Abu Ali ibn Sina and natural sciences. Abu Ali Ibn Sina (Avicenna) is the greatest scientist of antiquity. Biography score

Five centuries before Descartes he said: “ I think - therefore I exist" Dozens of scientific disciplines submitted to him, terrible diseases receded before him. He was endowed with the courage of a fairy-tale hero in overcoming the sharp turns of fate.

Serving science allowed him not to bow his head to his omnipotent persecutors, and to be independent of the wealth and glory of high patrons. " Both the sun and the storms - everything can withstand a bold, high word and a good deed.“- these words of Ibn Sina himself can describe the amazing life of the great thinker.

Son of a Publican and a Star

When a tax collector from Harmaysan (a region of Uzbekistan) named Abdullah ibn Hassan finally received a long-awaited position in Bukhara itself, the capital of the prosperous Samanid state, his entire large family began to prepare to leave the small town of Afshana, where Abdullah found happiness with his beloved wife Sitara, whose name meant “star”, and where their firstborn was born - Hussein, known in the East as Ibn Sina, and in the West as Avicenna, the great doctor, poet, philosopher, scientist.

In Bukhara, Abdullah, who had knowledge and thought a lot about the issues of the universe, was going to give his children a good education. The eldest of the children, Hussein, already from the age of five showed an unprecedented thirst for learning and showed an exceptional memory. And although Hussein was the youngest at the Bukhara school, his knowledge in mathematics, law and theology was highly valued by teachers, and older students did not consider it shameful to turn to him on a variety of issues.

One day, Hussein’s father learned that the prominent scientist An-Natili was visiting Bukhara. Abdullah invited him to live in his house, and at the same time teach children. Natili remained in the official’s family, and Hussein had the opportunity to ask the teacher questions at any time, first simple, and then more and more complex.

After some time, the boy was already trying to challenge Natili’s arguments, discussing with the teacher the views of Ptolemy, Aristotle and Euclid. When Natili left, the famous Aristotle “Metaphysics” fell into the hands of Hussein, who by that time was 15 years old.

Ibn Sina writes in his autobiography that he could not understand the meaning of the book, although, having re-read it several times, he had already learned every line in it. And then one day a trader in a bookstore, who knew Hussein well, offered him to buy commentaries to “Metaphysics” by the famous Eastern thinker Abu Nasr Farabi for almost nothing.

When Hussein reached the last line of this manuscript, the system of the universe, as Aristotle saw it, opened up before the young man in all its amazing splendor.

Since 998, Avicenna was close to the courts of several rulers, under whom he served as a doctor.

From then on, Hussein became passionately interested in natural sciences. The works of ancient physicians - Hippocrates, Galen, Ap-Razi, Ibn Abbas - confirmed his desire to become a doctor.

The young man understands that the study of medicine is impossible without practical experience, without direct communication with patients, and becomes an apprentice to the famous hakim (doctor) Kamari in Bukhara.

Learned Wanderer

Once Kamari told his student about his despair: none of the doctors, including Kamari himself, was able to either cure the ruler or even recognize the disease from which the Bukhara emir fell ill.

Hussein offered his help to the teacher, but he needed to examine the patient. The court doctors were indescribably indignant that Kamari dared to ask the emir to allow a 17-year-old boy into his chambers.

However, the ruler did not object, and Hussein was able, after examining the emir, to prescribe treatment, after which the disease subsided. Then the ruler of Bukhara promised to fulfill any desire of his savior.

The young man did not need luxurious houses, numerous slaves, or rich caravans - he dreamed of one thing: access to the Samanid palace library. The surprised emir could not refuse Hussein and, in addition, appointed him court physician; from now on everyone began to call him the venerable Ibn Sina.

Since then Ibn Sina He spent all his free time reading unique manuscripts from the emir’s book depository. He studied works on medicine, mathematics, astronomy, physics, mechanics, not forgetting medical practice. But no matter how exceptional the medical talent of Ibn Sina was, the emir died a couple of years later, and Bukhara was captured by the Turks.

The triumphant nomads mercilessly burned the palace library. In an attempt to preserve at least part of the invaluable knowledge he had gleaned from ancient manuscripts, Ibn Sina set out to present it in a book, which he called “ Collected ».

After the death of the father, the family Ibn Sina decides to leave troubled Bukhara. The choice fell on Urgench, the capital of the Khorezm state. The ruler of Khorezm, Mamun, was known as the patron of sciences. At his palace, an analogue of the academy was created - “majlisi ulama”, or a meeting of scientists. Many of them are the same as 20 year old Ibn Sina, fled from the captured cities of Asia Minor and found honor in Urgench and the opportunity to continue scientific activities.

Mamun attracts Ibn Sina to work on the legislation of Khorezm. Along the way, the scientist finishes work on a medical reference book, begun in Bukhara, and begins writing a large philosophical encyclopedia, “The Book of Healing.”

The famous doctor has his first students. He takes a closer look at each of them. Depending on their personal qualities, he allows some to heal, some to compose medicines, and to others he leaves only auxiliary work.

By the end of the first decade of the 11th century, the Ghaznavid state, located south of Khorezm, grew stronger and expanded year by year. Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi, the son of a simple Ghulam warrior, sought at all costs to establish himself in the eyes of his much more high-born neighbors. In the form of an ultimatum, he demanded that Mamun recognize him, Mahmud, as his patron and, in confirmation of this, send Khorezm scientists to Ghazna, including Ibn Sina.

The great doctor, having heard a lot about the merciless and fanatical character of the Sultan, understands that serving Mahmud means his death as a scientist. In 1011, he secretly leaves Khorezm and walks through the desert. His companion dies of thirst, and Ibn Sina barely makes it to northern Iran. The enraged Sultan Mahmud sends portraits of Ibn Sina everywhere with the demand to find a healer and immediately deliver him to him.

Ibn Sina he stops incognito in Djurdzhana. Despite his half-starved existence, he devotes his days and nights to writing scientific papers. But Ibn Sina cannot refuse medical help to the suffering. Gradually the city is filled with rumors about a wonderful doctor.

A legend has reached our times about a young man who was on the verge of death and whom dozens of doctors unsuccessfully tried to treat. Ibn Sina, having examined the patient, did not find, to his surprise, a single sign of physical illness. Then he asked his relatives about the onset and course of the disease, after which he told the unfortunate man’s parents only one sure way to save their son: to marry him to a neighbor’s girl. The cause of the young man’s illness turned out to be his secret love.

Needless to say that in a matter of days the patient recovered, and the name of Ibn Sina sounded even louder from the lips of the townspeople? The ruler of Jurjan asks the doctor to stay at his court. Ibn Sina gathers around him new students, among whom is Juzjani, later the scientist’s friend and companion, who accompanied him until the end of his days and completed his biography. There, in Jurjan, Ibn Sina began the main work of his life - the book “The Canon of Medical Science”.

Ibn Sina was the first to point out the existence of side effects of drugs and the interaction of drugs used simultaneously.

But the great doctor is unable to stay in the city for long. He is forced to flee again from Sultan Mahmud, who learned about the whereabouts of Ibn Sina. After a year of wandering, on the threshold of his 40th birthday, the doctor, accompanied by the faithful Juzjani, finds himself in the west of Iran, in Hamadan.

