Avicenna and the Aristotelian tradition : introduction to reading Avicenna's philosophical works

Description

Through close study of Avicenna's statements and major works, Dimitri Gutas traces Avicenna's own sense of his place in the Aristotelian tradition and the history of philosophy in Islam, and provides an introduction to reading his philosophical works by delineating the approach most consistent with Avicenna's intention and purpose in philosophy. The second edition of this foundational work, which has quickened fruitful research into the philosopher in the last quarter century, is completely revised and updated, and adds a new final chapter summarizing Avicenna's philosophical project. It is also enlarged with the addition of a new appendix which offers a critical inventory of Avicenna's authentic works, updating the work of Mahdavi (1954) with additional information on all manuscripts and important editions and translations. Its usefulness enhanced, the book provides primary orientation to Avicenna's philosophy and works and constitutes an indispensable research tool for their study.  Read more... Preface to the Second Edition (2013) Acknowledgments Introduction to the First Edition (1988) Layout of the Work PART ONE DOCUMENTS ON AVICENNA AND THE ARISTOTELIAN TRADITION Chapter 1. Personal Texts by Avicenna and His Disciples on His Relation to the Aristotelian Tradition Chapter 2. An Inventory and Relative Chronology of Avicenna's Major Philosophical Works. Their Organization and Contents in Relation to the Aristotelian Tradition PART TWO AVICENNA'S RECEPTION OF THE ARISTOTELIAN TRADITION Chapter 3. Avicenna's Intellectual Upbringing: The Autobiography and Its Interpretation Chapter 4. Avicenna's Conception of the History of Philosophy Chapter 5. Avicenna's Conception of the Praxis of Philosophy PART THREE AVICENNA'S INTEGRATION OF THE ARISTOTELIAN TRADITION Chapter 6. The Resolution of the Major Points of Conflict with the Aristotelian Tradition Chapter 7. The Evolution of Avicenna's Attitude toward Aristotle, the Aristotelian Tradition, and His Own Work Chapter 8. The Elaboration of Methods CODA. Avicenna's Philosophical Project APPENDIX. Inventory of Avicenna's Authentic works Index of Names and Places Index of Avicenna's Works with Passages Cited Index of Lemmata Index of Qur'anic Passages Index of Manuscripts Index of Greek Words Index of Arabic Words Index of Technical Terms Bibliography