DOCSLIB.ORG

In the 14Th-Century Jewish Debate Around Philosophy and Religion1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
In the 14Th-Century Jewish Debate Around Philosophy and Religion1 MAUROZONTA THE ROLE OF AVICENNA AND OF ISLAMIC 'AVICENNISM' IN THE 14TH-CENTURY JEWISH DEBATE AROUND PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION1 he role played by Avicenna's philosophy and, in particular, by the T Corpus Avicennianum in late-medieval Jewish philosophy has been never examined as a whole2 - and, in any case, a rather limited number of studies on particular aspects of it exists. European Jewish philosophy in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries has been traditionally regarded as over­ whelmingly influenced not by Avicenna, but by Averroes. In facts, the list of Hebrew translations of philosophical texts made during these cen­ turies in Spain, Provence and Italy shows that, while the Corpus Averro­ icum was almost completely rendered into Hebrew, only some fragments of Avicenna's philosophical works were quoted and translated by Jewish scholars.3 Here follows a survey of the hitherto detected total or partial Hebrew translations of Avicenna's authentic philosophical writings. In the case of al-Sifo' (The Cure), some chapters from the /sagoge and the Prior Analytics were inserted by Todros Todrosi of Aries in his 'phi­ losophical anthology' (dated 1334); a brief quotation from the Physics is found in the 'physical' section of the same anthology; another brief quo­ tation from the De caelo is found in the commentary on Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed, the Moreh ha-moreh, written in 1280 by the Spanish Jewish philosopher Shem Tov lbn Falaquera; from the section on Minerals and Meteorology, some brief references are found in Samuel lbn Tibbon's 'annotated translation' of Aristotle's Meteorologica, written in 1210, in lbn Tibbon's Treatise on 'Let the waters be collected' (Ma 'amar be-yiqqawu ha-mayim) and in lbn Falaquera's cited work; from the section on Animals, two quotations are found in the fifth book of I - The original version of this paper was read at the Centre d'Histoire des Sciences et de la Philosophie Arabes et Medievales (C.N.R.S., Paris) on October 23th, 1998. I would like to thank the members of the Centre for their suggestions, which I have in­ corporated into the definitive version. Finally, a partially different version of it is forthcoming in the Proceedings of the International Colloquium "Avicenna and his Heritage", held in Leuven and Louvain~La-Neuve on September, 8th-l Jib, 1999. 2 - There are only very brief surveys on this point: see e.g. s. v. «Avicenna» (Sh. Pines), in: Encyclopaedia Judaica, III, Jerusalem, 1971, p. 955-959. 3 - See Tamani, G. & Zonta, M., Aristoteles Hebraicus. Versioni, commenti e com­ pendi de/ Corpus Aristotelicum nei manoscritti ebraici de/le biblioteche italiane, Venezia (Eurasiatica, 46), 1997, p. 29-52; cfr. also Steinschneider, M., Die hebrai­ schen Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters und die Juden als Dolmetscher, Berlin, 1893, p. 279-286. OM, n.s. XIX (LXXX), 3, 2000 648 MAUROZONTA Ibn Falaquera's philosophical encyclopaedia, the Opinions of the Phi­ losophers, De 'ot ha-filosofim, probably written around 1270; from the section on the De anima (probably, the most famous part of The Cure, well-known also to the medieval Latin tradition), some rather long quota­ tions are found in Falaquera's works, in particular in his Book of the Soul (Se/er ha-nefesh), as well as in the sixth book of the Opinions of the Phi­ losophers and in the commentary on Maimonides; in the latter, some brief quotations from the Metaphysics of The Cure have been discovered. Also the arithmetical and geometrical sections of The Cure were translated into Hebrew, but we do not know when and by whom.4 So, apparently, the bulkiest philosophical encyclopaedia by Avicenna still extant was not so widely used by late-medieval Jewish scholars. · The situation is not substantially different in the case of Avicenna's 'minor' encyclopaedia, al-Nagiit (The Salvation): before 1300, only Ibn Falaquera seems to have known it directly; in facts some substantial quo­ tations of it are found in his Book on the Soul, and I have recently identi­ fied two passages from the beginning of the logic of The Salvation in Ibn Falaquera's 'popular' encyclopaedia, the Book of the Seeker (Se/er ha­ mevaqqesh), written in 1263.5 After 1300, we have a