INTRODUCTION
The Muslim rule of Iberia saw a significant development in medieval philosophy and the translation/restoration of many classical philosophical texts. Under Al-Hakkam (915-976 AD), enormous public and private libraries were constructed in Al-Andalus, containing more than 400,000 texts. Perhaps the most significant quality of the philosophical movement in Al-Andalus, was its multicultural aspects. Muslims, Jews and Christians all found common influences in each other’s works and grew to prominence in the region as respected scholars. The Golden Age of Al-Andalus philosophy occurred after the reign of Almanzor (d. 1002 AD), who considered all sciences and forms of the liberal arts haram, often burning books in public. After his death, philosophy was allowed to flourish alongside other developments in astronomy, astrology and geometry. Many philosophers in Al-Andalus were “Renaissance Men” of their era, working as logicians, poets and philosophers all at once – this was the case of the Jewish philosopher Maimonides (a physician and astrologist) and the famous geometer Abu al-Hakam al-Kirmani. Overall, Al-Andalus philosopher had an aspect of continuation from earlier Islamic thought and was not radically different in its approach. At the same time, it followed the tradition of emerging the classical Platonic and Aristotelian texts with the theology of the Quran.
Palacio de la Madraza de Granada
By clicking the image below, you can visit a virtual tour of the Palacio de la Madraza de Granada, a major scholastic institution which was founded in 1349 AD by Yusuf I, the Nasrid emir of Granada. The purpose of such a school was to train scholars in Islamic law, Arabic language and other academia. Students like Ibn al-Khatib (1313-1374 AD) were trained in philosophy here so they might assist in diplomatic and royal affairs as personal advisors to the royal court.
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AVEMPACE (1085-1138 AD)
Avempace provided the transition from the dark ages of Al Andalusian philosophy to the height of its maturity. Working as an advisor to the Almoravid Sultan's brother, he saw the the overthrow of the original regime and was imprisoned by the succeeding court of Ibrahim ibn Yusuf. Upon his release, he served Yusuf's court and completed many secular works on philosophy that laid a groundwork in Al-Andalus becoming a haven for the liberal arts and sciences. It is suspected that he may have been poisoned by inner-circle agents of the court of Ibrahim ibn Yusuf. He organized the sciences into different divisions of philosophy (or in his words, knowledge) with astronomy being the primary science as an observable science and logic the last as it dealt with abstracts. Avempace's main contribution to philosophy was his elaboration on the Aristotelian concept of syllogisms, or deductive reasoning. His commentaries provided valuable explanations of the differentiation between universals and particulars in Aristotle's works. Particulars were designated as concrete objects and forms in the real world and universals were designated as abstracts that existed in a different celestial plain. Through his work, Eisagoge the ten Aristotelian categories are made far more accessible to the average reader, "his idea of science can be defined as obtaining concepts from meanings and producing them in his mind, as opposite to memorization" (SEP).
In his work On the Soul, Avempace considered the science of the soul the highest form of philosophy and believed that the soul was the source of movement for all natural bodies. Unlike his contemporaries, he criticized the idea of an afterlife and believed that the soul went through stages of evolution before death, a plant stage, an animal stage, and the final form, the human body, where the faculty of memory was established., "The spiritual forms are of various kinds: the first are the forms of the circular [i.e., heavenly] bodies, the second are the active intellect and the acquired intellect, the third are the material intelligibles (ma‛qulat), the fourth are the 'reasons' (ma‛ani) existent in the faculties of the soul, i.e., existent in common sense, in the imaginative faculty and in the memory" (IB-RS-AP: 19.2–5; IB-coll-fakhry: 49.16–19; IB-coll-genequand: 132 §58). This concept would have a particular influence on Jewish philosophy from the medieval era, as thinkers like Judah Halevi mentioned Avempace's notions of the soul in their works. In his ethical work Rule of the Solitary, Avempace emphasizes knowledge as a tool to heal the pain of ignorance. The hermit philosopher, must put into practice the development of his human soul through the process of knowledge and eventually obtain a transcendental understanding of the metaphysics of the universe -- the highest form of pleasure achievable to man.
In his work On the Soul, Avempace considered the science of the soul the highest form of philosophy and believed that the soul was the source of movement for all natural bodies. Unlike his contemporaries, he criticized the idea of an afterlife and believed that the soul went through stages of evolution before death, a plant stage, an animal stage, and the final form, the human body, where the faculty of memory was established., "The spiritual forms are of various kinds: the first are the forms of the circular [i.e., heavenly] bodies, the second are the active intellect and the acquired intellect, the third are the material intelligibles (ma‛qulat), the fourth are the 'reasons' (ma‛ani) existent in the faculties of the soul, i.e., existent in common sense, in the imaginative faculty and in the memory" (IB-RS-AP: 19.2–5; IB-coll-fakhry: 49.16–19; IB-coll-genequand: 132 §58). This concept would have a particular influence on Jewish philosophy from the medieval era, as thinkers like Judah Halevi mentioned Avempace's notions of the soul in their works. In his ethical work Rule of the Solitary, Avempace emphasizes knowledge as a tool to heal the pain of ignorance. The hermit philosopher, must put into practice the development of his human soul through the process of knowledge and eventually obtain a transcendental understanding of the metaphysics of the universe -- the highest form of pleasure achievable to man.
