Arab Philosophy

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Avicenna’s philosophy especially metaphysics was strongly influenced by the renowned philosopher Aristotle. He regarded metaphysics as the research on being is beings. It also did studies on the transcendental attitudes of beings. His doctrine on the soul had a strong Aristotelian base. Aristotle had a strong influence on the thoughts of Avicenna. He talks about three kinds or levels of essence. One of the essences is God’s essence which consists of immaterial ideas, the individual intellect which is made of material ideas while the just mental constructions, formations or abstractions referred to as ‘Universals’

This paper actually deals on the doctrine of intellection which talks about universals, their problems and the solutions that Avicenna thinks would be of great help in tackling these problems. From this doctrine of intellection he starts with discussing the active and passive intellect. He adds that the human intellect is the one which is capable of gradually doing many operations of perceiving things or what is referred to as perception and specifically the art of imagination. This is what are called abstractions or mind constructions. He insists that the ability to perceive helps in imagination. This is because imagination helps or assists in evaluation and distinction of images amassed in the mind.

Images are just but passive items. This made Avicenna to distinguish between potency and actuality. This is comparison between the actual and the imaginations. Potentiality was a concept by which a thing can be able to transform into another thing. They can be able to transform and exist as active agents or as passive agents.

He arguably defended the ideas that creation was an eternal and a compulsory generative producti...

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...ted souls are able to form a kind of paradise and therefore enjoy having each other. Whereas for the human souls that do not have an intellectually developed process they still require a little material support. They will only survive through imagination because they are not able to go through or beyond definite intensities of imagination.

These forms of souls are able to experience in their future lives pains and sufferings as prescribed by the Koran. This usually includes the torture that include eternal fire consumption while on the other hand for the good souls there is enjoyment of physical delight. In conclusion therefore, whether such souls have a chance to progress in the afterlife, Avicenna does not converse.

References

Avicenna (2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannnica.com/EBchecked/topic/45755/Avicenna

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