Avicenna on the Ontology of Pure Quiddity

Damien Janos

Published by De Gruyter 2020

Avicenna on the Ontology of Pure Quiddity

Damien Janos

Volume 26 in the series Scientia Graeco-Arabica

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110652086

Overview
Contents

About this book

This study focuses on the metaphysics of the great Arabic philosopher Avicenna (or Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037 C.E.). More specifically, it delves into Avicenna’s theory of quiddity or essence, a topic which seized the attention of thinkers both during the medieval and modern periods. Building on recent contributions in Avicennian studies, this book proposes a new and comprehensive interpretation of Avicenna’s theory of ‘the pure quiddity’ (also known as ‘the quiddity in itself’) and of its ontology. The study provides a careful philological analysis of key passages gleaned from the primary sources in Arabic and a close philosophical contextualization of Avicenna’s doctrines in light of the legacy of ancient Greek philosophy in Islam and the early development of Arabic philosophy (falsafah) and theology (kalām). The study pays particular attention to how Avicenna’s theory of quiddity relates to the ancient Greek philosophical discussion about the universals or common things and Mu’tazilite ontology. Its main thesis is that Avicenna articulated a sophisticated doctrine of the ontology of essence in light of Greek and Bahshamite sources, which decisively shaped subsequent intellectual history in Islam and the Latin West.

Author / Editor information

Damien Janos, University of Montreal, Canada.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter I: Pure Quiddity in Context Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Chapter II: Quiddity in Itself and Mental Existence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	79
Chapter III: Quiddity in Itself in the Concrete World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	265
Chapter IV: The Special Ontological Mode of Quiddity in Itself Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	424
Chapter V: The Divine Origin of Pure Quiddity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	631
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	716
Appendix 1: The Avicennian terminology of pure quiddity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	723
Appendix 2: The existence of pure quiddity: A list of textual references Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	725
Appendix 3: Quiddity and Avicenna’s matrices of distinctions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	727
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	728
Index of Names and Places Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	747
Index of Technical Terms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	749

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Wissenschaftler, Institute, Bibliotheken
Pages
- Front matter: 12
- Main content: 762
Illustrations
- Line drawings: 6
- Tables: 2
Keywords: Avicenna; Islamic Philosophy; Medieval Philosophy; History of Metaphysics; essence/quiddity

eBook

Published: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 9783110652086

Hardcover

Published: April 20, 2020
ISBN: 9783110635980