Sheikh ar-rais

Shams, the emir of Hamadan, suffered from unbearable stomach pain for several years, so he often had no time for government affairs. His treasurer Taj was not averse to taking advantage of this, and he managed government finances not without self-interest.

Ibn Sina, whose arrival was reported to the emir, was immediately summoned to the palace. He was promised any benefits for curing the ruler, but for Ibn Sina the status of the patient did not matter - he began treatment. When the emir felt better, he decided to appoint Ibn Sina as his vizier. The doctor agreed, but on the condition that he would be privy to all the intricacies of public administration.

Accustomed to getting to the bottom of everything, Ibn Sina discovers monstrous embezzlement. The thieving military leaders and the treasurer could not forgive the doctor for this. Having organized unrest in the troops, they seek from the emir to take Ibn Sina into custody.

The doctor spends a month and a half in prison, after which, being released thanks to the participation of his friends and admirers, he hides in the house of a merchant he knows. After some time, the place of the emir who died on the campaign is taken by his young heir, and power in Hamadan essentially passes to the Taj.

The treasurer is informed that the ruler of neighboring Isfahan has invited Ibn Sina to move to him. The doctor is imprisoned in a fortress. By the will of fate, in just four months, the entire Hamadan elite, having shamefully lost the military campaign against Isfahan, will be forced to hide in the same fortress. Taj will ask Ibn Sina to petition the ruler of Isfahan for peace, promising in return freedom and a comfortable life.

After release Ibn Sina settles in his house, plundered by troops, to re-gather students, practice healing and continue scientific research. Studying the effect of constant nervous excitement on the state of the body, Ibn Sina buys two identical lambs at the market, one of which he places in front of a cage with a wolf purchased from a hunter, and the other in the depths of the garden, far from the predator. The poor animal, feeling the hungry gaze of the beast on itself all day and night, loses weight and almost dies before our eyes, unlike its fellow calmly chewing grass. So Ibn Sina and his relatives, deciding not to tempt fate again, disguise themselves as wandering Sufis and leave Hamadan.

In Isfahan, Ibn Sina was greeted like a sultan, his path to the ruler's palace being covered with expensive carpets. The 43-year-old doctor is now called “Sheikh al-Rais” - the head of the sages. He is the closest adviser to Emir Ala ad-Dawla. His days are spent giving lectures to young people, working on unfinished works, and receiving patients who sometimes travel a long way if only Ibn Sina would cure them. According to his designs, a city “house of cure”, or hospital, is being built.

When Ibn Sina was already over fifty and Ibn Sina’s longtime persecutor Sultan Mahmud died, Ghazna again struck a blow to the great scientist. The Ghazni army sacked Isfahan, and in the process part of Ibn Sina's works was destroyed. Fortunately, dozens of copies were made from many of them, but the Book of Justice, alas, was irretrievably lost.

By the age of 57, the doctor can hardly accompany his master on a campaign against Hamadan, from which he once fled. Tormented by severe pain, he gives his final orders: to release the slaves and distribute his property to the poor. “We die in full consciousness and take with us only one thing - the consciousness that we have learned nothing,” says Ibn Sina to his friend Juzjani.

Avicenna's legacy

Of more than 400 works of Ibn Sina, about three hundred have survived: books on medicine, philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, mechanics, philology and many other disciplines.

The main work of his life - a comprehensive encyclopedia "The Canon of Medical Science" - consists of five books. In the first, the author outlines the theory and philosophy of medicine, aspects of human anatomy and physiology, and the causes of diseases; the second book describes about 800 simple medicines, their preparation and purpose; the third book in 22 parts is about diseases of individual organs and parts of the body; Ibn Sina devotes the fourth book to general diseases: fevers, ulcers, burns, fractures, tumors, infectious diseases, poisoning; the fifth is an analogue of the pharmacopoeia and contains a description of complex drugs - powders, tablets, pills, patches.

In total, the Canon contains a description of more than 2,600 medicinal drugs. In the 12th century, the “Canon” was translated into Latin and, after the invention of printing, became one of the first printed books in Europe, and then in Asia. In the Canon, Ibn Sina first suggested that a number of diseases are spread through water and air by tiny creatures, distinguished between cholera and plague, and described leprosy.

Ibn Sine There are separate treatises on medicinal preparations for heart, gastric and dental diseases. At the same time, the scientist draws attention to the individual susceptibility of patients to therapy.

He developed a system for testing medications by observing patients and conducting experiments. Ibn Sina writes works on physical therapy, prevention and correction of medical errors, stomach and intestinal colic.

The great physician was the first to separate pleurisy and pneumonia, describe stomach ulcers and diabetes, identify the symptoms of meningitis, discover the true muscles of the eye and prove the role of the retina in visual perception.

Ibn Sina insisted on the prevention of diseases from childhood, in which he was the forerunner of pediatrics.

Being demanding of himself and his students, he described how he sees a real doctor: kind, selfless, honest, taciturn, inspiring trust and sympathy. " A doctor must have the eyes of a falcon, the hands of a girl, the wisdom of a snake and the heart of a lion.", - said Ibn Sina, representing a living example of love for people and service to the ideals of science.

Based on materials from the book " History of Medicine and Surgery », M. B. Mirsky, 2010.

Prepared Makhach Gitinovasov

Avicenna (Ibn Sina). Biography

Ibn Sina - interesting biography facts.There are no hopeless patients. There are only hopeless doctors
Avicenna
His name is Ibn Sina, but in Europe they call him Avicenna. Not a villain, not a hero. One might say: an intellectual miracle. And his life is like looking through the pages of 1001 Nights. He was born in 980 and died in 1037. Traveled a lot, lived in different places. He died somewhere in Iran, and was buried there. What made this man famous in history?
A great physician, who can be compared with Galen and Hippocrates, an outstanding naturalist on the level of Galileo, mathematician, physicist, chemist, specialist in animal physiology. He also studied music theory, and his knowledge of this was useful during the Renaissance. It is difficult to list all his talents. Sometimes nature reveals its miracles so that people do not forget about its power, and then people like Avicenna are born.
Michelangelo said that “it is better to be wrong in supporting Galen and Avicenna than to be right in supporting others.” Such an assessment, rather of a moral nature, from the lips of a great humanist is worth a lot. Experts are arguing about the number of Avicenna’s works, with the numbers cited being both 90 and 456.
He is probably credited with forgeries and imitations—talents are always imitated. The most brilliant of his books is “The Canon of Medical Science.” But other works also went down in history and became classics - “The Book of Salvation”, “The Book of Knowledge”, “The Book of Instructions and Notes”, “The Book of Fair Trials”...
He was a harbinger of humanism, for his teaching about man is the teaching about the unity of body and soul. And when - in the 11th century! Avicenna usually wrote in Arabic. But this does not mean at all that he is part of Arab culture. Probably from his very birth he belonged to the whole world, his works became the property of all civilizations.
And yet to this day they argue whose it is. Turkestan, on the territory of which he was born, Uzbekistan, Turkey - all these countries consider Avicenna their heritage. The monograph “Ibn Sina - the Great Turkish Scientist” was published relatively recently in Turkey. The Persians respond by saying: “He is ours. He is buried with us. He was at the courts of the emirs." His presence is also felt in European culture - there have been rumors about him since the 12th century. This was a man of worldwide fame. And that's how it remains today. When the millennium since his birth was celebrated in the 50s of the 20th century, the whole world took part in the celebration. Huge volumes have been written about him, scientists still use his thoughts, and ordinary people learn wisdom from him.
How do we know about a person who lived more than 1000 years ago? From himself and his beloved student. And this, it seems to skeptics, gives rise to doubts about his genius. Completely groundless skepticism! Because rumor, starting from the 11th century, carefully preserved the memory of his talents, which gave reason to call him a brilliant scientist. Avicenna’s own story about himself and his childhood has survived to this day. The rest was completed by Ubayd al-Jurjani, his favorite student, who spent more than 20 years of his life with him.

