This collection of papers addresses a variety of aspects of the life and thought of the medieval philosopher Avicenna including his reception of Classical philosophy, his views on topics such as metaphysics, psychology and medicine, and the recpeption of his thought by later authors.



This volume contains the proceedings of the first meeting of the Avicenna Study Group. Each of the papers presents the most recent research conclusions in its respective topic. These conclusions include new insights into Avicenna's revision of Aristotle and Plotinus, specific areas of his theories of psychology and metaphysics, his intellectual interaction with the theologians of his period, the historical and social context in which Avicenna worked, the reception of his thought among Syriac-writing authors, among later Ishraqi philosophers, and in Shi'ite peripatetic philosophy. These insights range from new interpretations of his extant corpus, to compelling theories on the factors contributing to his philosophical innovations. In many cases, these papers present hitherto unexamined textual evidence that will contribute greatly to a new methodology in Avicenna studies, and Arabic-Islamic philosophy in general.