we took the methods of royalty and government, the organization of the chosen and the common classes, and the suitable policy towards the governed… Consequently the secretarial katibsundertook the translation of some of these Persian court-books, describing the duties of the monarch to his people and the proper procedure at court. Together with epistolary and court-literature came belles-lettres, to be known as adab. The outstanding writer in this genre, if not its actual originator, was Ibn al-Muqaffa (killed in early age). One of the creators of Arabic secular prose, he was also perhaps the earliest to introduce Aristotelian Logic to the Islamic world. This author has grown in stature since modern scholarship began to devote attention to him and recognize the valuable services that he rendered to the Arabic language. It has been possible to show that some of the happiest philosophical terms in Arabic that are not of Coranic origin, borrowed by the translators and philosophers alike, are first met with in his writings and are presumably of his coining. Discussing this aspect of Arabic literature and the advent of secular prose, Professor Gibb remarks that in the second century therefore there were in Iraq two schools of Arabic letters, entirely distinct from one another, deriving from different sources, animated by a different spirit, serving different purposes, and almost entirely negative towards each other. It was, however, during the Caliphate of Al-Mamun (d. 833), which might from the political point of view be considered the beginning of that general decline in the fortunes of the Abbasids, that learning flourished most. His special interest in foreign culture and philosophy is commemorated in the story that Aristotle appeared to him in a dream and spoke words of encouragement to him. Thus inspired, Al-Mamun sent groups of scholars to Asia Minor and Cyprus to bring back Greek books. He wrote to the Emperor of Byzantium asking him to send some of those fine collections of Greek learning that were still stored and treasured in his country, and the Emperor after some hesitation complied. Al-Mamun also made the old medical and philosophical school of Gundishapur in southern Persia the object of his special care; and he lavishly rewarded poets, scholars, and translators. The general intellectual climate of tins time is typified by the literary and philosophical gatherings in the homes of wealthy patrons or learned men, and the heated discussions that took place there. Very engaging accounts of these have survived in the writings of an unappreciated but gifted littérateur. Men went on journeys in search of knowledge; linguists hastened to the heart of Arabia to learn the pure tongue; geographers went to visit the lands conquered by Islam; and Hunain arrived in Syria to study Greek and search for books to take back with him. 4 The generous support of literary men by the Caliphs set an example to the members of certain old and well-known families who had attained power and wealth. The Barmakids, although primarily concerned with government and administration, paid thousands ofdirhams to medical men and translators of books. The Nowbakht family, less interested in politics, were distinguished authors themselves, translated books from Persian, and supported those who translated from Greek. Furthermore they held regular meetings in their homes at which religious as well as literary subjects were discussed. One of them entertained a group of those who translated books on philosophy; and himself wrote a detailed commentary on the De Generatione et Corruptione of Aristotle.