Varieties of consciousness in classical Arabic thought: Avicenna, Averroes, and the mutakallimūn
British Journal for the History of Philosophy May 5, 2023 DOI: 10.1080/09608788.2023.2201615 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that consciousness is a significant theme across classical Islamic philosophy, not only in Avicenna's 'Flying Man': the theologians' accounts shaped Avicenna's theorizing, and Averroes, though seemingly banishing consciousness from his cognitive psychology, anticipates contemporary 'extended mind' ideas. The paper compares these accounts with concepts of consciousness in contemporary philosophy of mind. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT In classical Arabic philosophy, the topic of consciousness is commonly associated with Avicenna's ‘Flying Man’ thought experiment. But Avicenna's explorations of the nature of consciousness are not confined to the Flying Man, and he is by no means the only classical Islamic thinker to deem consciousness an important feature of our experience. Consciousness also plays a important role in the epistemology and moral psychology of Avicenna's intellectual rivals, the theologians (mutakallumūn), who represent important sources for Avicenna's own theorizing about consciousness. And while Avicenna's philosophical successor and critic, Averroes, seems to banish consciousness from the core of his cognitive psychology, in doing so he seems to anticipate contemporary efforts to expand the scope of consciousness through the notion of the ‘extended’ mind. This paper examines the varieties of consciousness recognized by Avicenna and several other classical Islamic thinkers with a view to understanding the extent to which their accounts can be mapped on to some of the concepts of consciousness delineated by contemporary philosophers of mind.