He accompanied his teacher, because Avicenna was an endless wanderer. Without staying anywhere for long, he walked along the earth, trying to see, learn and understand as much as possible. The humming, exciting, stupefying colors, smells, sounds, unconsciously changing life attracted him, becoming not only torment, joy or sadness, but also a subject of study. He looked at her as if under a magnifying glass and saw what others did not see. Let's try to understand why such a miracle as Avicenna could appear in the 10th century.
Let us recall that the 10th century is the time of the baptism of Rus', on the throne is Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the fourth Russian prince. And there, in the East, is the Renaissance. What was being revived? Yes, about the same as in Europe during the Carolingian Renaissance of the 9th-10th centuries. Then, at the court of Charlemagne, at the court of the German Ottonian emperors, for the first time after the wars and chaos of the Great Migration, the intellectual elite turned to the sources of their culture, to antiquity, to manuscripts - Greek, Roman.
And approximately the same thing happened in the East. In the cultural context that gave birth to Avicenna, local traditions intertwined with the ancient heritage, forming a special Hellenistic version of a synthetic culture. Avicenna was born near Bukhara.
It is known that through these places, a little to the north, a great Alexander the Great . It was in Sogdiana that he arranged the famous 10,000 marriages of his generals and warriors with local eastern women. It is curious that only Seleucus, one of the Macedonian’s associates, preserved his marriage and it was he who received the largest part of the power. This Seleucid power became in the 4th century BC. e. bearer of Hellenistic culture, having absorbed antiquity.
Since 64 AD e. these regions became a Roman province. And Rome, as you know, is the direct heir of ancient Greek or Hellenistic culture. From the 3rd century, the Eastern Roman Empire began to form - Byzantium, which was in close trade and cultural interaction with the East. Thus, various cultural roots were intertwined, but it turned out that they were all influenced by antiquity. As a result, it was here that the origins of the future Eastern Renaissance turned out to be.
Avicenna was not alone. The Persian East is the birthplace of Ferdowsi, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki. In fact, there were many outstanding and famous people in poetry, literature, architecture and medicine.

. . .

