Averroes and Aristotle, Research Paper Example

Aristotle’s influence on Averroes philosophy

Introduction

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of two famous philosophers, Averroes and Aristotle. Both have been colossal figures in the field of philosophy.  Averroes was of Spanish origin and lived in the period of 1126 to 1198. He originated from Mohammedia in Spain and was the final Arabian philosopher in Spain.  (Husik, p416-428).  Aristotle was the famous student of the Greek philosopher Plato and dates back to 384 BC.   Aristotle was invited by King Phillip of Macedonia to tutor his son Alexander.  After Phillips death Alexander succeeded him as King and became known as Alexander the Great, forging one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.

One of the points of controversy in the philosophers like Aquinas, Maimonides and Averroes was that they tried to incorporate religion with philosophy, despite the influences of the Greek philosopher Aristotle who held more scientific viewpoints.  From the viewpoint of scientific philosophy  it has been argued that “ religious claims lack the empirical justification of scientific truths” (Buijs, p161-183).  The position of Averroes was that he gave preference to his philopsophical viewpoints but he maintained a duality of philosophical and religious convictions. The philosophical views were more based upon that of reasoning and logic, illustrating the influence of Aristotle, but the religious convictions were more focused upon writing from the Quran that were more abstract and faith related.  Fortunately there is some alignment with religious concepts of conduct, happiness and reward (religious perspective) and that of the basic domains of philosophical teaching.

The philosophical approach of Averroes is geared towards that of deductive reasoning which results in the demonstration of an intellectual understanding of a given problem statement or subject matter.  It is clear to see the influence of Aristotle in the work of Averroes and he filled an important gap in describing much of the work of Aristotle that had become lost in translation

The Philosophy of Averroes

Much of the written work of Averroes was lost in translation. He became a much liked figure of the Jews who settled in Spain and they translated his works in Hebrew.  This was equally true of Italy where his works were translated to Latin.  Hence much of the meaning derived from the original Arabic translations has been lost over time. Averroes became famous not only for his philosophical statements but equally for his work in “medicine, jurisprudence and astronomy.” (Husik, p416).  .

Averroes became well known for great commentaries and he was mentioned in the classic rendition of Dante’s “Inferno”.  One of the more noted aspects of his work was his commentaries on the philosopher Aristotle.  These were divided into brief, middle and great commentaries indicating the length of each brief. In his brief commentaries Averroes provides an exposition of the treatise of Aristotle in Arabic translation and compares / contrasts these views with Arabian philosophers Alfarabi and Avicenna.  The original works are extremely rare and most of the current day analysis of Averroes work is accomplished from translations. Averroes builds many of his works into “movens and agens”, (Husik, p416-428). The former in the class of physics and the latter in metaphysics.  The first provides a motion and the second the virtues whereby the motion took place.

It is considered that Averroes was influenced by Alexander and Galen plus those philosophers of the Arabic world.  One influence that of Avicenna, was focused upon the religious philosophy of the Arabic world. Avicenna wrote a book entitled  “Kitab-al-Najat or the Book of Salvation”(Montada, p1-34).  Averroes was considered as playing an important role in the defence of Greek philosophy as this was viewed as a controversial subject in the Muslim world at that time.  He was also responsible for having an influence on the development of Scholasticism in Western Europe.

Biography of Averroes

In 1169 Averroes was made a sharia or religious judge in the town of  Seville in Spain.  From this time until 1172 he was the chief judge in Cordoba and he produced many legal commentaries.  It was the Prince of Morocco, capital of the almohad dynasty, that was impressed by Averroes and appointed him to the legal post. He was also appointed as a Chief Physician and was held in great esteem throughout the region.  In 1195 he was rejected by the people and branded as a heretic and sent to live amongst the Jews of Cordoba.  His writing became banned and his books burned. Just before his death he was rehabilitated but much of his precious work was lost forever. (The basics of Philosophy, screen 1).

