Averroës (Ethics (Ready Reference series))
Author Profile
The most scrupulously Aristotelian of the medieval Islamicate philosophers, Averroës nevertheless introduced some significant innovations in his interpretation of Aristotle. His Incoherence of the Incoherence responded to al- Ghazâlî’s attacks on demonstrative philosophy, which, Averroës argued, is independent of revelation and even is necessary for correct interpretation of revelation. Religion is useful for the masses, who can only attain a modicum of practical moral virtue at best, whereas philosophy is for the few who can attain intellectual contemplation of immaterial substance. Agreeing with Aristotle that only the intellectual part of the soul is immaterial, Averroës argued that the bliss of the soul is in its conjoining (ittiśâl) with the (Neoplatonic) Active Intellect, returning the individual intellectual soul to the source from which it emanated. This apparent denial of the individual immortality of the soul was championed by Latin Averroists (such as Siger of Brabant), whose challenge to Catholic orthodoxy was so persistent that it was the professed target of Descartes in his Meditations.
Additional Reading
Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy: Medieval Philosophy. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1962. Provides a good overview of medieval Islamic philosophy, and the contributions made by Averroës in particular.
Davidson, Herbert A. Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect: Their Cosmologies, Theories of Active Intellect, and Theories of Human Intellect. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. A significant study of the most important Arabic philosophers from the medieval period.
Hitti, Philip K. Makers of Arab History. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1968. This collection of popular biographies includes a lively introductory account of Averroës and his thought.
Kogan, Barry S. Averroes and the Metaphysics of Causation. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985. A detailed analysis of Averroës’s theory of causation and his understanding of the nature of reality.
Leaman, Oliver. Averroes and His Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. A helpful overview of the philosophy of this leading Arabic thinker.
Wahbah, Murad, et al., eds. Averroes and the Enlightenment. New York: Prometheus Books, 1996. Significant essays concentrate on Averroës’s influence on the Western philosophical tradition.
Watt, W. Montgomery. Islamic Philosophy and Theology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1962. A compact and still useful general account of Islamic philosophy that helpfully interprets Averroës’s place in that tradition.
