Work · Philosophy in the Islamic World
Hayy ibn Yaqzan
A child raised by a gazelle on an island discovers nature, God and the soul by reason alone.
Introduction
A philosophical tale in Arabic, framed as a letter to a friend who had asked about Avicenna’s “oriental philosophy”; the names Hayy ibn Yaqzan and Absal come from an allegory by Avicenna. The life of the island-dweller unfolds in stages of seven years, from bodily needs to astronomy, ethics and finally ecstatic vision. The book asks how far reason can go without teachers, language or revelation, and how philosophy relates to religion for the many. After Edward Pococke’s Latin translation of 1671 several English versions appeared, among them one by the Quaker George Keith (1674). Whether it influenced Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” is debated.
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Connections
Builds on
- The Book of Healing (Kitab al-Shifa)c. 1027 · Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
- The Regime of the Solitary (Tadbir al-mutawahhid)c. 1130 · Ibn Bajja (Avempace)
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