Customer Reviews

Metaphysica of Avicenna

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ibn Sina (980-1037), or known as "Avicenna" in the Latin West, is, in my humble opinion, after having just finished reading his "The Metaphysica", the greatest of the Medieval philosophers. I've read Boethius, Erigena, Averroes, Al-Farabi, Anselm, Eckhart, Scotus, Aquinas, Ockham, De Cusa, etc., and none of them have left me with the depth and breadth of knowledge nor concepts that Ibn Sina has. He takes the reader to the summit and depths of Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophy. He was an idealist and existentialist synthesized. His notion that essence and existence are exactly the same in God's absolute unity (God's infinite equality making them so) and separate in an individual man (essence being the "necessary idea" and existence being an "accidental idea") is very complex to grasp properly; but once it is grasped, you'll never let it go. You can see where Ockham got some of his understanding of first and second intentions (intuitive cognition and abstractive cognition). It's also evident to me that medieval suppositio theorists got many of their concepts from Avicenna--Duns Scotus, Aquinas, Ockham, just to name a few. Ibn Sina believed God is a being, unlike Proclus who believed God is beyond being. He differs time and again with Proclus as he does with Aristotle. He certainly has earned the title "The Philosopher of Being". There is a reason why St. Thomas Aquinas quoted Avicenna over 250 times in "The Summa Theologica" and other writings; the "The Metaphysica" will make it blatantly obvious why he did. Ibn Sina begins "The Metaphysica" by explaining the numbers of philosophical sciences, then analyses the nature of being, its application to things, and expounds on substance. He delves into the mysterious nature of substratum-matter and form--both incorporeal and corporeal--carrying those very forms from lower intellects to the highest intelligibles, directly uniting them to the Necessary Existent (i.e., God). He expounds on quality, quantity, and accidentality; the condition of universality and particularity; of unity and plurality; of priority and posteriority; of cause and effect; potentiality and actuality; and being as being necessary and being contingent. Those are just a handful of the treasures of wisdom Avicenna reveals to the eye of the speculative intellect. The book has a brief "Introduction". However, there are "Notes to the Text", which provide invaluable information on Aristotelian and Neoplatonic sources, distinctions, similarities, and so much more. At the end there is a long "The Commentary" by Parviz Morewedge, followed by "Notes to the Commentary". The book has a "Glossary" at the very back, which is helpful in understanding Persian terms. Overall Parviz Morewedge did a superlative job with this book. This single volume is essential to any quality philosophy or theology collection. It is just as relevant today as it was before or after St. Thomas Aquinas' time. If it seems a bit pricey for your budget now, you will consider it a bargain after you buy it and finish reading it. You'll come away understanding Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophy with a much greater insight, as well as learning a new philosophical system by a master seer. I highly recommend this magnificent volume of esoteric wisdom.