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Ibn Rushd (Averroes): Difference between revisions
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'''ʾAbū l-Walīd Muḥammad bin ʾAḥmad bin Rušd''' (أبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد), commonly known as ''Ibn Rushd'' (ابن رشد) or by his Latinized name ''Averroës'' (April 14, 1126 – December 10, 1198), was (with Ibn Sina) the most famous of the medieval [[Islam|Islamic]] [[Philosophy|philosophers]]. He was born in Cordoba, | '''ʾAbū l-Walīd Muḥammad bin ʾAḥmad bin Rušd''' (أبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد), commonly known as ''Ibn Rushd'' (ابن رشد) or by his Latinized name ''Averroës'' (April 14, 1126 – December 10, 1198), was (with Ibn Sina) the most famous of the medieval [[Islam|Islamic]] [[Philosophy|philosophers]]. He was born in Cordoba, Spain. He wrote commentaries on the Greek philosopher Aristotle, as well as works on [[Fiqh|jurisprudence]] and [[medicine]]. | ||
His main works survive in Hebrew and Latin, consisting of commentaries on Aristotelian texts and on Plato's Republic. Averroes held that theologians are cannot reach the highest demonstrative knowledge and are therefore unfit to interpret [[ | His main works survive in Hebrew and Latin, consisting of commentaries on Aristotelian texts and on Plato's Republic. Averroes held that theologians are cannot reach the highest demonstrative knowledge and are therefore unfit to interpret [[Shari'ah (Islamic Law)|divine law]] correctly. The main purpose of his Aristotelian commentaries was to recover the true ideas of the philosophers by separating them from the theological arguments of earlier Islamic philosophers such as al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. | ||
==Reception== | ==Reception== | ||
===Pre-nineteenth century=== | ===Pre-nineteenth century=== | ||
His work had little impact in the Islamic world, and there is no Islamic 'school of Averroism'. In 1185 he was banished in disgrace (for reasons now unknown) and many of his works were burnt. Of his thirty-eight commentaries, only twenty-eight survive in the original [[Arabic]]: the rest are in Latin and Hebrew translations made by philosophers from the [[ | His work had little impact in the Islamic world, and there is no Islamic 'school of Averroism'. In 1185 he was banished in disgrace (for reasons now unknown) and many of his works were burnt. Of his thirty-eight commentaries, only twenty-eight survive in the original [[Arabic]]: the rest are in Latin and Hebrew translations made by philosophers from the [[People of the Book|Christian and Jewish]] tradition. His impact was on these traditions, particularly in the Latin West in the thirteenth century, when he was known simply as 'The Commentator'. His work marked the climax of Aristotelian thought in the Islamic world and, to a large extent, its end. | ||
===Post-nineteenth century=== | ===Post-nineteenth century=== | ||
Much later, beginning in the nineteenth century, his work was rediscovered first by Arab nationalists for political purposes, and adopted by secular or liberal Islamic [[apologists]] to show the compatibility of [[Islam and Science|Islam and modern science]]. Today, in order to counter the image of Islam as a repressive and reactionary faith, Ibn Rushd is held up as a model for the reconciliation of religion, philosophy and science. However, Butterworth<ref>Butterworth 1996</ref> has argued that this 'Enlightenment' view of Ibn Rushd does not correctly relate his thought to that of the European enlightenment. | Much later, beginning in the nineteenth century, his work was rediscovered first by Arab nationalists for political purposes, and adopted by secular or liberal Islamic [[apologists]] to show the compatibility of [[Islam and Science|Islam and modern science]]. Today, in order to counter the image of Islam as a repressive and reactionary faith, Ibn Rushd is held up as a model for the reconciliation of religion, philosophy and science. However, Butterworth<ref>Butterworth 1996</ref> has argued that this 'Enlightenment' view of Ibn Rushd does not correctly relate his thought to that of the European enlightenment. | ||
== Life == | ==Life== | ||
Ibn Rushd was born in 1126 to a family with a legacy of public service, and was received instruction in all the major subjects of traditional Islamic thought under the tutelage of reputable scholars. His biographer from the 13th century, Ibn al-Abbar, noted that Ibn Rushd was particularly interested in matters of Islamic law and the natural philosophy of the Ancient Greeks.<ref name=":0">Arnaldez 1986, p. 909-910. | Ibn Rushd was born in 1126 to a family with a legacy of public service, and was received instruction in all the major subjects of traditional Islamic thought under the tutelage of reputable scholars. His biographer from the 13th century, Ibn al-Abbar, noted that Ibn Rushd was particularly interested in matters of Islamic law and the natural philosophy of the Ancient Greeks.<ref name=":0">Arnaldez 1986, p. 909-910.</ref> | ||
By the age of 27, in 1153, Ibn Rushd was working in Marrakesh as an astronomer, attempting to derive the laws of nature that goverened the movement of the celestial bodies. Though he ultimately failed in this endeavor, he was also working at the time to help the Almohad Caliphate establish new colleges in the area.<ref>Wohlman 2009, p. 16.</ref><ref>Iskandar 2008, p. 1116.</ref> | By the age of 27, in 1153, Ibn Rushd was working in Marrakesh as an astronomer, attempting to derive the laws of nature that goverened the movement of the celestial bodies. Though he ultimately failed in this endeavor, he was also working at the time to help the Almohad Caliphate establish new colleges in the area.<ref>Wohlman 2009, p. 16.</ref><ref>Iskandar 2008, p. 1116.</ref> | ||
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{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Traditional scholars]] | ||
[[Category:Islam and Science]] | [[Category:Islam and Science]] | ||
[[Category:Philosophers]] | [[Category:Philosophers]] | ||
{{page_title|Ibn Rushd (Averroes)}} | {{page_title|Ibn Rushd (Averroes)}} | ||
[[Category:Islamic Golden Age]] | |||
[[Category:Philosophy]] | |||
[[Category:Philosophers]] | |||