Avempace (Ibn Bājja) -- a brief biography of the life and works of Avempace
Averroes (1126-1198 AD)
Averroes was born into a wealthy family in Andalusia in 1126 AD. He followed in the tradition of his father by becoming a judge in the region and also a practicing physician. As a young man, he witnessed the transition of power to the Almohad dynasty from the previous Almoravid dynasty. With his close ties to the aristocracy, Averroes engaged in philosophical debates with princes and was sponsored to write many commentaries on the works of Plato and Aristotle. As time went on, his works transitioned from commentaries on classic Greek texts and simplifications of their logic to more theological subjects like comparative religion. In his logical commentaries, he sought to sort out the demonstrable concepts of Aristotelian logic from the non-demonstrative concepts in order to ground Aristotle's texts in a contemporary scientific basis. He avoided Aristotle's use of dialectics, but valued their use of rhetoric to approach questions that are not easily answered through demonstrative logic. Some of his works like the Book of Demonstration were concerned with the use of semiotics and the language around philosophical ideas. One of his most famous positions is on the legal system and the concept of jurisprudence in court. To Averroes, jurists cannot logically deduce unknown information from established fact -- his works on jurisprudence serve more as a criticism than a solution to the issues of unfair court conduct.
As a theological thinker, Averroes believed that God's existence could be demonstrated with Aristotle's works on physics and that there was reason to believe the first cause argument was provable. However, he deplored the first cause arguments made by his contemporaries like Ibn Sina and the Ash'arite theologians because they were inaccessible to ordinary people and he advocated the Quran as the sole source for the first cause argument with its emphasis on the teleological argument or "intelligent design". In his teleological arguments, Averroes explored the concept of God's mind -- God is aware of the world He created, but there is not a causal relationship between the world and God's thoughts, i.e. His thoughts are the ultimate cause of the world's existence. In his commentary on the prophets of biblical works and the Quran, Averroes departed from the Ash'arite school in believing that their legitimacy was not proved by miracle alone, but the establishment of a law between the people and the Divine. Ethics was also a major emphasis for Averroes, as he believed the primary meaning of life was the happiness of the individual and that the Quran is the ultimate guide to happiness. In this sense, Averroes has a strong emphasis on more logical arguments, but he also retains a humanistic side to his thinking that explores more emotional and personal themes.
MAIMONIDES (1138-1204 AD)
Born in the year of Avempace's death in Al Andalus, Maimonides was one of the most famous philosophers in Jewish history. Maimonides took heavy cues from his Muslim forbearers in the areas of philosophy, law, theology, politics and psychology. His works were inspired by the same Greek philosophical tradition as the the Muslim philosophers of Al-Andalus. In the Guide to the Perplexed, Maimonides expands on earlier Islamic works, especially the Theology of Aristotle which was an Arabic manuscript detailing modified theological points as outlined by the Roman philosopher Plotinus on Aristotle's belief system. The ideas from this Arabic manuscript would later become foundational to Jewish theology: "God is a pure unity who is pure goodness and pure being, God is a creator, first cause of all beings, God emanates forth Intellect, then Soul, then Nature" (Pepsin). God is portrayed as the ultimate source of Intellect and a "thoughtless" thinker who brings creation effortlessly -- an idea that added nuance to previous assertions by Averroes -- and an "unjealous" Host who emanates pure good from His own being (as transcribed by the Muslim philosopher al-Farabi).
Maimonides was also influenced by the Islamic philosophy around God's nature in the sense that there are both Plotinian and non-Plotinian ideas in his works, "The blending together of God-as-pure-unity and God-as-intellect is one such example" (Pepsin). Because God is the ultimate unity, He is inherently distinct from all others out of being the First Cause and should remain without name or meaning (the opposite of a particular). The "essential nature" of God is to exist, so He does not rely on references to other particulars in order to exist. Lastly, Maimonides believed heavily in the idea of "negative theology" or apophatic discourse -- essentially a form of reasoning that eliminates what God is not in order to find His true nature. In this regard, language fails to encompass the full essence of God. We can only know the fact that God exists and He is pure in His essence, no forms of corporeality should be applied to His description. The descriptions found in the Jewish bible should only be interpreted as a "multiplicity of His actions and not because of a multiplicity subsisting in His essence" (Pepsin).
Sources
Ben Ahmed, Fouad and Robert Pasnau, "Ibn Rushd [Averroes]", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2021/entries/ibn-rushd/>.
IB-RS-AP: 19.2–5; IB-coll-fakhry: 49.16–19; IB-coll-genequand: 132 §58
La Madraza: Virtual Tour generated by Visitas Virtuales Granada. La Madraza – Centro de Cultura Contemporánea UGR. (2019). Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://lamadraza.ugr.es/360/.
Montada, Josép Puig, "Ibn Bâjja [Avempace]", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2018/entries/ibn-bajja/>.
Pessin, Sarah, "The Influence of Islamic Thought on Maimonides", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2016/entries/maimonides-islamic/>.
Pou, T. V. (2021, May 16). Avempace (Ibn Bajja) - youtube. Youtube. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxOCGjfbbEQ.
IB-RS-AP: 19.2–5; IB-coll-fakhry: 49.16–19; IB-coll-genequand: 132 §58
La Madraza: Virtual Tour generated by Visitas Virtuales Granada. La Madraza – Centro de Cultura Contemporánea UGR. (2019). Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://lamadraza.ugr.es/360/.
Montada, Josép Puig, "Ibn Bâjja [Avempace]", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2018/entries/ibn-bajja/>.
Pessin, Sarah, "The Influence of Islamic Thought on Maimonides", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2016/entries/maimonides-islamic/>.
Pou, T. V. (2021, May 16). Avempace (Ibn Bajja) - youtube. Youtube. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxOCGjfbbEQ.