- Hide caption Raphael's 'The School of Athens'. On the far left is Ibn Rushd, commonly known as Averroes, in a green robe and yellow turban. Previous Next Universal History Archive/Getty Images
- Hide caption 1890 Synnberg photo-gravure portrait of Averroes. Previous Next Library of Congress
- Hide caption Engraving from La-vie-des-savants-illustres-au-Moyen-Age by Louis Figuier, 1867, of Averroes banished by the Moroccan caliph for heresy. Previous Next Leemage Corbis/Getty Images
Today the foundations of philosophy are seen as a straight line from Western antiquity, built on thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. But, between the 8th century and 14th century, the West was greatly overshadowed by the Islamic world and philosophy was in very different hands. This week, how one Medieval Islamic philosopher put his pen to paper and shaped the modern world.
If you would like to read more about the topic:
- After Certainty: A History of Our Epistemic Ideals and Illusions by Robert Pasnau
- Averroes and His Philosophy by Oliver Leaman
- Averroes: His Life, Work and Influence by Majid Fakhry
- Averroes on Plato's Republic by Ibn Rushd
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