Averroes

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

Averroes strongly supported the ideas of Aristotle and tried to bring back what he believed were Aristotle's original teachings. He went against the ideas of earlier Muslim thinkers who followed Neoplatonism. He also defended the idea that people should study philosophy, saying it was allowed in Islam and even necessary for some people. He believed that if religious texts seemed to go against what reason and philosophy said, they should be understood in a different way.

In medicine, Averroes shared new ideas about diseases, including what we now call stroke and Parkinson's disease, and 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 as a textbook in Europe for many years. His works helped bring back interest in Aristotle and Greek thinkers in Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, even though his ideas sometimes caused debates and were even 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 bit 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, like "Ibin-Ros-din", "Filius Rosadis", and "Ibn-Rusid", among others.

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. In 1195, he faced trouble and was sent away from the court. But he was allowed back 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 about many different subjects, more than any of his predecessors. He often wrote about the ideas of the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle, adding 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, and 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 tried to bring back the ideas of Aristotle, which he felt had been changed by later Muslim thinkers who followed Neoplatonism, like Al-Farabi and Avicenna. He believed these thinkers mixed Aristotle’s ideas with those of Plato, which were different. Averroes pointed out that Aristotle did not agree with Plato’s theory of ideas. He also thought Avicenna made mistakes in his ideas about logic and the universe. Averroes argued that Avicenna’s view of how things exist did not match Aristotle’s teachings.

Averroes valued the ideas from ancient Greek thought and wanted them to be part of the Muslim world. He said that if others had already explored these ideas, it was good to learn from them, no matter where they came from.

Relation between religion and philosophy

During Averroes’s time, some religious leaders did not like philosophy. One writer, al-Ghazali, wrote a book criticizing philosophical ideas. Averroes replied in his book Decisive Treatise, saying that philosophy and religion could both be true because they are different ways to understand the same truths. He believed that when philosophy and religious teachings seemed different, the religious texts should be understood in a deeper way. Averroes thought that studying nature could help people learn more about God. He also 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 main ways: looking at how the world seems perfectly made for life, and noticing 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 explained that 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 that 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 how the sky works. He did not agree with using special math tricks 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 of it 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 closely at the ideas of Aristotle. While others used experiments to learn about nature, 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 that a special part of the mind helps us understand the world. Over time, his ideas changed. In his later work, 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, even though he did not name it.

Legacy

Main article: Averroism

Averroes, also known as Ibn Rushd, was a wise teacher whose ideas had a big effect on many different groups of people. Jewish scholars liked his work a lot. They used his books to learn more about the ideas of Aristotle, an ancient thinker. Many Jewish writers translated Averroes' books into their own languages so more people could read them.

In the Christian world, Averroes became very famous for his detailed explanations of Aristotle’s ideas. After a big drop in learning in Europe, his books helped bring back the knowledge of Aristotle. Because of this, he was often just called “The Commentator” by Christian writers. Some church leaders did not agree with all his ideas and spoke out against them, but many scholars still studied his work carefully. Even famous thinkers like Thomas Aquinas used his books, though they did not always agree with everything he said.

Averroes did not have much influence in the Islamic world during his lifetime, partly because he lived far away from the main centers of learning. But in more recent times, his ideas have been rediscovered and appreciated as part of a movement to renew Islamic thinking.

Cultural references

Averroes has been remembered and shown in many stories and artworks from around the world. The famous Italian writer Dante mentioned him in his poem The Divine Comedy, placing him among important thinkers. Another well-known writer, Geoffrey Chaucer, also listed Averroes as one of the medical experts known in Europe long ago.

The artist Raphael painted Averroes in a famous artwork called The School of Athens, where he appears behind another thinker named Pythagoras. Averroes also shows up in books and movies, like in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and a 1997 Egyptian film named Destiny. Even plants, a spot on the Moon called the lunar crater ibn Rushd, and an asteroid in space 8318 Averroes are named after him.