author
Averroës
1126–1198
A brilliant thinker from medieval al-Andalus, he became famous for his sweeping commentaries on Aristotle and for arguing that reason and faith could speak to each other. His writings on philosophy, law, and medicine traveled far beyond Córdoba and helped shape intellectual life in both the Islamic world and Latin Europe.
1 Audiobook
The Philosophy and Theology of Averroes
by Averroës
About the author
Born in Córdoba in 1126, Averroës—better known in Arabic as Ibn Rushd—came from a family known for legal scholarship and public service. He trained in law, medicine, and philosophy, and later served as a judge in Seville and Córdoba under the Almohad rulers.
He is best remembered for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle, which earned him a lasting reputation as one of the great interpreters of Greek philosophy. He also wrote on Islamic law and medicine, and in works such as The Incoherence of the Incoherence defended philosophical inquiry against critics who saw it as a threat to religion.
Late in life he fell out of favor politically and spent a period in disgrace before being restored. He died in Marrakesh in 1198, but his ideas continued to travel widely, influencing later Islamic thought as well as Jewish and Christian philosophers in medieval Europe.