Avicenna (his full name is Abu Ali al-Hussein ibn Abdallah ibn Sina) is born into a wealthy family. Father, Adallah ibn Hassan, was a tax collector. Not the most respected profession, so to speak, a publican. But at the same time he is rich, educated, and apparently not stupid. It is known that Avicenna’s father died a natural death; no one killed him or stabbed him to death for his crimes. Mother Sitara (which means “star”) comes from a small village near Bukhara, Afshana. Avicenna was born in this village. So a star gave birth to a star.
His native language was Farsi-Dari, the language of the local population of Central Asia. In Farsi, he wrote quatrains - ghazals, as they were called in the East - as he put it, for “rest of the soul.”
The town where he was born was lively, with a large noisy bazaar, where a lot of people flocked. There were hospitals and a school where the boy probably began studying at the age of five, because by the age of 10 it became clear that he had nothing to do at school. There they studied languages ​​- Farsi and Arabic, grammar, stylistics, poetics, the Koran, which Avicenna had memorized by the age of 10. This was the so-called humanities class. The boy has not yet begun to study mathematics, much less medicine. Later he would say: “Medicine is a very easy science, and by the age of 16 I had mastered it completely.”
Of course, it is possible to doubt his words - you never know what a person says about himself? But the emir himself calls 17-year-old Avicenna to court, asking him to be healed of a serious illness. And Avicenna actually helped him. He was an extraordinary boy.
In his father's house, learned people, Ismailis, representatives of one of the movements in Islam, gathered. Their reasoning was very similar to heresy, and later they were recognized as heretics. They wanted to cleanse the Koran of ignorant layers, calling on philosophy to help. Dangerous occupation. Little Avicenna was present at these conversations, but as he grew up, he did not accept the Ismaili way of thinking. But his brother was carried away by these views. Avicenna officially remained within the framework of orthodox Islam, although he was never orthodox.
So, by the age of 10, he didn’t have much to do at school. And now - a happy occasion! The father learns that the famous scientist of those times, Patolli, is coming to Bukhara, immediately went to him and persuades him to settle in his house. He promises to feed him, keep him well and, in addition, pay him a salary on the condition that the scientist will study with the boy. Patolli gave his consent, and classes began.
Avicenna himself said very accurately about his years of study: “I was the best of the questioners.” And again you can trust him, classes with Patolli confirm this. Very soon the student began asking the gray-bearded teacher questions that he could no longer answer. And soon Patolli himself began to turn to Avicenna, to little Hussein, for clarification of the most difficult passages from Euclid and Ptolemy, and they were already looking for answers together.
At the age of 15-16, the young man began to study on his own. He was puzzled by Aristotle’s book “Metaphysics,” which there, in distant Central Asia, was translated into several languages ​​and commented on several times. Avicenna said that he could not comprehend this book, although, after reading it many times, he was almost able to learn it by heart. Judging by his stories, and later by the recollections of his students, reading and writing were the main activities of his life, and he enjoyed them, showing the type of the highest intellectual that humanity at times produces.
The young man learned about Aristotle’s work absolutely by accident. Once at the market, Avicenna himself says, when he was carefully sorting through scrolls, books, manuscripts, a bookseller suddenly said to him: “Take this wonderful work, a commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics by a certain Farabi, an eastern thinker, philosopher. Look what a treasure this is."
The young man grabbed this book; it was what he subconsciously wanted to find. Avicenna was amazed; what he himself had struggled with in vain was revealed to him. It was then that he called Aristotle his teacher, was imbued with his ideas about the world, the thought of the unity and integrity of being, consciousness and spirit, and accepted Aristotle’s ideas about the form of our earth, its structure.
And the 16-year-old boy began to study... medicine. Of course, Aristotle’s Metaphysics did not directly push him towards this, but indirectly, yes. Perhaps Aristotle’s thought about the unity of the material, bodily and spiritual turned out to be decisive for Avicenna, so important that it led him to the work of his whole life.
When Avicenna was able to cure the Emir of Bukhara, he allowed him to use his library. It should be noted that Avicenna treated for free, and there was no reward more valuable to him. Books, manuscripts and scrolls were stored in chests, each containing one subject or science. And these chests occupied many rooms. There was talk in the city that he had simply gone crazy with happiness.
In his memoirs, Avicenna wrote that he “saw books that no one else saw later.” Why? The library quickly burned down. And evil tongues spread rumors that it was he, Avicenna, who burned the library so that no one else would read these books and could compare with him in wisdom. It's hard to think of anything more stupid! Books were sacred to him. How could he burn them!
From the age of 18, Avicenna absolutely consciously devoted his life to science. He wrote a lot, and his fame grew stronger. At the age of 20, he was invited to permanent service with the Khorezm Shah Mamun II in Khorezm. Mamun II was one of the best representatives of the powers that be and, of course, the best of those whom Avicenna met on his way. This ruler can be compared, perhaps, with Lorenzo the Magnificent. He also gathered prominent people at court, invited them from everywhere and did not skimp on money, considering the development of culture and science to be of paramount importance.
He, like Lorenzo, created a circle called the Mamun Academy. There were constant debates in which many took part, including Biruni, but Avicenna usually won. His fame grew, he worked hard, he was revered, recognizing his authority in everything. He was happy.
And here a fatal figure appeared on his life horizon - Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, the creator of the Ghazni Sultanate. By origin, he was from among the ghulams, the name given to slave-warriors of Turkic origin. This is truly from slave filth to great riches! Such people are distinguished by special arrogance, heightened ambition, self-will, and promiscuity. Having learned that the flower of culture was gathered in Bukhara, Mahmud wished that this entire scientific circle would be given to him. The ruler of Khorezm received an order: “Immediately send all scientists to me” - there, to Persia, to present-day Iran - it was impossible to disobey.
And then the ruler of Khorezm said to the poets and scientists: “Leave, run with the caravan, I can’t help you with anything else...” Avicenna and his friend secretly fled from Khorezm at night, deciding to cross the Karakum desert. What courage, what despair! For what? So as not to serve Mahmud, so as not to humiliate himself and show: scientists do not jump on command like trained monkeys.
In the desert, his friend dies of thirst - unable to survive the transition. Avicenna was able to survive. Now he is back in Western Iran. A certain Emir Qabus, himself a brilliant poet who had gathered around himself a remarkable literary constellation, joyfully received Avicenna. How similar are the figures of the Renaissance to each other, whether in Italy or in the East! For them, the main thing is the life of the spirit, creativity, and the search for truth. In a new place, Avicenna began to write his greatest work, “The Canon of Medical Science.” He lived in a house bought for him - it would seem that this is happiness!
However, the thirst for a change of place, the passion for travel, for novelty drove him all his life from places familiar and calm. Eternal wanderer! He left again, again began to wander through the lands of what is now Central Iran. Why didn't you stay with Qaboos? Among your own circle of people, in your own home, without knowing need and persecution?
Around 1023 he stops in Hamadan (Central Iran). Having cured another emir of a stomach disease, he received a good “fee” - he was appointed vizier, minister-adviser. It seems like what else can you dream of! But nothing good came of it.
The fact is that he treated his service honestly, carefully delved into details and, as an extremely smart and educated person, began to make real proposals for transforming the system of government and even the army - that’s what’s amazing! But Avicenna’s proposals turned out to be absolutely unnecessary for the emir’s entourage. They had their own defense ministers! Intrigues began to weave among the courtiers. Envy and anger appeared - after all, the doctor is always so close to the ruler!
Things began to take a bad turn, and it became clear that he was in danger. For some time he hid with friends, but he could not avoid arrest. And then the ruler changed, and the son of the new ruler wanted to have Avicenna around him - his fame was very great, and his practical medical skills were well known. He spent four months in prison. His imprisonment was not hopelessly difficult; he was allowed to write. Having been released, he, together with his brother and his devoted student, again set out on the road. And he ended up in the depths of Persia, Isfahan.
Isfahan is the largest city of the time with a population of about 100,000 people, noisy, beautiful and vibrant. Avicenna spent many years there, becoming a close associate of Emir Alla Addaul. Again he is surrounded by a cultural environment, debates are held again, and a relatively calm life flows again. Here he works a lot, writes a lot; in terms of volume, most of his work was written in Isfahan. Students say that he could work all night long, occasionally refreshing himself with a glass of wine. A Muslim who invigorates his brain with a glass of wine...
Avicenna was in a hurry. As a doctor and a sage, he knew that he had little time left to live and therefore hurried. What he comprehended then, in those ancient times, seems incredible. For example, he wrote about the role of the retina in the visual process, about the functions of the brain as a center where nerve threads converge, about the influence of geographical and meteorological conditions on human health. Avicenna was convinced that there were invisible carriers of diseases. But with what vision could he see them? Which one?
He spoke about the possibility of the spread of infectious diseases through the air, described diabetes, and for the first time distinguished smallpox from measles. Even just listing what he did is amazing. At the same time, Avicenna composed poetry and wrote several philosophical works, where he posed the problem of the relationship between the material and the corporeal. Avicenna's poetry very succinctly expresses his desire to see the world as one, holistic. Here is his quatrain translated from Farsi:

“The earth is the body of the universe, the soul of which is the Lord. And people and angels together give sensual flesh. Particles match the bricks, the world is made entirely of them. Unity, that is perfection. Everything else in the world is a lie."

What amazing, deep and serious thoughts! And how sinful they are. He understood God in his own way. God is the creator, He created this world. And here, as Avicenna believed, His mission ended. To think that the Lord daily monitors the petty vanity of people and takes part in their lives is barbaric. The ancient Greeks were convinced of this. But Avicenna also expresses an even more heretical thought: the creation of God was destined by some super-divine power. What kind of power is this? What did Avicenna mean?
Maybe even then he was thinking about space? Such deep thoughts were characteristic of people like him.
After Avicenna managed to escape through the desert, he hid from Sultan Mahmud for a long time. The ruler persistently searched for the fugitive and even sent out 40 copies of something like a leaflet or an order with a drawing depicting Avicenna. And judging by what was able to be reconstructed from his skull, he was handsome, without any particularly pronounced oriental, Asian or European features. Mahmud was never able to bring back Avicenna (Ibn Sina).
Sultan Mahmud's successor Masud Ghaznavi in ​​1030 sent his army to Isfahan, where Avicenna was, and carried out a complete pogrom there. Avicenna experienced a real tragedy: his house was destroyed, many of his works were lost. In particular, the work in 20 parts “The Book of Justice” disappeared forever. This was one of his last books. Perhaps it contained his final, deepest thoughts. But we, apparently, will never know about them.
The circumstances of his personal life will not be known to us either - there is no mention of this in the memoirs of students or simply contemporaries. He wrote poems about women, praising beauty, harmony and perfection. And it's all.
Avicenna (Ibn Sina) died on a military campaign, accompanying the emir and benefactor of his Alla Addaul. As a doctor, he knew that his body had exhausted itself, although he was only 57 years old. Previously, he had treated himself and healed himself many times. This time Avicenna knew that he was dying, and therefore told his students: “Treatment is useless.” He was buried in Hamadan, where his tomb is preserved. In the 50s of the 20th century it was rebuilt. Here are the words of Avicenna before his death, transmitted to us, descendants, by his students:

“We die in full consciousness and take with us only one thing: the consciousness that we have learned nothing.”

And this was said by a man who enthusiastically devoted his entire life, energy, youth and health to knowledge.

