What was the importance of Avicenna’s, Averroes’, and Mainonides’ philosophies to Western thought?
Avicenna (980-1037 AD) was a Persian Muslim physician and philosopher. He came across the philosophy of ancient Greeks, particularly Aristotle and was highly influenced from his ideas.
Averroes (1126-1198 AD) was immensely influenced by Aristotle’s philosophies and arguments as well as Avicenna’s interpretations regarding Aristotelian philosophy. His writings are mainly on the ideas of Aristotle with emphasis on the senses, memory and sleep.
Maimonides (1135-1204 AD) was a Jewish Biblical and Talmudic scholar. He wanted reconciliation between Aristotelian philosophy and Judaism, and wanted to end the conflict among religion and philosophical/scientific thoughts by incorporating Aristotle’s philosophies and philosophical arguments into Judaism. He gave the logic that several passages from the Talmud and the Old Testament could be understood rationally by applying logic and need not be taken on faith alone.
The importance of Avicenna’s, Averroes’s and Maimonides’s philosophies to Western thought was that they tried to incorporate the noble ideas and thoughts of Aristotle into Islam and Judaism, respectively.
Upon the re-discovery of Aristotle’s philosophy, during the Holy Crusades, these Cordovan philosophers incorporated the ancient knowledge and wisdom of the Greeks and Romans into their religion. This influences the Western philosophers to do the same.
Firstly, the Western philosophers (Christian theologians) came into contact with the works of Aristotle, which was previously unknown for many centuries (lost during the Dark Ages).
Secondly, the Christian philosophers did not want to stay behind, as their Islamic and Judaic counterparts were getting wiser with Aristotle’s arguments of logic, theology and wisdom. Thus, Christianity benefitted from Aristotle’s philosophy as did Islam and Judaism.