The Influence of Ibn Rushd

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Joseph Brush Mr. Lambert & Mr. Volek MDVL 1450 15 December 2011 The Influence of Ibn Rushd The Middle Ages is often recognized as a period of chaos and instability. The medieval era was first marked with times of warfare and the fall of the Roman Empire. While referring to the Middle Ages, many focus on the negative effects during that era, therefore overlooking the positive qualities that this period was characterized by. In the Islamic world, a golden era had dawned where scientific knowledge, architecture, mathematics, and philosophy flourished. Ibn Rushd was a significant Muslim scholar whose work highly influenced Western Europe, ultimately initiating a particular trend that lasted for centuries, which was an important source for the emergence of the Renaissance. For some time during the Middle Ages, the Muslims led the world in their pursuit of knowledge. Much of this knowledge was discovered by Muslim scientists, while other knowledge was derived from different cultures. Muslims synthesized, elaborated, and spread this knowledge to Western Europe during their presence in Iberia. It is said that Ibn Rushd understood, interpreted and analytically discussed Aristotle's philosophy more than any of his predecessors or contemporaries (Amr and Tbakhi). Ibn Rushd was also known as the “the Commentator” due to his commentaries on Aristotle that circulated throughout Western Europe. Muslim philosophy like that of Ibn Rushd was greatly influenced by Greek philosophy; they created tensions between reason and faith. Ibn Rushd’s philosophies were criticized for suggesting that revelation must be guided by reason. He was well known for his translations of and interpretations on most of Aristotle’s surviving texts, which had been lost to Western Europe due to barbarian invasions. Ibn Rushd had much respect for Aristotle, referring him as the one who

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