Averroes

Ibn Rushd, known in Latin as Averroes, was a wise person from Andalusia. He lived from 14 April 1126 to 11 December 1198. He was very good at many subjects, such as philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, mathematics, neurology, Islamic law, and linguistics. He wrote more than 100 books. Many of his books explained the ideas of Aristotle. This earned him the name "The Commentator" in the Western world.

Averroes supported the ideas of Aristotle. He believed people should study philosophy. He said it was allowed in Islam. He thought if religious texts seemed different from reason and philosophy, they should be understood in another way.

In medicine, Averroes shared ideas about diseases, including what we now call stroke and Parkinson's disease. He may have been the first to explain how the retina in the eye helps us see light. One of his medical books, called Al-Kulliyat fi al-Tibb or Colliget in Latin, was used in Europe for many years. His works helped bring back interest in Aristotle and Greek thinkers in Western Europe. Sometimes his ideas caused debates and were opposed by the Catholic Church.

Name

See also: Latinization of names

Ibn Rushd's full name in Arabic is "Abū l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn ʾAḥmad Ibn Rushd". He is sometimes called al-Hafid, meaning "The Grandson", to tell him apart from his grandfather, who was also a well-known judge. The name "Averroes" comes from the Medieval Latin way of saying "Ibn Rushd". It changed a little when it moved from Arabic to Spanish, turning "Ibn" into "Aben" or "Aven". There are many other ways his name has been said in European languages.

Biography

Averroes, also known as Ibn Rushd, was born on 14 April 1126 in Córdoba. His family was well known for their work in law and religion. He studied many subjects, including law, medicine, and philosophy. He learned from great teachers and joined meetings with other smart people in Seville.

Averroes became a judge and later a court doctor. He wrote many books explaining the ideas of Aristotle. He faced some trouble and was sent away from the court for a time. But he was allowed to return a few years later. Averroes died on 11 December 1198. He is remembered for his important work in philosophy and law.

Works

See also: List of works by Averroes

Averroes wrote many books on many different subjects. He often wrote about the ideas of the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle and added his own thoughts. Many of his books were later translated into Hebrew or Latin, even though many of the original Arabic copies were lost.

Averroes wrote many explanations of Aristotle’s works. He called these explanations “short,” “middle,” and “long.” The short ones gave quick summaries. The middle ones made Aristotle’s ideas easier to understand. The long ones were very detailed and included Averroes’s own ideas.

Stand-alone philosophical works

Averroes also wrote books that were not about Aristotle. These included ideas about thinking, logic, and the universe. He also wrote books that disagreed with other thinkers’ ideas.

Islamic theology

Averroes wrote important books about how Islam and philosophy could work together. One book, written in 1178, explained how these two areas could agree. Another book, written in 1179, talked about how to prove the existence of God. A third book, written in 1180, responded to a critic of philosophy.

Medicine

Averroes was a doctor and wrote several medical books. His most famous book, written around 1162, became a textbook in Europe for many years. He also wrote about eyes, diseases, and medicines. He made important discoveries, like understanding that the retina, not the lens, is key to seeing.

Jurisprudence and law

Averroes worked as a judge and wrote about Islamic law. One of his surviving books explains different opinions among Islamic legal schools and why these differences exist.

Philosophical ideas

Aristotelianism in the Islamic philosophical tradition

Averroes wanted to bring back the ideas of Aristotle. He felt later Muslim thinkers like Al-Farabi and Avicenna had changed Aristotle’s ideas by mixing them with Neoplatonism and Plato. Averroes said Aristotle did not agree with Plato’s theory of ideas. He also thought Avicenna made mistakes about logic and the universe. Averroes believed Avicenna’s ideas did not match Aristotle’s teachings.

Averroes liked ideas from ancient Greek thought and wanted them to be part of the Muslim world. He said it was good to learn from others’ ideas, no matter where they came from.