Hebrew translation of the parts of The Salvation devoted to physics and metaphysics, made by Todros Todrosi (one is wondering why he did not translate also the section on logic: maybe because he had already exposed Avicenna's logic from The Cure in his 'anthology'), and two brief (and very vague) refer­ ences - one cannot even speak of real 'quotations' -to passages from the metaphysics of The Salvation are found in Moses Narboni's commentary on al-Gaza.lI's Maqii~id al-faliisifah (The Intentions of the Philosophers) - a work that, as I will try to show, might have contributed to the knowl­ edge of Avicenna's doctrines among Jews more than Avicenna's works themselves. Also Avicenna's Risiilahfi '1-naft (The Epistle on the Soul) was par­ tially translated into Hebrew by Falaquera in the second section of the eighth treatise of his encyclopaedia, and one cannot forget that this very text was one of the philosophical sources of the discussion on the soul found in Judah ha-Levi's Book of the Khazar (Hebrew Se/er ha-Kuzari). In any case, as for other works by Avicenna, the traces left in late­ medieval Hebrew literature are almost negligible: e.g., as I will explain later, only some brief quotations of the logical and physical sections of Avicenna's al-Isiiriit wa '1-tanbihiit (The Remarks and the Admonitions) are found in Todros Todrosi's writings. Of course, I exclude from this list 4 - See Levy, T., "Les Elements d'Euclide en hebreu (XIIle-XVIe siecles)", in: Pers­ pectives arabes et medievales sur la tradition scientifique et philosophique grecque, Hasnawi, A., Elamrani Jamal, A. & Aouad, M. (eds.), Leuven-Paris (Orientalia Lova­ niensia Analecta, 79), 1997, p. 79-94, esp. p. 80, n. 3-4. 5 - See Zonia, M., "Fonti antiche e medievali della logica ebraica nella Provenza del Trecento", in: Medioevo, XXIII (1997), p. 515-594, esp. p. 529, n. 40. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • An Introduction to Classical Islamic Philosophy Pdf
    An introduction to classical islamic philosophy pdf Continue A philosophy that is characterized by the Islamic tradition of aristotle's medieval Arabic view of student learning. Part of the series onIslame Beliefs Of God's Corooling Of the Prophets revealed the Books of Angels Day Resurrection Predestination Practices Of the Practice Of Faith Prayer Of The Alms giving Fasting Pilgrimage Texts and Science koran Sunna (Hadith, Syrah) Akida (credo) Tafsir (exegesis) Fiqh (law) Sharia (law) History Timeline Of Muhammad Ahl al-Bayt Sahab Rashidun Caliphate Imamat Spreading Islam Continuity Muhammad Culture and Society Of Academics Animal Calendar Children's Demographic Circumcision Economics Education Education Exorcism Feminism Festivals Finances LGBT Madras Islame Criticism of Islam Muhammad Koran Hadith Islam and other religions Islam Islamism and violence terrorism war Islamophobia Jihad Jihadism Glossary Islam portalvte Part series onPhilosophyPlatoKantNietzcheBuddhaConfuciusAverroes Branches Aesthetics Epistemology Ethics Legal Philosophy Metaphysics Philosophy Of the Mind Philosophy Political Philosophy Social Philosophy Periods Ancient Pre-Socratic Hellenistic Medieval Modern Modern Modern Tradition Analytical Non-Physivism Ordinary Language Continental Existentialism Phenomenonology Pragmatism Skepticism Skepticism The tradition of the region of African East Chinese Indians middle East Egyptian Western School tradition Aristotle Augustine Averroist Avicennist Hegelian Kantian Okkam Platonist Neoplatic Scottish Tomic Traditions of Religion
    [Show full text]
  • 3 Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes in Hebrew: Remarks on the Indirect Transmission of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy in Medieval Judaism
    3 Al-FArAbi, AvicennA, And Averroes in Hebrew: remArks on tHe indirect trAnsmission oF ArAbic-islAmic PHilosophy in medievAl JudAism James T. Robinson erhaps as early as the eighth century, in the Islamic East, the traditional Sanskrit tales about the Buddha’s enlightenment—about his recognition of his own mortality and training with an ascetic monk—were translated into Persian and Arabic. The Arabic version, entitled Bilawhar wa-Būdhāsaf, then served as Pthe basis for renderings into Georgian, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and a long list of European vernacular languages.1 These renderings were, more often than not, not straightforward translations but adaptations, often introducing significant modifications into