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In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
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In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
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Abu Ali al-Husain ibn Abdullah ibn Sina preceded nearly every
Western philosopher in the development of theories related to psychology. His
classifications of soul, images, perception, intellect, and even scientific
methodology are truly remarkable. However, despite these wonderful findings Ibn
Sina and other Eastern philosophers may have been largely ignored as founders of
modern science because of cultural and religious ethno-centricism.
At the time of such mental endeavors competition was rising between the Christian West and Muslim East. Ibn Sina was a Muslim born in the village of Afshana in the Samanid Dynasty (Today this is part of Russia). He lived approximately from 980 C.E. to 1037 C.E. It was said that by the age of Ten Ibn Sina memorized the Quran and was well versed in Arabic. He was noted as curing some of the World’s most powerful members such as Nooh Ibn Mansour the King of Bukhara. He also wrote approximately 200 books of which one was called al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon). al-Qanun was an extremely large work of an encyclopedia nature that contained medical information of which modern medical practice now based on.
According to ibn Sina plants, animals, and humans have souls with varying
degrees of ability. The vegetable soul can reproduce, grow, and gather
nutrients while the animal soul has all the properties of the vegetable soul
but can also perceive individuals and move by violition. The human being, the
most complex of animals, maintains all of the properties of the above two
souls but in addition can also make rational choices, deduct, and perceive
universals. The human soul is more intellectual with stronger mental
capabilities then the lower forms of life( Rahman, pp 25). ibn Sina came close
to discovering, but never put his finger on, the theory of evolution.
Ibn Sina also believed that the animal faculties
assisted the rational soul in the following ways:
1. Imaginaion and estimation.
2. Relations of negative and affirmative
3. Empirical knowledge through the senses(Rahman pp. 57).
To ibn Sina the body was merely an instrument of the soul. In other words the body’s main function was to assist the soul in its development and duties. He also made strict criteria for the testing and experimentation of drugs. His system is parallel to modern laboratory procedure. A main principle that he used was the belief that accepting a fact without a cause is unscientific. That cause and effect are major determinants of laws of nature. Using this principle he developed a procedure that helped determine the cause and effect of medicine.
1. The drug must not have extraneous accidental
qualities.
2. The drug must be used on simple, not complex, diseases.
3. The drug must be tested on more than one disease.
4. Quality of the drug and the strength of the disease must be in
proportion.
5. Time of action must be observed.
6. The effect of the drug must occur consistently.
7. Experimentation must eventually be done on humans( Zahoor, pp. 1).
However scientific ibn Sina appears he had one main
belief that tied all science together; the belief in Allah (God). In Islamic
tradition the world was made to be discovered and that each new discovery
testifies to the oneness of God. Muslims are commanded by their God (Allah)
through the prophets Abraham, Noah, Jesus, Moses, Muhammed, etc. to question
all things and find how God has created the world. In Islam their was no
contradiction of science and religion and in fact scholars like ibn Sina and
other used science as part of religion.
References:
Afnan, Soheil. (1958). Avicenna, His LIfe and Works.
London: G. Allen & Unwin
Ahmed, Monaur. (1990) Ibn Sina-doctor of doctors. Muslim Technologist
Rahman, F. (1952).
Avicenna’s Psychology, London: Oxford University Press
Zahoor, A. (1997). Ibn Sina on Testing Medicine: Aramco World