Relation between religion and philosophy

In Averroes’s time, some religious leaders did not like philosophy. A writer named al-Ghazali wrote a book criticizing philosophy. Averroes replied in his book Decisive Treatise. He said philosophy and religion could both be true because they are different ways to understand the same truths. Averroes believed that when philosophy and religion seemed different, religious texts should be understood in a deeper way. He thought studying nature could help people learn more about God. He explained that there are different ways people can understand truth: simple stories for everyone, debates for religious leaders, and careful reasoning for scholars.

Nature of God

Averroes talked about how to know God exists. He suggested two ways: looking at how the world seems made for life, and seeing that things like animals and plants look designed. He believed these showed there was a creator, who is God.

Averroes also described God’s qualities, such as knowledge, power, and life. He said God’s knowledge is different from ours because God created everything and knows it perfectly.

Pre-eternity of the world

Some thinkers before Averroes believed the world had always existed, while others thought it was created at one time. Averroes replied to these ideas in his book Incoherence of the Incoherence. He said the difference was not big enough to call someone a non-believer. He also argued that the Quran suggested the world’s existence was eternal, but its current form was created at a certain time.

Politics

Averroes wrote about good government in his comments on Plato’s Republic. He believed the best state followed Islamic law and was led by wise rulers who loved knowledge and truth. He thought philosophers should try to guide rulers to make good decisions. Averroes also said that sometimes force is needed to protect the state, but only as a last choice.

He agreed with Plato that women should help lead and protect the state, just like men. Averroes was unhappy that some Muslim societies did not let women take important roles.

Diversity of Islamic law

As a judge, Averroes mostly followed the rules of the Maliki school of law. In his book Bidāyat al-Mujtahid, he explained why different schools of law exist, even though they all come from the same religious sources. He said differences come from how people interpret the texts and use reasoning to apply the rules.

Natural philosophy

Astronomy

Averroes questioned old ideas about the sky. He did not agree with using special math to explain how the Moon, Sun, and planets move. Instead, he believed they moved in perfect circles around the Earth, following ideas from Aristotle.

He thought the Moon sometimes looks different colors because some parts are thicker and catch more sunlight. He also noticed dark spots on the Sun, thinking they might be other planets passing by. Averroes observed a special star, Canopus, that could not be seen from his home, which helped support the idea that the Earth is round.

Physics

Averroes studied how things work by looking at the ideas of Aristotle. While others used experiments, Averroes preferred to discuss and explain older writings. His work included new ideas about small parts of nature and how things move, which later helped develop physics.

Psychology

Averroes wrote about how the mind works, using ideas from Aristotle. He thought a special part of the mind helps us understand the world. Later, he suggested that everyone shares one mind, but each person thinks differently based on their own experiences.

Medicine

Averroes knew a lot about medicine from books but did not treat many patients. His medical ideas mostly followed Galen, an ancient doctor. However, he made some new observations. He may have been the first to say that the retina, not the lens, is important for seeing light. He also described what we now call stroke and some signs of a disease similar to Parkinson's.

Legacy

Main article: Averroism

Averroes, also known as Ibn Rushd, was a wise teacher. His ideas helped many different people.

Jewish scholars liked his work very much. They used his books to learn about the ideas of Aristotle, an ancient thinker. Many Jewish writers translated Averroes' books into their own languages.

In the Christian world, Averroes became famous for explaining Aristotle’s ideas. After a time when learning dropped in Europe, his books helped bring back Aristotle’s knowledge. Because of this, Christian writers often called him “The Commentator.” Some church leaders disagreed with his ideas, but many scholars still studied his work. Even famous thinkers like Thomas Aquinas used his books.

Cultural references

Averroes is remembered in many stories and artworks around the world. The Italian writer Dante mentioned him in his poem The Divine Comedy. The writer Geoffrey Chaucer also listed Averroes as a medical expert known in Europe long ago.

The artist Raphael painted Averroes in The School of Athens. In this painting, Averroes stands behind another thinker named Pythagoras. Averroes also appears in books and movies, such as in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and a 1997 Egyptian film called Destiny. Even a spot on the Moon, called the lunar crater ibn Rushd, and an asteroid named 8318 Averroes are named after him.