the frame narrative. The Greek version, for example, transformed Bilawhar—an ascetic teacher—into Barlaam, a saintly Christian monk, and his disciple Budasaf or Yudasaf—the Buddha—into Joasaph or Josaphat, a saintly Christian Neophyte.2 The Hebrew version is no less surprising than the Greek, when Bilawhar be- comes not a Jewish sage but a Neoplatonic philosopher, and his 1 For the Arabic and Persian versions, see D. Gimaret (1972); D. Gimaret (1971). See also S. M. Stern and S. Walzer (1971). For the Georgian and Greek versions, see: D. M. Lang (1957), idem (1966); John Damascene (1914). The Hebrew version was edited by A. M. Habermann (1951), with extensive apparatus and commentary. For the vernacular versions, see most recently the studies of the German and English versions: S. Calomino (1990); K. Ikegami (1999). 2 In fact, both Barlaam and Joasaph/Josaphat became Christian saints. 60 The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Heritage final lesson to his young disciple is not a lesson in religious prac- tice but an introduction to neoplatonic metaphysics, based on the Arabic versions of Plotinus—namely, that complex of texts associated with the Theology of Aristotle.3 This is one example of the indirect transmission of Greek and Arabic philosophy in medieval Judaism.
    [Show full text]
  • The Works in Logic by Bosniac Authors in Arabic 2008066
    2008066. (Brill: 15335). Ljubovic. Prelims. Proef 3. 13-8-2008:11.43, page -1. The Works in Logic by Bosniac Authors in Arabic 2008066. (Brill: 15335). Ljubovic. Prelims. Proef 3. 13-8-2008:11.43, page -2. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science Texts and Studies Edited by H. Daiber VOLUME LXXVII 2008066. (Brill: 15335). Ljubovic. Prelims. Proef 3. 13-8-2008:11.43, page -3. The Works in Logic by Bosniac Authors in Arabic By Amir Ljubovic´ LEIDEN • BOSTON 2008 2008066. (Brill: 15335). Ljubovic. Prelims. Proef 3. 13-8-2008:11.43, page -4. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ljubovic, Amir, 1945- The works in logic by Bosniac authors in Arabic / by Amir Ljubovic. p. cm. -- (Islamic philosophy, theology and science ; v. 77) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-16856-5 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Logic--Bosnia and Hercegovina--History. 2. Aristotle. I. Title. BC39.5.B54L58 2008 160.949742--dc22 2008029639 ISSN: 0169-8729 ISBN: 978 90 04 16856 5 Copyright 2008 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Rhetoric, Philosophy and Politics in Ibn Khaldun's Critique of Sufism
    Harvard Middle Eastern and Islamic Review 8 (2009), 242–291 An Arab Machiavelli? Rhetoric, Philosophy and Politics in Ibn Khaldun’s Critique of Suªsm James Winston Morris Thoughtful and informed students of Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddima (1377) are well aware that in many places his masterwork is anything but a straightforwardly objective or encyclopedic summary of the available histories and other Islamic sciences of his day. Instead, his writing throughout that unique work illustrates a highly complex, distinctive rhetoric that is constantly informed by the twofold focuses of his all- encompassing political philosophy. The ªrst and most obvious interest is discovering the essential preconditions for lastingly effective political and social organization—a task that involves far more than the outward passing forms of power. And the second is his ultimate end—the effec- tive reform of contemporary education, culture, and religion in direc- tions that would better encourage the ultimate human perfection of true scientiªc, philosophic knowing. In both of those areas, any understand- ing of Ibn Khaldun’s unique rhetoric—with its characteristic mix of multiple levels of meaning and intention expressed through irony, po- lemic satire, intentional misrepresentation and omissions, or equally un- expected inclusion and praise—necessarily presupposes an informed knowledge of the actual political, cultural, and intellectual worlds and corresponding attitudes and assumptions of various readers of his own time. It is not surprising that many modern-day students have over- looked or even misinterpreted many of the most powerful polemic ele- ments and intentions in his writing—elements that originally were often as intentionally provocative, shocking, and “politically incorrect” (in- deed frequently for very similar purposes) as the notorious writings of Nicolò Machiavelli (1536–1603) were in his time.
