The vital roots of European enlightenment : Ibn Tufayl's influence on modern Western thought

The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment is a collection of essays dealing with the influence of Ibn Tufayl, a 12th-century Arab philosopher from Spain, on major European thinkers. Had Edward Said known about the impact of Hayy Ibn Yaqzan on Europe throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, he might have reached different conclusions in his book Orientalism. "The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment is a collection of essays that deal with the influence of Ibn Tufayl, a twelfth-century Arab philosopher from Spain, on major European thinkers. His philosophical novel, Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, could be considered one of the most important books that heralded the Scientific Revolution. Its thoughts are found in different variations and to different degrees in the books of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Immanuel Kant. But if Ibn Tufayl's fundamental values, such as equality, freedom, and toleration, which the thinkers of the European Enlightenment had adopted as theirs, paved the way to the French Revolution, they certainly marked the end of the Age of Reason in southern Spain and the rest of the Islamic world. Ibn Tufayl's philosophy was appropriated, subverted, or reinvented for many centuries. But the memory of the man who wrote such an influential book was buried in the dust of history. The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment reexamines Ibn Tufayl's momentous book and its continued influence over contemporary philosophy. This intriguing book will appeal to those interested in comparative literature and religion."--Jacket The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment is a collection of essays which deal with the influence of Ibn Tufayl, a 12th-century Arab philosopher from Spain, on major European thinkers. His philosophical novel, Hayy Ibn Yaqzan , could be considered one of the most important books that heralded the Scientific Revolution. Its thoughts are found in different variations and to different degrees in the books of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Kant. But if Ibn Tufayl's fundamental values, such as equality, freedom and toleration, which the thinkers of the European Enlightenment had adopted as theirs, paved the way to the French Revolution, they certainly marked the end of the age of reason in southern Spain and the rest of the Islamic world. Ibn Tufayl's philosophy was appropriated, subverted, or reinvented for many centuries. But the memory of the man who wrote such an influential book was buried in the dust of history. The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment reexamines Ibn Tufayl's momentous book and its continued influence over contemporary philosophy. This intriguing book will appeal to those interested in comparative literature and religion. TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 12 A CHRONOLOGY OF IBN TUFAYLAND SOME EUROPEAN THINKERSINFLUENCED BY HIM UNTIL 1859......Page 16 Ch01. INTRODUCTION:BURIED IN THE DUST OF HISTORY......Page 22 Ch02. SERVING GOD OR MAMMON?......Page 40 Ch03. THE MAN OF REASON......Page 58 Ch04. BEYOND FAMILY, HISTORY,RELIGION, AND LANGUAGE......Page 84 Ch05. THE BOOK THAT LAUNCHED ATHOUSAND BOOKS......Page 102 Ch06. THE EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGE......Page 118 Ch07. A PHILOSOPHICAL LETTER,AN ALLEGORICAL VOYAGE, ORAN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?......Page 134 Ch08. CONCLUSION:A HUMANIST THESIS SUBVERTED?......Page 148 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 166 INDEX......Page 180 ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 194