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Avicenna
was a great Turkish scholar. His family came from Belh and settled down in Buhara.
Avicenna was born in Afşan when his father was there for a fiscal duty. Since he was
extraordinarily intelligent, he memorized Koran only when he was 10. He learnt all of the
sciences of his age when he was 18. He left more than 150 books behind when he died in
Hemedan when he was 57. His books were translated into Latin and German, and illuminated
Europe on medicine, chemistry and philosophy. He is called as "Avicenna" by
Latins (as Ibni Sina by Muslims) and considered as the conveyor of antique Greek knowledge
and philosophy. Avicenna showed an example of intelligence and memory which surprised
everyone near him in his childhood. He had learned all sciences when he was a child. He
always read at night and in the daylight, and worked for hours in the candle light until
the morning most times. He slept only a little. His brain was so full that he solved some
problems he could not solve when he was awake in his dreams and found the problems solved
them when woke up. |
Once he was
investigating Aristotle metaphysics. He could not perceive its essence despite he read
several times. He saw a book in an exhibition while walking around in Buhara bazaar.
Auction crier told himto buy this book, and so he could solve many problems easily. It
hurt Avicenna not to know the book which an auction cried knew.
Since his addiction to
reading was known by everyone, especially booksellers knew him. Avicenna bought the
interpretation of Farabi on Aristotle they advised. He saw that all the points he could
not solve were cleared at once when he read: He prostrated himself saying "Thank
God" and distributed alms to poor people in Farabi's way. However, Farabi was thirty
when Avicenna was born, and he was still alive when this happened.
He saved Buhara Emir
Nuh İbni Mansur from a severe disease and took the permission to work in the library of
Samanoğulları. Since so could he easily access many books, spent most of his time
reading and writing. When the ruler died, he was only twenty and went to Harzem leaving
Buhara: His being accepted by a reputed person like Biruni and his appreciating his
hardworking and knowledge, admitting himself, working together with him caused envy. So
was he subjected to official proceedings. He could not live in Harzem and departed again.
At last he went to Hemedan having visited many cities and decided to stay there.
Avicenna wrote about
150 books regarding physics, astronomy and philosophy mostly. All of them are in Arabic
apart from a few Persian ones. Because, scientific books were written in Arabic language
in his period.
Arabic was appreciated
on this usse. His investigations about medical science is original and accurate. He ruled
east and west physicians for 600 hundred years in the exact sense of the word. Gazali, who
was brought up after him, learned Farabi from him. Avicenna forms a bridge between Farabi
and Imam Gazali in terms of thought and understanding. He tried to reconcile Greek
philosophy with an Islamic science, Kelam, that is, God knowledge. If it was not for him,
the foundation by Farabi would not be improved with Gazali's interpretation and there
would be a great gap in between.
Avicenna was known
incorrectly as a Persian physician and philosopher in Europe for a period of time. The
reason of this was his not writing his books in Turkish... However, westerners regarded
him as the master of Medicine, that is the ruler of physicians.
Avicenna, who started
practical medicine when he was 16, worked as the official doctor of the palace too. But
despite his reputation is in relation with medical science, his real personality comes
from his absolute solutions to Kelam problems about the long-lasting argument of Medieval
times that God's existence was an absolute necessity.
He has broad
investigations in mathematics, astronomy, geometry fields. He said that human knowledge
was not appropriate for an absolute understanding God and universe, but accepted existence
of reason. Existence of a spirit independent from human is an evidence for Avicenna,
reflecting from God.
Avicenna sensed during
his medical researches the existence of microbes, that is the effect of some invisible
creatures in spreading of some diseases and mentioned about them in his books. It is very
interesting that he could reach such a judgement in a period when microscope was not
invented yet.
His book named Şifa
is a philosophy encyclopedia. As to his other books, the most well known among these are
el-Kanun fi't-Tıb, which is only a medical encyclopedia. His books named Necat and İşarat
and his Kitabü'l İnsaf talking about Aristotle philosophy are his leading books.
Avicenna had important
inventions in chemical field. In this field, Berthelet says that Avicenna played a great
role in today's level of chemistry science. Avicenna became one of the greatest scientists
developing Eastern and Western culture with his studies and influences. Avicenna wrote
very nice poems apart from all those. There are also some written in Turkish. Avicenna
died in Hemedan in 1037 from a stomach disease.
His real uniqueness is
in his being a doctor. His encyclopedia of 18 volumes named Şifa covers not only
medicine, but also mathematics, physics, metaphysics, theology, economy, politics and
music issues too. His medical masterpiece is his great book named el-Kanûn Fi't-Tıb,
known as Kanun. The book is divided into the chapters of physiology, preventive medicine,
treatment and pharmacology. When we investigate the subjects carefully, we see that there
are many prospective views of Avicenna even valid for today's medicine, for example that
he sensed diseases were caused by microbes.
The book of Avicenna
named Kanun was translated in Latin in 12th century and influenced Western medicine like
an explosion. Both Galen of Rome and Er Razi were dethroned and the main book of
Montpellier and Lauvain Universities, the most famous medical faculties of France, became
Kanun. That situation went on until mid-17th century and Avicenna taught Europe for 700
years. The primary one of the 9 main books in the Paris Medical library six centuries
before was Avicenna's kanun.
Today, students of
faculty of medicine of Paris University still see the large size portraits of two Muslim
doctors hanged on the floor, when they assemble in the great conference hall near St.
Germain Boulevard. These two portraits belong to Avicenna and Er-Razi.
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