    [Show full text]
  • MAIMONIDES CENTRE for ADVANCED STUDIES November 12–14, 2018 INTERNATIONNAL CONFERENCE SCEPTICISM and ANTI-SCEPTICISM in JEWISH AVERROISM NOVEMBER 12–14, 2018
    MAIMONIDES CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES November 12–14, 2018 INTERNATIONNAL CONFERENCE SCEPTICISM AND ANTI-SCEPTICISM IN JEWISH AVERROISM NOVEMBER 12–14, 2018 “Jewish Averroism” is a concept that usually refers to Jewish philosophers from the thirteenth century onwards who philosophised within the context of Averroes’ interpretation of Aristotelian philosophy. At the same time, many of them were committed to Maimonides’ legacy of reconciling philosophical investigation with the Law of Moses. In order to settle this apparent tension, they interpreted Judaism in light of Averroes’ Aristotelianism on the assumption that Judaism and true philosophy must always coincide. Although Averroes’ philosophy and commentary were attractive to some circles, others found it unsatisfactory or simply threatening to the traditional way of life. These thinkers responded with various critiques of Averroes, his followers, and the Averroistic approach to philosophy and its relationship to revealed religion. The purpose of the conference is to crystallise the understanding of Jewish Averroism as a philosophical and cultural phenomenon. Special emphasis will be put upon the Jewish Averroists’ engagement with Maimonides’ apparent sceptical approach, mainly concerning metaphysical knowledge, about which Averroes is patently dogmatic. Finally, lectures about various aspects of anti- Averroism will serve as a necessary counterbalance. VENUE: Convenors Racheli Haliva (Universität Hamburg/Germany) MAIMONIDES CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES Yoav Meyrav (Universität Hamburg/Germany)
    [Show full text]
  • Current Issues in the Middle East
    CURRENT ISSUES IN THE MIDDLE EAST a graduate class project of Fairleigh Dickinson University by Mahmoud Aboud Alexandra Acosta Idrees Mohamed Ali Anwar Al-Barout Mohammed Al-Hadrami Nageeb Al-Jabowbi Waheed Al-Shami Abdullah Al-Shammari Adel Al-Sheikh Eve Burnett ‘Matankiso Chachane Ahmad Daoudzai Johannes de Millo Naseer Ahmed Faiq Khalid Faqeeh Bobette Jansen Nikolaos Kouroupis Shihana Mohamed Siham Mourabit Chan Pee Lila Ratsifandrihamanana Tania LaumanulupeTupou Sanaa Eltigani Uro Editor Ahmad Kamal Published by: Fairleigh Dickinson University 1000 River Road Teaneck, NJ 07666 USA May 2009 ISBN: 978-1-61539-567-5 The opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors alone, and should not be taken as reflecting the views of Fairleigh Dickinson University, or of any other institution or entity. © All rights reserved by the authors No part of the material in this book may be reproduced without due attribution to its specific author. The Authors Mahmoud Aboud is the Permanent Representative of Comoros Alexandra Acosta is a Graduate Student from the USA Anwar Al-Barout is Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the UAE Mohammed Al-Hadhrami is a Graduate Student from Yemen Nageeb Al-Jabowbi is a Graduate Student from Yemen Waheed Al-Shami is a Graduate Student from Yemen Abdullah Al-Shammari is Vice Consul of Saudi Arabia Adel Al-Sheikh is a Graduate Student from Yemen Idrees Mohamed Ali is First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Sudan Eve Burnett is a Graduate Student from the USA ‘Matankiso Chachane is an Admin Assistant at
    [Show full text]
  • Brief Bibliographic Guide in Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology
    BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE IN MEDIEVAL AND POST-CLASSICAL ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY (2013-2014) Thérèse-Anne Druart The Catholic University of America I cannot thank enough all the scholars who kindly sent me information and, in particular, those who provided me with a copy of their publications or photocopies of tables of contents of collective works. They are true scholars and true friends. I also wish to thank very much the colleagues who patiently checked the draft of this installment. Their invaluable help was a true work of mercy. Collective Works or Collections of Articles An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, vol. IV, From the School of Illumination to Philosophical Mysticism, ed. by Seyyed Hossein Nasr & Mehdi Aminrazavi. London-New York: I.B. Tauris with The Institue of Ismaili Studies in London, 2012, xx-532 pp., ISBN 8781848857490. Authority, Privacy and Public Order in Islam. Proceedings of the 22nd Congress of L’Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants, ed. by B. Michalak-Pikulska & A. Pikulski (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 148). Louvain-Paris-Dudley, MA: Peeters & Departement Oosterse Studies, 2006, xii-484 pp., ISBN 9042917369. A Companion to the Latin Medieval Commentaries on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, ed. by Fabrizio Amerini & Gabriele Galluzzo (Brill’s Companion to the Christian Tradition 43). Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2014, vi-695 pp., ISBN 9789004261280 & e-9789004261297. Controverses sur les écritures canoniques de l’Islam, ed. by D. De Smet & M.A. Amir-Moezzi (Islam. Nouvelles approaches). Paris: Cerf, 2014, 432 pp., ISBN 9782204102933. Belo, Catarina, Existence, Cause, Essence: Essays in Islamic Philosophy and Theology; Existência, Causa, Essência: Estudos sobre Filosofía e Teologia Islâmicas.
