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AVICENNA
His life (980-1037)and Work 
By
SOHEIL M. AFNAN
 
 
IntroductionI.-Persia in the Tenth CenturyII.- Life and Works of AvicennaIII.-Problems of LogicIV.- Problems of MetaphysicsV.- Problems of PsychologyVI.- Problems of ReligionVII.- Medicine and the Natural SciencesVIII.- Avicenna and the EastIX.- Avicenna and the WestCONCLUSIONAVICENNA'S SUCCESSORS AND COMMENTATORS
 
 PREFACE 
This is an attempt to present to the general reader the life andworks of Avicenna, who is beyond doubt the most provocative figurein the history of thought in the East. It is not a defence of him and hissystem, nor a critique of his philosophy. During his lifetime he wasdeliberately scornful of defenders and critics alike; he could not think  better of them now that a thousand years have gone by. With his position amply justified, and after that extended period when his namehung on the lips of physicians and philosophers from the borders of China to the cloisters of mediaeval Paris and Oxford, it seems best tolet him speak for himself. The painted frieze only lately discovered behind a coating of plaster at the Bodleian, is sufficient evidence thathe is no newcomer to the Western world.We have felt no temptation to adapt him to modern thought; or to graft his conceptions on to those that belong distinctively to anexperimental age. We have wished to give the right historical perspective, and to show him as the product of the impact of Greek thought on Islamic teachings against the background of the PersianRenaissance in the tenth century.The legitimate question whether there is anything of permanentvalue in his thought has been left for the reader to decide. Yet it has been emphasized that the problems he was confronted with resultedfrom the conflicting disciplines of two separate cultures brought face toface. He is therefore of more than historical interest. His attitude can beof guidance to those in the East who are meeting the challenge of Western civilization; and to those in the West who have yet to find a basis on which to harmonize scientific with spiritual values.There remains the pleasant task of expressing our thanks to Dr S.Pines with whom we have discussed Avicenna frequently, and who hasread some of the chapters of this book, and made valuableS. M. AFNANPembroke College, Cambridge, July 1956
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 INTRODUCTION 
Many factors helped to introduce the remarkable Abbasid Ageunder the aegis of the Caliphs of Baghdad. Their newly-founded capitalhad gathered together men from distant countries, and thestimulating
élan
of Islam was everywhere at work. The change fromthe Umayyads of Damascus and their tribal loyalties held fresh promisefor the non-Arabs who had adopted the new Faith. It was a case of religion uniting people and giving purpose and direction to their lives.The Arabs contributed a high sense of mission; the Persians their culture and sense of history; the Christian Syriacs their linguisticversatility; the Harranians their Hellenistic heritage and the Indianstheir ancient lore. All mixed freely and joined in an earnest quest for knowledge. The Persians became particularly favored. They had donemost to establish the new regime; they had much experience to offer inthe field of administration and State finance; and they consequentlyfilled many of the government posts. An unfortunate consequence of this was that racial rivalry reappeared. It led to the unhappy Shu'ubiyyamovement with its emphasis on the superiority of the non-Arab races,leading to occasional violence and bloodshed. The association,nevertheless, proved eminently fruitful. All branches of art andliterature flourished as never before or since in the Islamic world. Anew civilization was being created, and members of all the nationsinvolved made vital contributions.The Caliphs themselves set the pace. Al-Mansur (d. 775) addedto his liberal outlook a deep love of learning. Harun al-Rashid whoreigned after him established the library known as the
 Khaznat al- Hikma
(The Treasure-house of Wisdom) under the direction of competent and earnest scholars. Material prosperity enabled the peopleto take an increasing interest in cultural pursuits. There was anintensive study of the Arabic language and grammar, alreadyassociated with the two rival schools of Kufa and Basra. The wholecorpus of pre-Islamic poetry including some of doubtful authenticitycame to be recorded. Rules of prosody were laid down and carefullystudied; poetry took forms hitherto not attempted. Public and privatelibraries began to multiply,1 and high prices were paid for manuscripts.Two factors were to prove of great importance to the subject of our inquiry. In the field of thought there was the emergence of arationalistic school of theologians who came to be known as theMutazelites and whose views eventually influenced profoundly someof the Islamic philosophers. In literature there was the gradualdevelopment of an as yet hardly existing secular prose as distinct fromthe purely religious, or the mystical or even the Mutazelite style of writing and terminology. This secular prose was to become the modelof Arabic philosophical language and a chief source of its technicalterms. It first appeared in the late Umayyad period in Syria and Iraq,and was created by Muslims of foreign extraction, mostly Persians. Atfirst it was used for correspondence concerned with the administrationof the new empire and the organization of secretarial offices. Its chief exponent was Abd al-Hamid al-Katib, a school-master who rose tohigh office under the Umayyads. With the establishment of theAbbasid Caliphate in 750 (132 a.h.) it developed in the form of court-
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