Dr Fedor Benevich: Ibn Sina - the Philosopher's Philosopher from the Golden Age of Islam

MUSLIM INSTITUTE INAUGURAL ANNUAL IBN SINA LECTURES & ISLAMIC ART EXHIBITION
Friday 26 April 2024, Leeds Civic Hall, Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 1UR
Exhibition opens from 1pm to 7pm.
Lecture 5pm to 7pm. Followed by food.
Speaker: Dr Fedor Benevich (University of Edinburgh)
For tickets email [e-mail]
www.musliminstitute,org
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Sīnā (980-1037 CE) is amongst the most influential philosophers in history. Known in the Latin West under the name of Avicenna, Ibn Sīnā played a pivotal role in the history of philosophy and science within the Muslim world and beyond during the Golden Age of Islam.
Ibn Sīnā gained fame at a young age as a prodigy in philosophy and medicine. After serving as a physician at the courts of Isfahan and Hamadhan, he authored what is arguably the most important medieval book in medicine, the Canon of Medicine. Translated into Latin in the 12th century, it remained one of the most widely read sources on medicine until the early modern period. In the Islamic world, Ibn Sīnā became the main authority in medicine, replacing Galen in this role.
If, in medicine, Ibn Sīnā replaced Galen, then in philosophy, he did so with Aristotle. Before Ibn Sīnā, philosophy in the Islamic world was largely focused on reacting against and developing Aristotelian philosophy. After Ibn Sīnā, the spotlight shifted to his philosophy. Ibn Sīnā proposed a new system of metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and epistemology that significantly reformed Aristotelian philosophy, aligning it with the religious and intellectual realities of the Islamic world. This system largely defines Islamic philosophical thought up to the present day.
In this inaugural lecture, Dr Fedor Benevich, a leading scholar on Ibn Sina, will explore the life, works, and influence of Ibn Sīnā in the Islamic world. Was Ibn Sīnā’s lifestyle as extravagant as some later reports suggest? Which works of Ibn Sīnā should we read to gain a good grasp of his thought? How does Ibn Sīnā understand God, and what are his views on the immortality of human beings? These, along with other related questions, will be in the spotlight of this lecture.
Dr Fedor Benevich is Lecturer in Islamic Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He completed his PhD in Philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich) in 2016 under the supervision of Prof Peter Adamson, with the thesis titled “Essentiality and Necessity: Avicenna and the Aristotelian Tradition (in German).” This thesis was later published as a monograph (Brill, 2018).
Dr Benevich is the author of multiple articles and chapters on history of philosophy in the Islamic world, published in top Philosophy and Islamic studies journals. He is also a co-author of The Heirs of Avicenna: Philosophy in the Islamic East from the 12th to the 13th Century: Metaphysics and Theology (Brill, 2023). Dr Benevich’s current research focuses on the philosophy of Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), post-classical philosophy in the Islamic world, and the philosophy of kalām (Islamic philosophical theology).
The lecture will be followed by food and drink generously donated by My Lahore British Asian Kitchen.
Register your place: [e-mail]
Baig Collection Islamic Art Exhibition
Razwan Baig collection of Islamic artefacts, texts & calligraphy
To initiate the Ibn Sīnā lectures, the Muslim Institute in collaboration with the generosity of Razwan Baig, will exhibit rare and precious Islamic artefacts, Qur’ans and calligraphy. In Islam, various forms of artistic expression have been used to inspire believers towards devotion of God. This exhibition will provide a glimpse into the world of Islamic artefacts and calligraphy, showcasing a stunning variety of calligraphic forms over the last 1400 years and from a broad geographic expanse of the Muslim world. Mr Baig's private collection is one of the biggest collection of such items in the UK. Razwan Baig is a curator, a master calligrapher & Islamic Art designer.