    [Show full text]
  • Brief Bibliographic Guide in Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology
    BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE IN MEDIEVAL AND POST-CLASSICAL ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY (2018-2019) Thérèse-Anne Druart The Catholic University of America I cannot thank enough all the scholars who kindly sent me information, and, in particular, those who provided me with a copy or scan of their publications or of tables of contents of collective works. They are true scholars and true friends. I also wish to thank very much colleagues, who patiently checked the draft of this installment and provided supplementary information. Their invaluable help was a true work of mercy. Collective Works or Collections of Articles Ambassadors, Artists, Theologians: Byzantine Relations with the Near East from the Ninth to the Thirteenth Centuries, ed. by Zachary Chitwood & Johannes Pahlitzsch (Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident 12). Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, 2019, 254 pp., ISBN 9783795434366. Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Galen, ed. by Petros Bouras-Vallianatos & Barbara Zipser (Brill’s Companions to Classical Reception 17). Leiden: Brill, 2019, xxvi-683 pp., ISBN 9789004302211 & e-bk 9789004394353. Crone, Patricia, From Kavad to al-Ghazali (Variorum). New York: Routledge, 2018, viii-356 pp., paper ISBN 9781138375659 [reprint of 2005]. Dante et l’averroïsme, ed. by Alain de Libera, Jean-Baptiste Brenet & Irène Rosier-Catach (Docet omina 5). Paris: Les Belles Lettres & Collège de France, 2019, 472 pp., ISBN 9782251449678. 1001 Distorsions: How (Not) to Narrate History of Science, Medicine, and Technology in Non-Western Cultures, ed. by Sonja Brentjes, Taner Edis, Lutz Richter-Bernburg (Bibliotheca Academica, Reihe Orientalistik, 25). Wurzburg: Ergon Verlag, 2016, 278 pp., ISBN 9783956501692.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyright © and Moral Rights for This Thesis Are Retained by the Author And/Or Other Copyright Owners
    Hassan, Laura (2017) Ash'arism meets Avicennism : Sayf al‐Din al‐Amidi's doctrine of creation. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26654 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Ash‘arism meets Avicennism: Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī’s Doctrine of Creation Laura Hassan Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2017 Department of the Near and Middle East School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 1 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood Regulation 21 of the General and Admissions Regulations for students of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination.
    [Show full text]
  • From Hesiod to Saussure, from Hippocrates to Jevons
    ROSKILDE UNIVERSITETSCENTER ROSKILDE UNIVERSITY Faggruppen for filosofi og Section for philosophy videnskabsteori and science studies FROM HESIOD TO SAUSSURE, FROM HIPPOCRATES TO JEVONS an introduction to the history of scientific thought Jens Høyrup Eighth, still preliminary version, Summer 2004 Advice, commentary and objections are utterly welcome! GREEK ALPHABET As a pretext for training the use of a dictionary of ancient Greek, the following pages contain a few words written in Greek letters. The four columns below show the corresponding alphabet – first the Greek minuscule, then the corresponding majuscule, then the name, and finally the approximate phonetic value (which does not always coincide with the phonetic value in modern Greek). αΑalpha a βΒBeta b γΓGamma g ( before γ, κ and χ; γγ thus as ng in English anger, γκ as nk in ink) δ∆Delta d εΕEpsilon e (short) ζΖZeta z (i.e., voiced s) ηΗEta e¯ (long) θΘTheta þ (unvoiced th; originally t’) ιΙIota i (as e in English be, but may be short or long) κΚKappa k λΛLambda l µΜMu m νΝNu n οΟOmikron o (short) πΠPi p ρΡRho r (transkribed rh in initial position) σΣSigma s ςΣSigma s (used in final position) τΤTau t υΥYpsilon y (as German ü) φΦPhi f (originally p’) χΧKhi χ (as ch in German Ich or Scottish Loch: originally k’) ψΨPsi ps ωΩOmega o¯ (long) The following double vowels may be taken note of: αυ au ευ eu ου u Vowels in the initial position are marked by one of the two aspiration marks and . corresponds to the initial glottal stop before a vowel in initial position (as in island), corresponds to h.
