Ibn Siinaa

Ibn Siinaa (full name: Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā) was a philosopher, physician, and scholar born in the region of Bukhara (present-day Uzbekistan) around 980 CE. He died in 1037 in the vicinity of Hamadan in Iran. He wrote most of his works in Arabic, the language of scholarship at that time, though some he composed in Persian.

In the West he is known by the Latinized form of his name, "Avicenna." He is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Islamic philosophy, having synthesized Aristotelian thought, Neoplatonic tradition, and questions from Islamic jurisprudence.

Life and work

His father was an administrator in the service of the Samanid state. Ibn Siinaa is said to have begun studying the Quran, language, mathematics, and medicine at an early age. As a young man he began treating patients and maintained relationships with various rulers and officials across Iran and Central Asia. He often served as physician to rulers and sometimes held high administrative posts. His life was marked by considerable travel, owing to the political upheavals of the small states of his time.

Al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb

His most famous work is Al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine), a medical encyclopedia that synthesized knowledge from Greek sources (particularly Galen and Hippocrates), Indian medicine, and the accumulated experience of earlier Muslim physicians. The work is divided into five books covering the principles of medicine, simple drugs, diseases affecting particular organs, diseases affecting the whole body, and the preparation of compound medicines. The Latin translation was taught in European universities for several centuries and was among the most widely used medical texts.

Philosophy

His most extensive philosophical work is Kitāb al-Shifāʾ (The Book of Healing), which addresses logic, metaphysics, mathematics, and theology; he also wrote a shorter work called Kitāb al-Najāt (The Book of Salvation). Among his notable ideas is the distinction between essence (māhiyya) and existence (wujūd): everything that is created has existence dependent on something else, whereas there exists one necessary existence (wājib al-wujūd) that requires no cause. He also presented the thought experiment of "the floating man," arguing that one can know oneself even if one's bodily sensations cease—a discussion of the autonomy of the soul.

Later influence

His ideas provoked considerable debate among Muslim scholars; al-Ghazālī criticized portions of his philosophical views in his work Tahāfut al-Falāsifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers). On the other hand, Latin translations in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries influenced European thought, including thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, who engaged with his ideas about the relationship between existence and essence. In Persian and Turkish culture, his name became attached to universities, hospitals, and research institutions.