The
Literature research institute, and the institute of humanities and cultural
studies will analyze the intellectual roots of Avicenna based on
"Einiyeh" ode and the other writings of this great philosopher. Dr
Ali Reza Mirza Mohammad is the lecturer of this session.
Ibn
Sina, commonly known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna (c. 980 - 1037)
was a Persian polymath and the foremost physician and philosopher of his time.
He was also an astronomer, chemist, geologist, logician, paleontologist,
mathematician, physicist, poet, psychologist, scientist and teacher.
Ibn
Sina studied medicine under a physician named Koushyar. He wrote almost 450
treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. In
particular, 150 of his surviving treatises concentrate on philosophy and 40 of
them concentrate on medicine. His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a
vast philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine,
which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. The Canon of
Medicine was used as a text-book in the universities of Montpellier and Louvain
as late as 1650.
Ibn
Sina wrote extensively on early Islamic philosophy, especially the subjects
logic, ethics, and metaphysics, including treatises named Logic and
Metaphysics. Most of his works were written in Arabic - which was the de facto
scientific language of that time, and some were written in the Persian
language. Of linguistic significance even to this day are a few books that he
wrote in nearly pure Persian language (particularly the Danishnamah-yi 'Ala',
Philosophy for Ala' ad-Dawla'). Ibn Sina's commentaries on Aristotle often
corrected the philosopher, encouraging a lively debate in the spirit of
ijtihad.
In
the medieval Islamic world, due to Avicenna's successful reconciliation between
Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism along with Kalam, Avicennism eventually became
the leading school of Islamic philosophy by the 12th century, with Avicenna
becoming a central authority on philosophy.
Avicennism
was also influential in medieval Europe, particular his doctrines on the nature
of the soul and his existence-essence distinction, along with the debates and
censure that they raised in scholastic Europe. This was particularly the case
in Paris, where Avicennism was later proscribed in 1210. Nevertheless, his
psychology and theory of knowledge influenced William of Auvergne and Albertus
Magnus, while his metaphysics had an impact on the thought of Thomas Aquinas.
This
meeting will be held in the locality of Humanities and Cultural Studies
Institute tomorrow January 18.
Source:
IBNA News Agency