Bøger af Jules L Janssens

Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, may be considered to be a major figure of the history of Arabo-Islamic philosophy, medicine and science. His influence was substantial and enduring, not only in the Islamic world, but also in medieval Christian-Latin and Jewish circles. This volume includes contributions of eminent scholars in very different fields of Avicenna's thought and influence.New insights are offered inter alia on the different ways of reception of his philosophy in the Islamic East or, more specifically, in Isma'ili thought, or in the great Shi'ite Iranian thinker, i.e., Mullah Sadra; on a recently--thus far unknown--treatise on ethics; on the phenomenon of pseudepigraphica related to Avicenna; on several innovative ideas in Avicenna's logic, physics, metaphysics and zoology; on the difficult issue of hendyades in the Avicenna Latinus; on Albert the Great's probable knowledge of Avicenna's Preface to the latter's opus magnum; on William of Auvergne's and Duns Scotus' critical use of Avicennian ideas in several aspects of their philosophy; on the significance of Avicenna for such particular doctrines as that of relation in Henry of Ghent or of evil in Thomas of Aquinas; on Avicenna's direct or indirect influence on medieval Jewish philosophy, and, more particularly, on Maimonides; on the place of Avicenna's medical thought in the Arabo-Islamic tradition and on the way it was dealt with in medieval Europe. Herewith, a serious basis is laid for a better understanding of Avicenna's thought and its spread.

This Avicenna bibliography, the result of twenty years of research, seeks to continue the work begun in this domain by G.C. Anawati. New times produce new possibilities, and indeed, with the advent of the computer and inter-library networking, a renewed approach becomes not only a possibility but also a necessity.In this bibliography, more extensive and systematic attention is paid to non-Western publications, especially Arabian, persian, Turkish and Russian. Of special interest is the inclusion of a number of Indian publications. The publications are ordered according to a consistent thematic division, with cross-references being provided where necessary. Separate chapters are dedicated to the scientific and medical contributions, while the philosophical works are treated in ten chapters.In all instances an introduction is provided which attempts to outline both the mediaeval context of Avicenna's thought and the actual form of his thinking. Special attention is paid to biographical and bibliographical studies, as well as to the 'Millenium' of publications that resulted from the Unesco sponsored 1980 memorial oth the millenium of Avicenna's birth. Finally, and in fact most importantly, an overvieuw is given of the numerous editions or translations of Avicenna's work, which are identified according to the numbering of the classic bibliographies of G. C. Anawati and M. Mahdavi. Almost all publications are annotated with a summary presentation of their most original points and a short critical evaluation.The text thus serves as a first orientation for the reader into the richness of Avicenna's legacy. In sum, this bibliography aims at providing a clear, concise and comprehensive presentation of the material, and is thus an indispensible work-instrument for all future Avicenna research.