Ibn Sinas Remarks and Admonitions: Physics and Metaphysics
Ibn Sinas Remarks and Admonitions: Physics and Metaphysics
AN ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATED TRANSLATION
Shams Inati
Columbia University Press
New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
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E-ISBN 978-0-231-53742-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Avicenna, 9801037.
[Isharat wa-al-tanbihat. Part 23. English]
Ibn Sinas Remarks and admonitions: physics and metaphysics: an analysis and annotated translation/
Shams C. Inati.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16616-4 (cloth: alk. paper)ISBN 978-0-231-53742-1 (e-book)
1. Islamic philosophyEarly works to 1800. 2. Philosophy, Medieval. 3. PhysicsEarly works to 1800. 4. MetaphysicsEarly works to 1800. I. Inati, Shams Constantine. II. Title.
B751.I62E5 2014
181.5dc23
2013041367
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To my sister, Aminy Inati Audi, who has shared my passion for knowledge about the universe and the human place in it and who has supported my intellectual efforts and inspired me with her limitless determination, deep wisdom, and boundless love for all things.
Contents
Ibn Sina (Avicenna, A.D. 9801037) is one of the most important medieval philosophers, and perhaps the most important philosopher in Islam. The wealth of philosophical and medical literature he left us includes books, essays, and poems concerned with the study of the cosmos with a special focus on nature, the human being, God, and their interrelationship.
Al-Ishrt wal-Tanbht (Remarks and Admonitions), which will hereafter be referred to as al-Ishrt, is one of Ibn Sinas most mature and comprehensive philosophical works and one of the most important medieval philosophical texts. It is divided into four main parts: Logic, Physics, Metaphysics, and Sufism. I have already published an annotated translation and analysis of the first and last parts. Because the manuscript for the second and third parts was lost for several years, publication of these two parts was delayed.
In al-Ishrt, as in his other writings such as al-Shif (Healing) and Kitb al-Najt (The Book of Salvation), the discussion covers a range of topics that primarily aim at understanding nature, the human being, and God. Building on logic, the gate to knowledge as Ibn Sina describes it, and preparing for reflections on happiness, the ultimate human goal, the Physics and Metaphysics seek to understand the natures of things, especially the human and the divine. These two parts explore, for example, the natures of bodies and souls, motion, change and time, existence, creation, and knowledge. Of special importance is the view Ibn Sina presents regarding Gods knowledge of particulars, a view that caused much discussion in medieval Islamic and Christian philosophical and theological circles and provoked a strong rejection by al-Ghazali. The last six chapters of the last class in the Metaphysics are of great significance. They close with a discussion of providence, good, and evil, a discussion Ibn Sina uses to introduce his theodicy.
The chapters in al-Ishrt are short and usually titled either Ishrt or Tanbht. Thus the title of the four parts, al-Ishrt wal-Tanbht, is drawn from the titles of the majority of chapters. The word ishrt means, among other things, signs, remarks, indications, allusions, symbolic expressions, and hints. Some of the meanings of tanbht are:warnings, admonitions, and cautionary advice. The chapters entitled Ishrt represent Ibn Sinas exposition of his own views; those entitled Tanbht represent his criticism of the views of others and an attempt to alert the reader to the errors in these views. Occasionally, the former are called A Followup, A Piece of Advice, or A Closing Comment and a Wish, and the latter Delusion or Delusion and Admonition. The outcome is intended to be a collection of concise yet complex hints at the truth clothed in symbolic expressions plus constant brief reminders of where others went wrong.
The aim of the present work is threefold: to analyze the Physics and Metaphysics of al-Ishrt; to provide an annotated English translation of it; and to amend the original Arabic text where necessary. The book will, therefore, offer a detailed and thorough study of the text, focusing on its central philosophical features, placing them in the context of Ibn Sinas general philosophical thought, and determining their source and place in the history of ideas. This preface is followed by an analysis of the text, followed by the English translation of the Arabic text.
The English translation is punctuated with emendations in [ ] where the text is corrupt, missing information, or unclear, and with notes that provide relevant and important references and further clarify difficult points. Titles have also been added to all chapters to help the reader better understand the nature of the chapters and to allow me to make a meaningful table of contents. However, considering that all chapter titles following : are mine, and that this is pointed out here, no brackets have been added to chapter titles to avoid crowding the text with unnecessary marks. Page numbers of the Arabic text appear in ( ). The paragraphing and punctuation of the Arabic text have been changed to suit the English translation. Works cited in the notes without an author are by Ibn Sina. Arabic proper names of people and cities are transliterated without diacritical marks. All other Arabic words are transliterated following the system established by the American Library Association and the Library of Congress (ALA-LC Romanization Tables: Transliteration Schemes for Non-Roman Scripts). Finally, it should be noted that translations of passages from Ibn Sinas other works are also mine except where otherwise specified
It should be pointed out that the present work includes the first English translation and extensive analysis of the Physics and Metaphysics of al-Ishrt. The translation is based on Sulayman Dunyas third edition of al-Ishrt, Part Two (1992) and Part Three (1985). The Arabic text was compared at every step with Jack Forgets edition of al-Ishrt (1893). In a few places, Forgets reading was adopted where it seemed more appropriate to Ibn Sinas thought than that of Dunya. M. Goichons French translation of al-Ishrt under the title Livre des directives et remarques was also thoroughly examined and was helpful in shedding light on certain difficulties of the Arabic text.
The technical terms are translated with deep sensitivity to their accurate meaning, which could not have been fully determined without also examining the text in light of Ibn Sinas other works and the commentaries on it, especially those of al-Tusi and al-Razi.
