Reading Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan

by Avner Ben-Zaken

Commonly translated as "The Self-Taught Philosopher" or "The Improvement of Human Reason," Ibn-Tufayl's story "Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan" inspired debates about autodidacticism in a range of historical fields from classical Islamic philosophy through Renaissance humanism and the European Enlightenment. Avner Ben-Zaken's account of how the text traveled demonstrates the intricate ways in which autodidacticism was contested in and adapted to diverse cultural settings.

In tracing the circulation of the "Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan," Ben-Zaken highlights its key place in four far-removed historical moments. He explains how autodidacticism intertwined with struggles over mysticism in twelfth-century Marrakesh, controversies about pedagogy in fourteenth-century Barcelona, quarrels concerning astrology in Renaissance Florence, and debates pertaining to experimentalism in seventeenth-century Oxford. In each site and period, Ben-Zaken recaptures the cultural context that stirred scholars to relate to "Ḥayy Ibn-Yaqẓan" and demonstrates how the text moved among cultures, leaving in its wake translations, interpretations, and controversies as various as the societies themselves. Pleas for autodidacticism, Ben-Zaken shows, not only echoed within close philosophical discussions; they surfaced in struggles for control between individuals and establishments.

Presented as self-contained histories, these four moments together form a historical collage of autodidacticism across cultures from the late Medieval era to early modern times. The first book-length intellectual history of autodidacticism, this novel, thought-provoking work will interest a wide range of historians, including scholars of the history of science, philosophy, literature, Europe, and the Middle East.

Genres: Philosophy, Islam, History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 2010

Reviews

[ReemK10 (Paper Pills) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's see here. I was very interested in the subject matter, and this book by Avner Ben-Zaken helped explain the influence of Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan on autodidactism and the European enlightenment. Generally speaking, if I have underlined and made a lot of notations in the book, it means I got a lot out of it. This book was heavily marked.

Sapere Aude: Dare to know.



"The seminal empiricism Ibn Tufayl expressed in Hayy Ibn Yaqzan was rooted in both classical and Muslim sources. It helped inspire not only Narboni, della Mirandola, the Pocockes and Defoe, but also authors, philosophers and scientists who all drew on his and related ideas to debate and define modernity, up to the present."Tom Verde who writes an excellent review: http://www.aramcoworld.com/issue/2014...

[Celil · Rating 5 out of 5]

İşte bu kitap, İthaki'nin son yıllardaki ataklarının en güzeli oluyor. Az bilinen harika kitaplardan biri.

[Keith Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this like a mix of Robinson Crusoe, The Doors of Perception, and the Tao de Ching. The story covers a lot, but it continually made me think without it becoming exhausting.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book begins as a surprisingly charmingly morbid Jungle Book-like story and ends with the lone character Hayy gaining the truths of the humanity(actually). Hayy throughout the book is curious and constantly questioning, representative of both philosopher and scientist. With each question his discoveries grow broader and more metaphysical as he moves from curious beast, to man, and onwards to something more knowing. This centuries old and deeply spiritual book has influenced much of Arabic and European literature, Philosophy, and Science ranging from Ibn al Nafi, to Isaac Newton, to Cotton Mather, and based on that merit alone deserves to be read.