    [Show full text]
  • Character of Medieval Philosophy
    Character of medieval philosophy Medieval philosophy is characteristically theological: with the possible exceptions of Avicenna and Averroes, medieval thinkers did not consider themselves philosophers at all. Their concerns are theological: for them, the philosophers were the ancient pagan writers such as Plato and Aristotle. However, the theological works of medieval writers use the ideas and logical techniques of the ancient philosophers to address difficult theological questions, and points of doctrine. Thomas Aquinas, following Peter Damian, argued that philosophy is the handmaiden of theology (ancilla theologiae). The three principles that underlie all their work are the use of logic, dialectic and analysis to discover the truth, known as ratio, respect for the insights of ancient philosophers, particularly Aristotle, and deference to their authority; and the obligation to co-ordinate the insights of philosophy with theological teaching and revelation. One of the most heavily debated topics of the period was that of faith versus reason. Avicenna and Averroes both leaned more on the side of reason. Augustine said that he would never allow his philosophical investigations to go beyond the authority of God. and Anselm attempted to defend against what he saw as partly an assault on faith, with an approach allowing for both faith and reason. The Augustinian solution to the faith/reason problem is to (1) believe, and then (2) seek to understand. Early Medieval Christian Philosophy The boundaries of the early medieval period are a matter of controversy. It is generally agreed that it begins with Augustine (354 – 430) who strictly belongs to the classical period, and ends with the lasting revival of learning in the late eleventh century, at the beginning of the high medieval period.
    [Show full text]
  • Avicenna and the VISIONARY RECITAL
    HENRY CORBIN Avicenna AND THE VISIONARY RECITAL Translated from the French by WILLARD R. TRASK BOLLINGEN SERIES LXVI PANTHEON BOOKS copyright 1960 by Bollingen Foundation, New York, N. Y. Published for Bollingen Foundation by Pantheon Books Inc., New York, N. Y. CONTENTS Prefaceace IX THIS IS THE SIXTY-NINTH IN A SERIES OF WORKS PART I. THE CYCLE OF AVICENNAN RECITALS 1 SPONSORED BY AND PUBLISHED FOR BOLLINGEN FOUNDATION I. Avicennan Cosmos and Visionary Recital 1. Avicennism and Philosophical Situation 3 2. The Cosmic Crypt: The Stranger and the Guide Originally published in French as 16 3. Ta'wil as Exegesis of the Soul 28 Avicenne et le recit visionnaire 4. The Cycle of Recitals or the Journey into the Orient 35 departement d'Iranologie de I'Institut Franco-Iranien, Teheran, and II. Avicennism and Angelology 46 Librarie d'Amerique et d'Orient Adrien-Maisonneuve, Paris, 5. The Angel, Spirit and Intelligence 46 6. The Archangels-Cherubs or Intelligences 56 7. The Celestial Angels or Souls 68 8. Angelic Pedagogy and Individuation 77 9. The Number of the Celestial Spheres 93 10. Latin Avicennism, and Iranian Avicennism 101 III. The Recital of Hayj ibn Yaqzan 123 11. Composition and Authenticity of the Recital; Commentaries and Manuscripts 123 12. Translation of the Recital of Hayy ibn Yaqzan 137 13. Orientation . 151 IV. The Recital of the Bird 165 Library of Congress Catalogue Card No.: 59-5335 Manufactured in the United States of Am erica 14. The Celestial Ascent (Mi'raj-Namah) 165 by Kingsort Press, Inc., Kingsport, Tennessee 1/5. The Bird as Symbol 178 10".
    [Show full text]