Averroes died in 1198 in Marrakesh Morocco.  His works later found great meaning in the Christian and Jewish societies.  One of the main significances of Averroes is the translations on Aristotle because prior to 1150 there was extremely little written work on this subject matter and as such his work was important in filling a number of gaps.  Most of the original Arab translations were lost and as such there was a heavy reliance upon Hebrew and Latin translations. It was considered that of the two languages it was the Hebrew that rendered a more accurate translation of the original scripts.  That was a brave act in those days as the religious leaders of the Muslims held great influence and power. (The basics of Philosophy, screen 1).Averroes became somewhat of a controversial figure in the Muslim world and he was very vocal in declaring his support for the emancipation of science and philosophy from that of Muslim theology.

Averroes did not create any controversy between religion and philosophy as he believed that they were just different approaches in order to arrive at similar truths. He did distinguish between what he defined as that of knowledge of truth and that of truth of religion. He believed that the truth that emanates from philosophy was only for an elite few who had the intellectual capacity to understand the interpretation of knowledge leading to truths  Averroes was a strong believer in the eternal universe and the human soul. (The basics of Philosophy, screen 1 ).  He did point out that the world of religion and philosophy was two very distinct elements and resided on different levels of thought.

In the Arabic translations on the works of Aristotle he described the philosopher as it is though a divine art brought him forth to speak to us and inform us that humans may find ultimate perfection…  It is, however, questioned whether Averroes was really acquainted with Greek writing and as such his interpretation was yet again based upon translations.  (Liukkonen, screen 1). It was during the Middle Ages that Islamic scholars made great efforts to preserve the Greek and Roman cultural philosophical teachings and without this effort most of the early Greek cultural legacies would have been lost forever.  Averroes is celebrated today and his statue can be seen in the Vatican where he is observing and looking over the shoulder of Pythagoras. (Hersey, p194-195 ). .

Averroes commenced his treatise by the division of the sciences and the arts into three distinct classes:  ( 1) The theoretical (2) The Practical and (3) The Auxilliary or logic view. It was the distinction of moving causation into movens and agens that differentiated between that of physica and metaphysics.  This illustrates the scientific equations of the philosophy of Averroes and is very similar to the four cause theory put forward by Aristotle. Further examination reveals that Averroes was highly influenced by the thought process of Aristotle in this area.  One of the difficulties in getting a more precise understanding of the work of Averroes is to do with the translations into Arabic script.  “Latin always agrees with Hebrew” (Husik, p420).

The Philosophy of Aristotle

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was one of the most important western Greek philosophers.  A student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.  He wrote on such subjects as logic, nature, psychology, art, ethics and politics.  Amongst the most significant of his teaching was that associated with deductive reasoning.  Born in Macedonia his father was the physician to the King Amyntos.  It was at the age of 17 that he went to the Academy[1] in Athens where he became the pupil of Plato and he remained there until Plato died in 347 BC. (Gill). Aristotle differed in the teachings of Plato. Plato was more focused on the teachings of mathematics and mysticism whereby Aristotle was more interested in biology.  Plato was more leaning to that of absolutes whereas Aristotle favoured compromise.  Despite these differences Plato remained a significant influence on his pupil.

Although sharing some of Plato`s views in his works surrounding `the republic`, Aristotle rejected the concept of an ideal state. In addition he rejected the concept of democracy in favour of a monarchical constitution as the best form of Government.  Aristotle had many notable contributions to the field of biology and this included the ladder of life, where he went about classifying various life forms relative to the level of complexity. Further he explained Zeno`s paradox by comparing and contrasting `potentiality`and `actuality`, thereby explaining the phenomenon of change.

Aristotle achieved notable fame in his explanation for the existence of God.  This was regarded as a first cause argument that ultimately resulted in a final cause argument.

