New Project: Averroes in the Islamic East. His Impact on Safavid Philosophers.

Summary:

Thanks to medieval Hebrew and Latin translations, Averroes’s philosophical works had a profound impact on Western thought. The reception of Averroes during the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment has been extensively studied. However, in contrast to his reception in Europe, his influence among Muslim philosophers has received comparatively little attention. It is generally assumed that Averroes was of little importance to Islamic philosophy before the 19th century.

This project aims to challenge that assumption by demonstrating that Averroes’s ideas had a significant impact on Muslim philosophers, albeit after a delay. Although his works were transmitted to Cairo during his lifetime, they remained within the Mamluk empire and were not disseminated further east. It was only more than four centuries after Averroes’s death that some of his works reached the Safavid capital of Isfahan for the first time. The works of Averroes that arrived in Isfahan included his short commentaries on Aristotle’s writings on natural philosophy and metaphysics, his middle commentaries on Aristotle’s books on logic, and his Tahāfut al-Tahāfut (“The Incoherence of the Incoherence“). Within a few decades, his writings were enthusiastically received by Safavid philosophers, who began quoting him in their works and even teaching some of his commentaries in Isfahan.

Between 1630 and 1750, during this period of reception, Safavid philosophers integrated Averroes’s ideas into various fields, including logic, physics, cognitive theory, psychology, and theology. They utilized Averroes’s works to deepen their understanding of Aristotelian philosophy and to identify where Avicenna’s interpretations diverged from the Aristotelian tradition.

The project seeks to examine the philosophical works of this period to identify both explicit and implicit references to Averroes. It aims to significantly enhance the historiography of Arabic philosophy and contribute to contemporary discussions in the field. Modern Muslim philosophers often believe that Averroes’ philosophy was largely ignored by thinkers in the Islamic East. This research challenges that perspective, showing that Muslim philosophers in the Islamic East were, in fact, receptive to Averroes’ ideas. The study reveals that post-classical Arabic philosophy was more flexible than previously thought, capable of incorporating Averroes’ critiques of Avicenna. This flexibility warrants further exploration in modern philosophical debates.

The project will culminate in a monograph, providing a solid foundation for future research.

Project by:  Reza Pourjavady

Funding by: DFG