Avicenna on Self-Awareness and Knowing that One Knows
The Unity of Science in the Arabic Tradition 2008 D.L. Black
One of the most well-known elements of Avicenna’s philosophy is the famous thought experiment known as the “Flying Man.” The Flying Man argument attempts to show that the soul possesses innate awareness of itself, and it has often been viewed as forerunner to the Cartesian cogito. But Avicenna’s reflections on the nature of self-awareness and self-consciousness are by no means confined to the...