"Avicenna's Physics" is the very first volume that he wrote when he began his monumental encyclopedia of science and philosophy, "The Healing". Avicenna's reasons for beginning with "Physics" are numerous: it offers up the principles needed to understand such special natural sciences as psychology; it sets up many of the problems that take center stage in his Metaphysics; and it provides concrete examples of many of the abstract analytical tools that he would develop later in "Logic". While "Avicenna's Physics" roughly follows the thought of "Aristotle's Physics", with its emphasis on natural causes, the nature of motion, and the conditions necessary for motion, the work is hardly derivative. It represents arguably the most brilliant mind of late antiquity grappling with and rethinking the entire tradition of natural philosophy inherited from the Greeks as well as the physical thought of Muslim speculative theologians. As such, "Physics" is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding Avicenna's complete philosophical system, the history of science, or the history of ideas.

About the Author
Jon McGinnis is associate professor of classical and medieval philosophy at the University of Missouri, St. Louis.


Book Information
ISBN 9780842527477
Author Avicenna
Format Hardback
Page Count 1168
Imprint Brigham Young University Press
Publisher Brigham Young University Press
Weight(grams) 2183g
Dimensions(mm) 24mm * 18mm * 9mm