When Aristotle returned to Pella after the death of the King, he undertook the training of Alexander his son. In 336BC Alexander became King and embarked on a voyage of conquest as Alexander the Great.  As Alexander amassed great wealth from his conquests he helped Aristotle to build the Lyceum in Macedonia –A school for philosophy.  Here Aristotle built and dominated a school of learning, on the outskirts of Athens, whilst Alexander expanded his empire.  Upon Alexander’s death in 322 BC a more influential anti-Macedonia power gained dominance in Athens.  This caused Aristotle to flee to Chalcis where he died in 322 BC.  It is widely regarded from the result of suicide by drinking Hemlock.

Aristotle became regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the age and perhaps one of the greatest intellects that ever lived.  He has been described as the father of modern scientific thinking and laid the foundation for the western civilisation, having influenced so many different scientific disciplines.

It was in 345 BC when Aristotle moved to the Island of Lesbos that he studied biology with Theoprastus (from the Athens Academy). The two became great friends and lifelong companions. The biological work of the two flourished on the Island until Aristotle was recalled to Macedonia by the King in order to teach his son Alexander. It was when Aristotle established the Lyceum that he recalled many of his friends in order to help build the school. This included Theoprastus where together they extended the field of scientific learning to embrace, physics, psychology and cosmology.  Aristoxenus developed music; Eudiumus developed the learning in history and mathematics, Meno in Medicine etc. The Lyceum became the next great school of learning after the Academy founded by Plato. (Cohen, p645-647).

Aristotle was unique in the sense that he was amongst the first to study all three of the branches of science i.e. Theoretical, Practical and Productive. Practical embodied such subjects as politics and ethics. Productive was based upon the concepts that underpin manufacturing and making things, lastly theoretical covered subjects like mathematics and the natural sciences. Aristotle established that sciences can be set out in an axiomatic system i.e. whereby initial first principles can be followed by deductive inferences which lead to a certain truth in the scientific subject matter under review. (Cohen, p645-647).

Aristotle coined the term `natural philosophy ‘which refers to the phenomena of the natural world we live in and embraces the fields of biology and the natural sciences.  In discussing the concept of logic Aristotle broke this down into a number of discrete categories of theoretical philosophy, metaphysics, physics and mathematics. Most of his life however was devoted to studies in the areas of the natural sciences and as such most of his writing and research was of a qualitative nature. Some of his theories however were late disproved e.g. like that of the notion of gravity and the mass of falling objects, later proved by Galileo.

Aristotle was criticised for advancing his theories on the Universe in too greater depth. Despite this he influenced many others in terms of bringing the concepts to the table for debate and discussion. Despite these certain scientific shortcomings, history must credit Aristotle with founding logic as a science, creating the foundations of biology and providing many of the basic and guiding principles to the natural sciences.

Examination of the philosophies of Aristotle

Background

Aristotle was described as one of the first early natural historians and he produced an array of papers in the field of both medicine and  biology.  These reflected such items as the history of animals, theories on evolution, specific writings on varieties of marine life; particularly emanating from the work at Lesbos. He separated Sharks and Rays from natural forms of fish. He was specifically influential in the categorization of living things and developed the hierarchical ladder of life.

It was Aristotle that put forward the notion of a fifth element within the earthly construct of Earth, Water, Air and Fire. This was Aether that is the divine substance which incorporates the stars and planets – which we now refer to as space. He went on to define the concept of motion and referred to this as `the actuality of punctuality`, or something that it is in a period of transition towards a possible state.

Aristotle stated that the causation in reasoning may be attributed to four basic factors, namely:-

1. Material Cause – refers to the type of material that something is composed of e.g. a chair may be made out of wood.
2. Formal Cause – The arrangement of the matter describes to us what something is supposed to be e.g. the chair has four legs, a seating area and a back to lean on – hence we visualise a chair
3. Efficient cause – What are the change agents involved or that primary source from which change is made. It identifies composition of the object and the events of sequential activity. For example, the tree was chopped down, the wood was collected, it was shaped and made into a chair.
4. Final Cause – The purpose for something that existed or the reason that it was done.  The end purpose for which something serves.  The wood was made into a chair because I desired a comfortable seat to sit upon.

