In classical Arabic philosophy, the topic of consciousness is commonly associated with Avicenna's ‘Flying Man’ thought experiment. But Avicenna's explorations of the nature of consciousness are not confined to the Flying Man, and he is by no means the only classical Islamic thinker to deem consciousness an important feature of our experience. Consciousness also plays a important role in the epistemology and moral psychology of Avicenna's intellectual rivals, the theologians (mutakallumūn), who represent important sources for Avicenna's own theorizing about consciousness. (...) And while Avicenna's philosophical successor and critic, Averroes, seems to banish consciousness from the core of his cognitive psychology, in doing so he seems to anticipate contemporary efforts to expand the scope of consciousness through the notion of the ‘extended’ mind. This paper examines the varieties of consciousness recognized by Avicenna and several other classical Islamic thinkers with a view to understanding the extent to which their accounts can be mapped on to some of the concepts of consciousness delineated by contemporary philosophers of mind. (shrink)

In classical Arabic philosophy, the topic of consciousness is commonly associated with Avicenna's ‘Flying Man’ thought experiment. But Avicenna's explorations of the nature of consciousness are not confined to the Flying Man, and he is by no means the only classical Islamic thinker to deem consciousness an important feature of our experience. Consciousness also plays a important role in the epistemology and moral psychology of Avicenna's intellectual rivals, the theologians (mutakallumūn), who represent important sources for Avicenna's own theorizing about consciousness. (...) And while Avicenna's philosophical successor and critic, Averroes, seems to banish consciousness from the core of his cognitive psychology, in doing so he seems to anticipate contemporary efforts to expand the scope of consciousness through the notion of the ‘extended’ mind. This paper examines the varieties of consciousness recognized by Avicenna and several other classical Islamic thinkers with a view to understanding the extent to which their accounts can be mapped on to some of the concepts of consciousness delineated by contemporary philosophers of mind. (shrink)

The present article explores the views of al-Jāḥiẓ, Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī - three pre-modern thinkers of the Islamic world outside the Peripatetic tradition - on the question o...

No artigo, analisa-se a concepção de alma de Avicena, apresentada no Livro da alma, com particular atenção ao experimento do Homem Suspenso no Espaço e as questões derivadas a partir do mesmo. Essas dizem respeito ao vínculo de Avicena com o aristotelismo ou o neoplatonismo, as duas principais influências filosóficas sobre o autor. Embora utilize principalmente conceitos aristotélicos, com o mencionado experimento Avicena rompe com a concepção aristotélica da alma, afirmando a estrita substancialidade dessa última. No artigo, busca-se mostrar que, (...) não obstante a noção de substancialidade ser estranha ao quadro aristotélico, ainda assim Avicena é mais bem compreendido, quanto à doutrina da alma, se visto pela ótica aristotélica, e não por uma ótica neoplatônica. (shrink)

Este artículo presenta algunas de las visiones filosóficas más influyentes sobre la memoria, la verdad y la justicia en el Medioevo cristiano. En todasellas están presentes, en proporción diferente, las dos tradiciones dominantes, el neoplatonismo y el aristotelismo. San Agustín, Avicena y Tomás de Aquino encarnan perspectivas crecientemente desplatonizadas sobre la memoria. En cuanto al concepto de verdad, tanto el modelo teocéntrico de Agustín como el adecuacionista de Tomás son expresiones de una corriente principal que declina en el siglo XIV. (...) Finalmente, mientras que Agustín introduce de modo crítico la definición ciceroniana de la justicia, basada en la teoría grecorromana de la ley natural, Aquino coordina sistemáticamente teísmo cristiano, ley natural y naturalismo político aristotélico. (shrink)

Puheenvuoro vastaa Knuuttilan, Mattilan ja Palménin keskeisiin kommentteihin. Erityisen huomion kohteena ovat mahdolliset vasta-argumentit käsiteltävässä kirjassa esittämiäni tulkintoja tai erityisesti Ibn Sīnān itsetietoisuuden käsitettä kohtaan.