N. Basovskaya
ed. storm777.ru

known in the west as Avicenna; Persian. ابو علی حسین بن عبدالله بن سینا‎

medieval Persian scientist, philosopher and doctor, representative of Eastern Aristotelianism; was the court physician of the Samanid emirs and Daylemite sultans, and for some time was the vizier in Hamadan; the most famous and influential philosopher-scientist of the medieval Islamic world

Avicenna Ibn Sina

short biography

Ibn Sina Abu Ali Hussein ibn Abdallah, also known as Avicenna(this is his Latinized name) - a famous Arab doctor, philosopher, follower of Aristotle, encyclopedist - was born in the village of Aftana near Bukhara on August 16, 980. Avicenna’s life path is well known, since he himself described the first 30 years of his life in his autobiography, then his work was continued by a student.

Hussein's incredible talent was already noticeable in childhood. By the age of 10, he could recite the Koran by heart. His father, an official, gave him a primary education, after which Ibn Sina was sent to school to study Muslim jurisprudence. Despite the fact that he was the youngest, the elders did not consider it shameful to approach him, a 12-year-old teenager, for advice. A little later, Hussein turned to the study of secular sciences: philosophy, medicine, literature, mathematics, history, astronomy, etc. And if earlier he studied with teachers, then from the age of 14 he switched to independent studies. At the age of 20, he was considered a famous scientist, and as a doctor he became famous even earlier: at the age of 16 he received an invitation from the Emir of Bukhara to act as his doctor.

When Bukhara was taken by the Turks and the Samanid dynasty fell, in 1002 Ibn Sina moved to Gurganj, the capital of Khorezm, where he was given the nickname “prince of doctors.” A turning point in Avicenna’s biography occurred in 1008: the famous healer refused the invitation of Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi to serve him, after which he had to exchange a quiet, prosperous life for many years of wandering around Tabaristan and Khorasan, serving as the court physician of various Persian princes.

During 1015-1023. his place of residence was Hamadan. Avicenna not only was engaged in his direct activities, science, but also actively participated in the political life of the emirate and in government affairs. The grateful patient, Emir Shams ad-Dawla, even made him his vizier, which is why some influential military men took up arms against Ibn Sina. They demanded that the emir kill the doctor, but he limited himself to expelling him, although soon due to illness he was forced to hastily search for and give him a ministerial position.

Emir Ala ad-Dawl was Avicenna's overlord for the last 14 years of his life (1023-1037); the famous healer was not only the chief physician, but also an adviser, and went on military campaigns with the emir. In Isfahan, his studies in science were encouraged in every possible way.

Avicenna's legacy included more than 450 works devoted to 29 areas of scientific knowledge, including philosophy, geology, history, grammar, poetics, chemistry, etc. Only slightly less than 300 works have survived to this day. During his lifetime, Ibn Sina more than once heard theologians accused of atheism and heretical thoughts, but this could not overshadow the enormous influence that his treatises had on the minds of his contemporaries.

Avicenna’s main philosophical work is considered to be the “Book of Healing,” consisting of sections devoted to physics, metaphysics, mathematics and logic. For many years he worked on the “Canon of Medicine,” a 5-part medical encyclopedia that brought him worldwide fame. In this work he systematized the theory and practice of doctors in Central Asia, India, Greece, Rome; for several centuries in the East and on the European continent, doctors had to study it without fail. Classical Iranian literature was significantly influenced by Avicenna's literary work.

A talented doctor and scientist died on June 18, 1037 from a serious disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which he could not cope with. According to his will, his property was intended for the poor, and all slaves were to be freed. Ibn Sina was first buried near the city wall of Hamadan, and less than a year later the remains were buried in Isfahan, the mausoleum of the emir.

Biography from Wikipedia

From an early age, the boy showed exceptional abilities and talent. By the age of ten, he knew almost the entire Koran by heart. He was then sent to study Muslim jurisprudence at school, where he was the youngest. But soon even the oldest of the school’s students appreciated the boy’s intelligence and knowledge and came to him for advice, although Hussein had only just turned 12 years old. Later, he studied logic and philosophy, geometry and astronomy under the guidance of the scientist Abu Abdallah Natili, who came to Bukhara. At the age of 14, the young man began to study independently. Geometry, astronomy, and music came easily to him until he became acquainted with Aristotle’s Metaphysics. In his autobiography, he mentioned that he read this work several times, but could not understand it. Al-Farabi’s book with comments on “Metaphysics” helped in this.

At the age of 16, Ibn Sina was invited to treat the Emir of Bukhara himself. In his autobiography, Avicenna wrote: “I began studying medicine, supplementing my reading with observations of patients, which taught me many treatment techniques that cannot be found in books.”

After the capture of Bukhara by the Turks and the fall of the Samanid dynasty in 1002, Ibn Sina went to Urgench, to the court of the rulers of Khorezm. Here they began to call him “the prince of doctors.” In 1008, after Ibn Sina refused to enter the service of Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi, a prosperous life gave way to years of wandering. He wrote some works in the saddle during his long journeys.

In 1015-1024 lived in Hamadan, combining scientific activity with a very active participation in the political and government affairs of the emirate. For the successful treatment of Emir Shams ad-Dawla, he received the post of vizier, but made enemies in military circles. The emir rejected the military's demand to put Ibn Sina to death, but decided to remove him from his post and send him outside his domain. Forty days later, the emir suffered another attack of illness, which forced him to find the scientist and re-appoint him as his minister.

After the death of the emir, for attempting to go into the service of the ruler of Isfahan, he was imprisoned in a fortress for four months. The last fourteen years of his life (1023-1037) he served in Isfahan at the court of Emir Ala ad-Dawla, where favorable conditions were created for him for scientific activity. He was the chief physician and adviser to the emir, accompanying him even on military campaigns. During these years, Ibn Sina, spurred by criticism of his style, turned to the study of literature and philology. He also continued his fruitful scientific work. Completed the “Canon of Medical Science”. Many manuscripts of works, including the “Book of Justice” (“Kitab ul-insaf”) were burned during the attack on Isfahan by the Ghazni army. During one of the military campaigns of the ruler of Isfahan, Ibn Sina developed a severe stomach illness, from which he could not cure himself. Ibn Sina died in June 1037, having dictated his will to a stranger before his death. In his will, he instructed to release all his slaves, rewarding them, and to distribute all his property to the poor.

Avicenna was buried in Hamadan near the city wall, and eight months later his ashes were transported to Isfahan and reburied in the emir’s mausoleum.

Ibn Sina was a scientist obsessed with the spirit of research and the desire for an encyclopedic coverage of all modern branches of knowledge. The philosopher was distinguished by his phenomenal memory and sharpness of thought.

Heritage

Book of Healing

The encyclopedic work “The Book of Healing” (“Kitab al-Shifa”), written in Arabic, is dedicated to logic, physics, biology, psychology, geometry, arithmetic, music, astronomy, as well as metaphysics. The Book of Knowledge (Danish-name) is also an encyclopedia.

Works on medicine

The main medical works of Ibn Sina:

Health-improving exercises

Ibn Sina wrote in his work about the role and place of physical exercise in health and medical practice. He gave a definition of physical exercise - voluntary movements leading to continuous, deep breathing.

