Science and Religion in Mamluk Egypt by Nahyan Fancy

Author:Nahyan Fancy [Fancy, Nahyan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, Medieval, Religion, Islam, General, Social Science, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781136703683
Google: F4Gwo7-ucF4C
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-06-03T01:17:53+00:00

Conclusion

Historians of medicine have tended to see any reference to spirits and faculties in Islamic medicine as the Islamic physicians’ unquestioning adherence to Galenic physiology. Consequently, they have missed the subtle, and at times not-so-subtle, changes that individual Islamic physicians introduced into Galenic physiology. The sketch above is really no more than a first step in redressing that balance, in order to appreciate the originalities of thinkers as diverse as Qusṭā ibn Lūqā, Ibn Sīnā, Ibn ṭufayl, and, of course, Ibn al-Nafīs.

More importantly though, this close examination of the transformations of the Galenic tradition in the Islamic world helps illuminate the fact that physiological discussions were themselves situated within larger metaphysical/theological discussions on the nature of the soul. This metaphysical/theological context is evident in the Islamic physicians’ rejections of the tripartite soul, and the resulting-transformations of Galenic physiology. Ibn al-Nafīs's own physiology is also rooted in his rejection of the theologically/philosophically inadequate theory of the compound soul. In fact, his positing of a hylomorphic psychology also betrays his theological context and commitments. The hylomorphic psychology leads him to reconceptualize the nature of the spirit and the soul-spirit relationship which also provides the foundation for his critique of Ibn ṭufayl's monistic mysticism (see Chapters 3 and 5). Thus, his physiology (and psychology) further buttresses his case against theological opponents who rejected the authority of revelation and believed in the possibility of ascertaining theological truths independent of revelation. The close examination of the texts, in particular the technical terms, illuminates the intertwined legacy of physiology, philosophy and theology in pre-modern Islamic societies.

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