Some of the earliest known evidence can be traced back to the period of Aristotle in looking at optics with a view towards a camera.  Aristotle created a hole in a dark chamber and allowed the sunlight to penetrate it . He would then record observations of the sun  and despite the shape of the hole the sun always appeared as a round object.  Aristotle was discovering the diaphragm concept and from further observations  he noticed that the distance between the opening and the surface with the image was magnified.

Both Plato and Aristotle stated that all things have a universal form. Aristotle disagreed with Plato on the concept of universals being instantiated. He maintained that if a universal exists either as a particular entity or relation to another thing then there must exist an item in the future that the universe can be predicated upon.

Aristotle’s father was a leading physician at the time so it is no revelation that Aristotle was equally gifted with this knowledge.  The Lyceum however did not produce any new ground breaking work in the field of medicine

Aristotle was influential in the field of psychology. Perhaps the most famous work in this area was that of Aristotle`s contribution in his treatise on the soul. He looked into the psychological aspects of the soul in humans and differentiated between three types: the vegetative soul, the sensitive soul and the rational soul. He referred to the soul as the psyche or form of living being. This classified both animals and plants but he concluded only humans have a rational soul.  Aristotle believed that the soul existed within the body but does not exist separated from the body.  In this sense Aristotle did not hold the view of religions in terms of an after-life or life after death. (Cohen, p645-647 )

Aristotle spoke at large on the subject matter of ethics and considered this to be a study of practical application as opposed to a theoretical one. He compiled several treatises on ethics and taught the virtues of the subject. He believed that in general terms people strived towards a good moral existence and improving their wisdom.  In order to be happy in life you must be of good character or moral or ethical value-sets. He formulated that this did not happen by chance but was a taught or learning process and by people consciously accepting to do good things with their life. He believed that this search for wisdom and purity helped you to evolve into a speculative thinker or philosopher.

Conclusions

Aristotle, the student of Plato, was one of the greatest philosophers that ever lived and offered the world the concept of deductive reasoning and logic.  In addition, he was a scientist of distinction and responsible for influencing much of the scientific thought in the Western World today.  Prior to 1150 most of the work on the teachings of Aristotle were lost and as such the Arabic translations provided by Averroes became important records of the work of Aristotle.  Unfortunately Averroes himself later became a victim of the translators and a great deal of his work also became lost.  Averroes was an important philosopher because whilst he adopted much of the scientific reasoning and thought process from Aristotle, nevertheless he managed to balance this with the religious concepts of an Islamic faith that was dominant at the time.

Averroes became an important defender of Greek Philosophy , at at time when much of this was being disregarded in the Islamic world.  As such he was instrumental in keeping Greek philosophy alive in an Arabic influenced society that had very different viewpoints from the Western Civilisations.

Works Cited

Cohen, S. Marc. Aristotle on the Soul . 2004. 14 11 2011.

Cohen, S. Marc. “Readings in ancient Greek philosophy: from Thales to Aristotle.” Cohen, S. Marc. Readings in ancient Greek philosophy: from Thales to Aristotle. Indianappolis: Hacket Publishing, 2005. 645-647.

Gill, N.S. Aristotle – Greek Philosopher Aristotle. 2011. 14 11 2011 <http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/people/p/aristotle.htm?p=1>.

Husik, Isaac. “Acerroes on the metaphysics of Aristotle.” The Philosophical Review, Vol 18 No 4 (1909): 416-428.

Liukkonen, Petri. Averroes (1126-1198. 2011. 14 11 2011 <http://kirjasto.sci.fi/averro.htm>.

Montada, J.P. “Aristotle and Averroes on “coming to be and passing away”.” Oriens, Vol 35 (1996): 1-34.

The basics of Philosophy. The basics of Philosophy. 2011. 14 11 2011 <http://www.philosophybasics.com/philosophers_averroes.html>.

Thinkquest. Aristotles Life. 2011. 14 11 2011 <http://library.thinkquest.org/18775/aristotle/bioar.htm>.

[1] The first university founded by the philosopher Plato