Averroes

• 1. The Grandson of Córdoba

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  Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rushd entered the world on the 14th of April 1126 in the city of Córdoba. His family held a position of immense public trust within that Andalusian society. His grandfather Abu al-Walid Muhammad served as the chief judge and imam of the Great Mosque under the Almoravid rulers. The younger Ibn Rushd inherited this legacy of legal service, though his father Abu al-Qasim Ahmad also held the title of chief judge until political shifts occurred in 1146. Biographers describe his education as excellent from an early age. He studied hadith traditions with Ibn Bashkuwal, who was himself a student of his grandfather. He learned Maliki jurisprudence under al-Hafiz Abu Muhammad ibn Rizq. His father taught him about Imam Malik's magnum opus known as the Muwatta, which Averroes memorized completely. He studied medicine under Abu Jafar Jarim al-Tajail, who likely introduced him to philosophy as well. A regular meeting of philosophers, physicians, and poets in Seville included future caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub among its attendees. This circle allowed him to engage with thinkers like Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Zuhr.

• 2. The Caliph's Physician

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  By 1153 Averroes traveled to Marrakesh to support the Almohad project of building new colleges. He sought physical laws for astronomical movements but found only mathematical ones available at that time. In 1169 he met the court physician Ibn Tufayl, and they became friends despite philosophical differences. That same year Ibn Tufayl introduced Averroes to the Almohad caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf. The caliph asked whether the heavens existed since eternity or had a beginning. Averroes remained silent initially due to fear of controversy. After the caliph explained various views on the matter, Averroes shared his own thoughts and impressed the ruler. He later described the caliph as possessing a profuseness of learning he did not suspect. Following this introduction, Averroes remained in favor until the caliph died in 1184. During this period he wrote commentaries on Aristotle starting in 1169. He served as qadi judge in Seville in 1169 and in Córdoba in 1171. In 1182 he succeeded Ibn Tufayl as court physician after the latter's death.

• 3. The Commentator's Three Ladders

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  Averroes classified his commentaries into three distinct categories known today as short, middle, and long commentaries. Most short commentaries called jami were written early in his career and contained summaries of Aristotelian doctrines. Middle commentaries called talkhis contained paraphrases that clarified and simplified Aristotle's original text. These middle works likely responded to Caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf's complaints about understanding difficult texts. Long commentaries called tafsir included the complete text with detailed analysis of each line. Only five of Aristotle's works received all three types of commentary: Physics, Metaphysics, On the Soul, On the Heavens, and Posterior Analytics. The long commentaries were very detailed and unlikely intended for a general audience. A tiny handful of Arabic manuscript remains exist from these extensive writings. Averroes wrote at least 67 original works including 28 on philosophy and 20 on medicine according to French author Ernest Renan. His philosophical works include numerous commentaries on Aristotle which earned him the title The Commentator in the Western world.

• 4. Eyes That See Light

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  Averroes served as royal physician at the Almohad court though he declared limited practical experience outside treating himself and family members. His medical book Al-Kulliyat fi al-Tibb became known in Latin as the Colliget and remained a textbook in Europe for centuries. He identified the retina rather than the lens as the primary organ responsible for sensing light. This observation departed significantly from prevailing theories of his time. In his commentary to Aristotle's Sense and Sensibilia he stated that the innermost coats of the eye must necessarily receive light from humors just like humors receive light from air. Modern scholars dispute whether this was exactly what he meant but the observation stands as pioneering work. He provided early descriptions of conditions resembling Parkinson's disease without naming it explicitly. He offered insights into stroke attributing it to cerebral causes rather than peripheral obstructions. His explanation of stroke involved obstruction of arteries from the heart to the brain. This understanding aligned closer to modern disease concepts than Galen's earlier theories about peripheral blockages.

• 5. The Shared Mind Controversy

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  In his final commentary on Aristotle's On the Soul Averroes proposed a theory called the unity of the intellect. He argued there exists only one material intellect which is identical for all humans and unmixed with any human body. To explain how individuals hold different thoughts he used a concept called fikr or cogitatio in Latin. This process occurs within human brains containing active consideration of particular things encountered by each person. The theory attracted intense controversy when his works entered Christian Europe during the thirteenth century. Thomas Aquinas wrote a detailed critique titled On the Unity of the Intellect against the Averroists in 1229. This doctrine became one of the best-known and most controversial Averroist teachings in the West. It suggested that all humans share the same intellect while maintaining individual cognitive processes through fikr. The Catholic Church condemned this view along with other Aristotelian doctrines in official decrees issued in 1270 and 1277. Despite these condemnations Latin Averroism continued to attract followers up to the sixteenth century.

• 6. Jewish Scholars And Western Translators

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  Maimonides received Averroes's works enthusiastically stating he got everything Averroes had written on Aristotle and calling him extremely right. Thirteenth-century Jewish writers including Samuel ibn Tibbon Judah ben Solomon ha-Kohen and Shem-Tov ibn Falaquera relied heavily on Averroes's texts. Joseph Ibn Kaspi translated commentaries on Aristotle's Organon in 1232 marking the first complete Jewish translation of such work. Moses ibn Tibbon published translations of almost all commentaries and some medical works in 1260. Jewish Averroism peaked during the fourteenth century with figures like Kalonymus ben Kalonymus Todros Todrosi Elia del Medigo and Gersonides. Michael Scot became the first Latin translator starting in 1217 in Paris and Toledo. He translated long commentaries on Physics Metaphysics On the Soul and On the Heavens. European authors such as Hermannus Alemannus William de Luna and Armengaud of Montpellier followed his lead sometimes with help from Jewish authors. His writings attracted a strong circle of followers known as the Latin Averroists centered in Paris and Padua.

• 7. Condemnation And Enduring Echoes

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  Authorities of the Roman Catholic Church reacted against the spread of Averroism through official condemnations. In 1270 Bishop Étienne Tempier issued a condemnation against fifteen doctrines many of which were Aristotelian or Averroist. These conflicted with church doctrines regarding faith and reason. Pope John XXI requested another condemnation in 1277 targeting two hundred nineteen theses drawn mainly from Aristotle and Averroes teachings. Thomas Aquinas wrote detailed attacks on Averroes's theory that all humans share the same intellect while relying extensively on his interpretation of Aristotle otherwise. Ramon Llull opposed Averroism establishing distinctions between tolerated religion Islam and opposed philosophy Averroism especially its Latin version. The condemnations weakened the spread of Averroism though it maintained a following until the sixteenth century when European thought diverged from Aristotelianism. Leading figures in subsequent centuries included John of Jandun Marsilius of Padua Gaetano da Thiene Pietro Pomponazzi Agostino Nifo and Marcantonio Zimara. His legacy in the Islamic world remained modest for geographical and intellectual reasons during medieval times.