He argued that if a person exercises moderately and in a timely manner and follows the regimen, then he does not need any treatment or medication. Having stopped these activities, he withers away. Physical exercise strengthens muscles, ligaments, and nerves. He advised taking age and health into account when practicing. He spoke about massage, hardening with cold and hot water.

Chemistry

In the field of chemistry, Ibn Sina discovered the process of distillation of essential oils. He knew how to extract hydrochloric, sulfuric and nitric acids, potassium and sodium hydroxides.

Astronomy

In astronomy, Ibn Sina criticized Aristotle's ideas that stars reflect light from the Sun, arguing that stars glow with their own light, but believed that the planets also glow themselves. Claimed that he observed the passage of Venus across the disk of the Sun on May 24, 1032. However, modern scientists doubt that he could have observed this passage at the indicated time in the indicated place. He used this observation to argue that Venus, at least sometimes, is closer to the Earth than the Sun in Ptolemaic cosmology.

Ibn Sina also wrote the Compendium of the Almagest, with commentaries on the book of Ptolemy.

While in Gurgan, Ibn Sina wrote a treatise on determining the longitude of this city. Ibn Sina was unable to use the method used by Abu-l-Wafa and al-Biruni, and proposed a new method consisting of measuring the culmination height of the Moon and comparing it with the height in Baghdad by calculations according to the rules of spherical trigonometry.

In “The Book on the Method Preferred to Other Methods in the Construction of an Observational Instrument,” Ibn Sina described the observational instrument he invented, which in his opinion was supposed to replace the astrolabe; This instrument used the vernier principle for the first time to refine measurements.

Mechanics

Ibn Sina made a significant contribution to the development of the theory of invested (or imprinted) force - a medieval theory of motion, according to which the cause of the movement of thrown bodies is a certain force (later called impetus) invested in them by an external source. In his opinion, the “engine” (a human hand, a bow string, a sling, etc.) imparts a certain “drive” to a moving body (stone, arrow), similar to how fire transfers heat to water. Gravity can also act as a motor.

“Striving” is of three types: mental (in living beings), natural and violent. “Natural tendency” is the result of the action of gravity and is manifested in the fall of the body, that is, in the natural movement of the body, in accordance with Aristotle. In this case, “aspiration” can exist even in a motionless body, manifesting itself in resistance to immobility. “Violent desire” is an analogue of the Philoponian driving force - it is communicated to the abandoned body by its “engine”. As the body moves, the “violent desire” decreases due to the resistance of the environment, and as a result, the speed of the body tends to zero. In emptiness, the “violent desire” would not change, and the body could perform perpetual motion. This could be seen as an anticipation of the concept of inertia, but Avicenna did not believe in the existence of emptiness. Ibn Sina tried to quantify the “violent desire”: in his opinion, it is proportional to the weight and speed of the body.

It is possible that Ibn Sina's ideas about invested force became known in the Latin West and contributed to the further development of the theory of impetus by Buridan and other scholastics.

Philosophy

In understanding the subject of metaphysics, Ibn Sina followed Aristotle. Following Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina distinguishes between a possible being, existing thanks to another, and an absolutely necessary being, existing thanks to itself. Ibn Sina affirms the coeternity of the world with the Creator. Ibn Sina explained creation in eternity with the help of the Neoplatonic concept of emanation, thus justifying the logical transition from the original unity to the plurality of the created world. However, unlike Neoplatonism, he limited the process of emanation to the world of the celestial spheres, considering matter not as the final result of the descent of the One, but as a necessary element of any possible existence. The cosmos is divided into three worlds: the material world, the world of eternal uncreated forms, and the earthly world in all its diversity. The individual soul forms a single substance with the body, ensuring the holistic resurrection of a person; the bearer of philosophical thinking is a specific body predisposed to receiving a rational soul. Absolute truth can be realized through intuitive vision, which is the culmination of the thinking process.

Ibn Sina’s mystical works include “The Book of Birds”, “The Book of Love”, “The Book of the Essence of Prayer”, “The Book of the Meaning of Pilgrimage”, “The Book of Deliverance from the Fear of Death”, “The Book of Predestination”.

Criticism

There was a sharp struggle around Avicenna’s philosophical views between supporters and opponents of his ideas.

Sufis sharply opposed the rationalism of Ibn Sina, blaming his philosophy for not allowing man to get closer to God. Nevertheless, many of the Sufis adopted Avicenna's philosophical method and his idea of ​​​​the evolutionary nature of the stages of emanation along the line of ascension.

Muhammad Al-Ghazali in his famous book “Refutation of the Philosophers” tried to refute the philosophy of Ibn Sina in all aspects. He opposed the doctrine of the primordial and eternity of the world and its attributes, since this, according to Al-Ghazali, leads to dualism, which contradicts the monotheism of Islam. Al-Ghazali also rejects the principle of emanation, according to which God creates the world not of his own will, but due to natural necessity. He also did not share the ideas put forward by Ibn Sina about causality and the impossibility of bodily resurrection.

Later, the line of Al-Ghazali was continued by the 12th century thinkers Muhammad Shahrastani in his work “Kitab al-Musaraa” and Fakhruddin Razi. Ibn Rushd defended the ideas of Eastern Peripatetism in the 12th century in his book “Refutation of a Refutation.” Subsequently, the views of Ibn Sina were defended by Nasir ad-Din al-Tusi.

Psychology

Ibn Sina also developed his own teaching about human temperament and character. According to his teaching, human nature is divided into four simple types: hot, cold, wet and dry (which in modern psychology corresponds to the four temperaments). These natures are not stable, but change under the influence of internal and external factors, such as meteorological conditions and the change of seasons. Changes in body fluids can also adjust nature in the appropriate direction. In addition to simple natures, Avicenna distinguished four more complex natures depending on the prevalence of one of the four body fluids (blood, mucus, yellow or black bile).

Literature

Ibn Sina wrote many serious scientific works in the form of poems using quatrains. “Treatise on Love”, “Treatise on Birds” and some other works were written in this form. Among his works there are also lyrical poetic works - quatrains and rubai.

• When you approach the ignorant arrogantly,
• Be an exemplary donkey among false sages:
• They have such an abundance of donkey traits,
• That the one who is not an ass is considered an infidel among them.

• It’s bad when you start to regret what you did,
• Before you, lonely one, get tired of the world.
• Do today what you can do,
• For it is possible that tomorrow you will not get up again.

• My friend was next to my enemy today.
• I don’t need sugar that was mixed with poison!
• I should not be friends with such a friend in the future:
• Run from the moth when he was with the reptile!

The main literary works of Ibn Sina are the philosophical story-allegory “Hay ibn Yaqzan”, a poem of twenty couplets “Bird”, “Salaman and Absal”. These works and rubai influenced the development of Arabic, Iranian and Turkic literature. In particular, he called Ibn Sina his teacher..

Publication of essays

• Ibn Sina. Danish-name. Book of knowledge. - Stalinabad, 1957.
• Ibn Sina. Canon of medical science: In 5 volumes - Tashkent, 1956-1960.
• Ibn Sina. Mathematical chapters of the Book of Knowledge. - Dushanbe, 1967.
• Ibn Sina. A message of love. - Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1976.
• Ibn Sina. Favorites. - M.: Book, 1980.
• Ibn Sina. Selected philosophical works. - M.: Nauka, 1980.
• Al-Biruni, Ibn Sina. Correspondence. - Tashkent: Fan, 1973.

Music

Avicenna also wrote works on music theory, which are parts of his encyclopedic works:

• "The Code of Science of Music" in The Book of Healing;
• "A Summary of Music" in The Book of Salvation;
• section on music in the Book of Knowledge.

From a theoretical point of view, Ibn Sina, according to medieval tradition, classified music as a mathematical science. He defined it as a science that studies sounds in their relationships and aims to establish rules for creating composition. Based on the teachings of Pythagoras, he believed that music is subordinate to numbers and is in close connection with them.

Ibn Sina is the first in history to provide a solid scientific basis for musical history, considering music from the standpoint of not only mathematics, but also sociology, psychology, poetics, ethics and physiology.

Ibn Sina, together with Al-Farabi, laid the foundation for the science of musical instruments, which was further developed in Europe at a much later time. He gives a detailed classification of the types of musical instruments and explains their structure. The sixth section of the “Book of Knowledge” contains the names of almost all existing instruments with their descriptions. The works of Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina on the study of musical instruments laid the foundations of instrumentation as a special field of musical science.

The great scientist is also the inventor of the gidzhak, a bowed instrument common in Central Asia.

Memory

The following streets are named after Ibn Sina:

• in Samarkand,
• in Bukhara,
• in Ust-Kamenogorsk,
• Ibn Sino street in Uch-Kurgan (Uzbekistan),
• Avicenna street in Donetsk.

ABU ALIIBN SINA(lat. Avicenna) (980–1037), encyclopedist scientist, doctor, philosopher. Born in Afshan near Bukhara on August 16, 980. Ibn Sina’s father, a Bukhara official, a native of Balkh, at that time the capital of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, gave his son a systematic home education, awakening in him a thirst for knowledge in his early years. Abu Ali soon surpassed his teachers and began independent study of physics, metaphysics and medicine, turning to the works of Euclid, Ptolemy and Aristotle. If Beginnings Euclid and Almagest Ptolemy did not cause the young Ibn Sina great difficulties, then Aristotle Metaphysics required considerable effort from him. He began reading up to forty times, but could not comprehend the depth of its content until he came across the work of al-Farabi at a bookseller's. On the goals of metaphysics, a commentary on the work of Aristotle. “I returned home,” says Ibn Sina in Biography, - and hastened to read it, and the purposes of the book were immediately revealed to me, since I knew it by heart.” During these same years, he wrote his first independent treatises and even entered into scientific correspondence and polemics with al-Biruni. In 1002–1005 he was in Khorezm, in the “Academy of Mamun” - a community of famous scientists. From 1008 he was forced to lead the life of a wanderer, dependent on the mercy and whims of emirs and sultans, and the consequences of palace intrigues. In 1030, during the attack on Isfahan by the governor of the Ghaznavid Sultan Masud, Ibn Sina's house was robbed and many of his works were lost. The hardships of a busy life undermined his health and on June 18, 1037 he died. He was buried in Hamadan (Northern Iran).

Ibn Sina's scientific heritage covers various fields of knowledge: philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, mineralogy, poetry, music, etc. The exact number of works belonging to him has not been established (up to 456 are attributed, including 23 in Farsi). The main work of Ibn Sina - Canon of medical science (Eve at-Tibb, written 1013–1021). This fundamental work, consisting of 5 volumes, collects information on pharmacology, gives a detailed description of the heart (first principle), liver (second principle), brain (also second principle), refutes the opinion that the source of vision is the lens, and proves that The image of an object is given by the retina. Avicenna establishes the differences between plague and cholera, pleurisy and pneumonia, describes leprosy, diabetes, stomach ulcers, etc.

An experienced surgeon, Ibn Sina gave a detailed anatomical description of man, but his special contribution was the study and description of the activities of the brain. Translated in the 12th century. into Latin Canon up to 17th century served as the main guide for European physicians.

Another essay covering different areas of knowledge has become equally popular - Book of Healing (Kitab ash-shifa), a significant part of which is Book about the soul. Entitled Liber de Anima it gained fame in Europe already in the mid-12th century, when it was translated into Latin by Dominic Gundisalvi. Currently, there are 50 manuscripts of the Latin translation, the first edition of which was carried out in Padua in 1485. In Farsi, Ibn Sina outlined his philosophical views in Book of knowledge (Danish-name). An essay summarizing his philosophical reflections - Directions and Instructions (al-Isharat wa-t-tanbihat), written around 1035–1036.

As a philosopher, Ibn Sina belonged to the direction of “falsafa”, Eastern Peripatetism. He did a lot to develop a philosophical dictionary in Arabic and Persian. Defending and developing Aristotle's philosophical system, Ibn Sina paid considerable attention in his works to logic, the doctrine of causality, the first cause, matter and form, cognition, categories, and principles of organization of thought and knowledge. In the teachings of Ibn Sina, there are always two approaches to describing the world: physical and metaphysical. When he argues as a “physicist,” he draws a picture of existence in the categories of movement, space, time, natural determinism, arranges existence in order from simple to complex, from inanimate to living, and ends with the most complex organism endowed with intelligence—man. In this picture, the mind is seen as closely connected with the body, with matter: “Souls arise when corporeal matter arises, suitable for the soul to use” ( Book about the soul). This matter is the brain, different parts of which correspond to different mental processes. “The storehouse of general feeling is the power of representation, and it is located in the front part of the brain. That is why when this part is damaged, the sphere of representation is disrupted. The storehouse of that which perceives an idea is a force called memory, and it is located at the back of the brain. The middle part of the brain is designed to be the seat of imaginative power.” Considering various mental states and phenomena: sleep, dreams, the ability of suggestion, predictions, prophecies, reflecting on sacraments and miracles, Ibn Sina called for “revealing the cause of all this, based on the laws of nature.”

When Ibn Sina reasoned as a metaphysician, he built a picture of the world, starting with the ultimate, most general concepts: the primary, directly given idea of ​​being and the concept of the One (first-one, God), which gives in the most general form an idea of ​​what exists and expresses the monistic (monotheistic) a view of existence as a whole. “The first has neither similarity nor opposition, nor genus, nor specific difference, nor definition. It cannot be pointed out except by means of gnosis ( Directions and Instructions).

The concept of a strictly ordered world, subject to the laws of determinism, is one of the central points of Avicenna's philosophy. The series of causal dependencies, ascending one to another generating causes ends with the first cause, which, being an active principle (will), releases its potentiality, as a result of which, mediated by a number of steps, a multiple created world arises. Solving the problem of not only the reality of the world, but also its independence from the Creator, Ibn Sina paid main attention to the topic of the possible and necessary. The main idea of ​​the Arabic-speaking Peripatetics is the idea of ​​a world potentially already contained in the One and, by virtue of this, coeternal with the Creator. Adhering to the peripatetic tradition in the doctrine of causality, Ibn Sina abandoned rigid determinism: the existence of the possible is not necessary in itself and becomes so as a result of a change in the will of the necessary being as the First Cause, giving rise to the subsequent series of beings and making them necessary. First, the Origin is the only thing that is initially necessary in itself. Everything else is derived from it and therefore only possible. But since there is a cause that realizes the possibility, the latter becomes in turn a necessity and, as such, a necessary cause of the next generation. Thus, the First Cause is only the first impetus; subsequently, the world of existence is determined by causal dependence within itself.

Another important point in Ibn Sina's philosophy is the doctrine of the soul. Noting the indispensable connection of the mind with bodily matter, Ibn Sina, unlike Aristotle, was also interested in the mind as a special, incorporeal substance that, existing in the body, is different from it and dominates it; it is not just a form existing in the bodily substratum, it is not attached to the body, but (in the terminology of Peripatetism) creates the human body as a creator, is the cause of the body. The “potential” mind, thanks to learning and mastering knowledge, becomes “actual”. Reaching the highest level, comprehending abstract forms, acquiring the power of “active” intellect, he becomes “acquired.” At this stage, the work of the mind can no longer depend on external impressions and even the state of the body; The connection with the body, with matter, rather interferes with thinking about thinking. Such a mind does not need to study intelligible beings - it comprehends them directly, intuitively. “In the acquired mind, human potency is already likened to the first principles of all things” ( About the soul). Man is a free, sovereign being. His mind is not only a receiver of external impressions, but also a purposeful subject, projecting ideas. Ibn Sina proved the independence of the mind from the body by its indivisibility, as well as the ability to act and even strengthen it when the activity of the body, feelings, etc. weakens. A striking argument in favor of the incorporeality of the mind is the introspective experience described by Ibn Sina, the image of the so-called “floating man.” “If you imagine that your essence was at once created with sound mind and perfect form, and suppose that its parts are hidden from view and the members do not touch, but are separated from each other and hang for some time in the open air, then you will find that it forgets about everything except the affirmation of his individuality”, which consists in the mind ( Directions and Instructions). In this experience, a person realizes that “I am I, even if I do not know that I have an arm, a leg or any other organ”, “I would remain me even if they did not exist” ( About the soul). As a non-corporeal soul, it is immortal; as an intracorporeal soul, it is individual, and, moreover, forever (the concept of individual immortality). Accordingly, a person’s knowledge of himself (introspection) is irreducibly individual. Ibn Sina’s understanding of reason and forms of knowledge was influenced by Sufism and personal experience of “tariqa” (the Sufi path to God). This was reflected in his purely “Sufi” writings: Treatise on Haya, son of Yakzan, Message about birds, Salman and Absal and etc.

Interesting facts from the lives of the greats. Illustrated history.

Avicenna - the first famous doctor

Abu Ali Hussein ibn Abdallah ibn Sina (Europeans call him Avicenna) was born on August 16, 980 in the 10th century in the village. Afshana not far from Bukhara (the territory belonged to the Arab Caliphate). Now in the village of Afshana there is a museum of Ibn Sina.

Researchers have calculated that Avicenna excelled in 29 branches of knowledge. He successfully studied medicine and poetry, philosophy and astronomy, logic and mathematics.

But most people rightly consider him the greatest doctor in history. According to one version, the term “medicine” comes from the Latinized “madad Sina” (translated as healing from Sina) or from the abbreviated “Sina method”.

Avicenna's main work, The Canon of Medicine, the most widely circulated publication after the Bible, was the main medical manual in both the East and the West until the 17th century.

When Avicenna turned 17, his fame as a doctor was already so great that the young man was invited to treat the sick Emir of Bukhara. The emir recovered and promised any reward for his services. The young man replied that he did not need anything other than permission to use the emir’s unique library. A few years later the library burned down. A young doctor was accused of setting the library on fire - they said that Avicenna wanted to prevent anyone from reading the ancient books and becoming as wise.

The founder of pulse diagnostics. One of the legends tells about the miraculous healing of the daughter of a Bukhara merchant. The girl was melting before our eyes from some strange illness. All doctors were powerless. Then the merchant invited Avicenna, who took the girl by the wrist and began to list the streets of Bukhara. Then he asked to bring a list of the names of those who lived on a certain street. At the mention of one of them, the girl's face turned pink. So, from the pulse, the scientist learned the name of her lover, about whom she was afraid to tell her father, since he would never agree to their marriage. It was these experiences that brought her to the brink of death.

Avicenna was the first to draw attention to the contagiousness of smallpox, defined the difference between cholera and plague, introduced the term epilepsy, described leprosy and jaundice, analyzed the causes, symptoms and methods of treating meningitis, stomach ulcers and others, argued the hypothesis that many diseases arise under the influence of negative emotions. Avicenna could diagnose and cure 2,000 different ailments.

He paid attention to the psychological factor in the treatment of diseases. He said to his patient: “There are three of us: me, you and your illness. Whose side you take will win.”

Whoever has the will and a strong spirit will overcome any illness.
The disease will recede before the proud, before the fearless, the rebellious...

During his lifetime, Ibn Sina was awarded such high titles as Leader among the Sages (Al-Sheikh Al-Rais), Pride of the Country (Sharaf-ul-Mulk), Great Healer (Khakami Buzurg).

Avicenna died in Hamadan (Iran) on June 18, 1037. Before his death, the scientist left a will in which he ordered to distribute all his property to the poor and set his servants free.

Everything in the world will be covered with the dust of oblivion!
Only two know neither death nor decay:
Only the work of a hero and the speech of a sage
Centuries will pass without knowing the end.
Both the sun and the storms - everything will bravely withstand
A high word and a good deed...

Avicenna's burial site became a place of pilgrimage. People believe that even one touch of a tombstone can cure any disease.

People were so confident in Avicenna's omnipotence that they believed he had discovered the secret of immortality. Before his death, he prepared 40 potions and dictated the rules for their use to his most faithful student. After the death of Ibn Sina, the student began to revive, noticing with excitement how the weak body of the old man gradually turned into the blooming body of a young man, breathing appeared, and his cheeks turned pink. There was one last medicine that needed to be poured into the mouth and it would consolidate the life restored by previous drugs. The student was so amazed by the changes that had occurred that he dropped the last vessel. The saving mixture went deep into the earth and a few minutes later the decrepit body of the teacher lay in front of the student.

The painting “Homo sapiens” by artist Javon Umarbekov was painted for the anniversary of the great scientist. The artist thought for a long time about how to depict this outstanding personality, until he came up with the idea of ​​depicting famous scientists with whom Ibn Sina could be compared. After all, Ibn Sina traveled all his life, wanting to find people who shared his beliefs. In the picture next to the scientist are Aristotle, Navoi, Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Al-Beruni, Einstein, Omar Khayyam, Tsiolkovsky, Mendeleev. In the center of the picture is the image of Venus from Botticelli’s work “The Birth of Venus” as a symbol of the truth that Avicenna strived for all his life. In the picture, the eminent doctor holds a human skull in his left hand and seems to be asking himself, who are we? Where did you come from? Where are we going? An image symbolizing a lie whispers doubts into his ear, it is written in dark colors.

Avicenna is named after a minor planet and a mountain peak (formerly called Lenin Peak), the mineral aviacennite and a plant of the Acanthus family - avicennia. His face adorns the monetary unit of Tajikistan - the somoni.