Aristotle's De Animalibus was an important source of zoological knowledge both for the ancient Greeks and for the medieval Arabs and Europeans. The work was twice translated into Latin, once directly from the Greek by William of Moerbeke and once, by way of the intermediary of an existing Arabic translation, by Michael Scot. Of these, Scot's translation is the oldest. The De Animalibus is composed of three sections: 'History of Animals' (10 books), 'Parts of Animals' (4 books) and 'Generation of Animals' (5 books). The present volume contains the first critical edition of Scot's translation of the last section. Editions of his translations of the two preceding sections are in preparation. The volume includes very complete Latin-Arabic and Arabic-Latin word indexes and, as a supplement, the first complete word index to the original Greek text of 'Generation of Animals'. The volume for the first time makes available to the scholarly world a version of Aristotle's 'Generation of Animals' that has long been one of the main sources of knowledge in Europe on the subject. Being a faithful translation of a translation produced by a Syriac-speaking Christian, the text also contributes to our knowledge of Middle Arabic.

This book presents an edition of the Questiones super libro De Animalibus Aristotelis, a work by one of the greatest philosophers and physicians of the 13th century, Peter of Spain (later Pope John XXI, 1205-1277). He took as the basis for his work the translation from the Arabic made in Toledo around 1220 by Michael Scotus which included three important Aristotelian treatises. Preceding the critical edition, Dr Navarro offers an introduction to the person and works of Peter of Spain, the intellectual context of the 13th century characterized by Scholasticism and an Aristotelian Renaissance, and a short analysis of the linguistics and form of the Questiones. She also analyses the sources on which Peter drew, Greco-Latin, Arabo-Jewish and, of course, late antique and medieval treatises, showing that the text was not exclusively zoological in nature, but discusses important medical and philosophical topics, illustrating his extensive knowledge of both the Aristotelian corpus and 13th-century medicine. The text (divided into XIX books) is not a mere commentary about animals, but rather, as the title shows, a collection of questions in the Salernitan manner, the use of which was considered most appropriate for analysis and communication in the medieval scientific community to which Peter of Spain belonged. Alongside methodological and zoological problems, Peter of Spain discusses important questions disputed among the scholars of the period, including the location, hierarchy, motion, function and parts of the principal organs, the five senses, and many other medical issues such as reproduction, illnesses, or growth. Finally Dr Navarro includes a glossary that contains proper names (mainly those of the authorities and sources quoted by Petrus Hispanus), animal names (and their parts and substances), and the names of plants, metals, and the like.

This book presents an edition of the Questiones super libro ‘De Animalibus’ Aristotelis, a work by one of the greatest philosophers and physicians of the 13th century, Peter of Spain. Preceding the critical edition, Navarro offers an introduction to Peter of Spain and a short analysis of the linguistics and form of the Questiones. She also analyses the sources on which Peter drew, Greco-Latin, Arabo-Jewish and, of course, late antique and medieval treatises, showing that the text was not exclusively zoological in nature, but discusses important medical and philosophical topics, illustrating his extensive knowledge of both the Aristotelian corpus and 13th-century medicine.

From the Greeks to the Arabs and Beyond written by Hans Daiber, is a six volume collection of Daiber’s scattered writings, journal articles, essays and encyclopaedia entries on Greek-Syriac-Arabic translations, Islamic theology and Sufism, the history of science, Islam in Europe, manuscripts and the history of oriental studies. It also includes reviews and obituaries. Vol. V and VI are catalogues of newly discovered Arabic manuscript originals and films/offprints from manuscripts related to the topics of the preceding volumes.

This volume presents an interconnected set of sixteen essays, four of which are previously unpublished, by Allan Gotthelf—one of the leading experts in the study of Aristotle's biological writings. Gotthelf addresses three main topics across Aristotle's three main biological treatises. Starting with his own ground-breaking study of Aristotle's natural teleology and its illuminating relationship with the Generation of Animals, Gotthelf proceeds to the axiomatic structure of biological explanation (and the first principles such explanation proceeds from) in the Parts of Animals. After an exploration of the implications of these two treatises for our understanding of Aristotle's metaphysics, Gotthelf examines important aspects of the method by which Aristotle organizes his data in the History of Animals to make possible such a systematic, explanatory study of animals, offering a new view of the place of classification in that enterprise. In a concluding section on 'Aristotle as Theoretical Biologist', Gotthelf explores the basis of Charles Darwin's great praise of Aristotle and, in the first printing of a lecture delivered worldwide, provides an overview of Aristotle as a philosophically-oriented scientist, and 'a proper verdict' on his greatness as scientist.

This book examines the two chief anatomical and physiological embodi-ment theories of voluntary animal motion, which I call the cardiosinew and cerebroneuromuscular theories of motion, from the time of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) to that of Mondino (d. A.D. 1326). The study of animal motion commenced with the ancient Greek natural scientist Aristotle who wrote the monograph 'On the motion of animals' (De motu animalium). Subsequent inquiries into voluntary animal motion may be found in a variety of Greek, Latin, and Arabic compendia, commentaries, and encyclopedias throughout the ancient and medieval periods. The motion of animals was considered relevant to natural philosophers and theologians investigating the nature of the soul, and to physicians seeking to discover the causes of disorders of voluntary movement such as epilepsy and tetany. The book fills a gap in the scholarly literature concerned with pre-modern studies of the anatomical and physiological mechanisms of will and bodily movement. The accompanying photographs of my own anatomical dissections illuminate ancient and medieval conceptual, empirical, and experimental methods of anatomical and physiological research.

Islamic thought is the most beautiful result of a multicultural dialogue. Islamic culture became a bridge between antiquity, Iranian scholars, Syriac and Arabic Christians and the Latin Middle Ages. Its richness of ideas, its plurality of values can contribute to the requirements of modern plurality. The monograph aims at a historical and bibliographical survey of the qurʾānic and rational world-view of early Islam, of the period of translations from Greek into Syriac and Arabic, and of the impact of Islamic thought on the Latin Middle Ages. Critical reflexions of Muslim scholars stimulated new scientific ideas and make us aware of the contribution of Islam to humanity.

The Latin Middle Ages were characterised by a vast array of different representations of nature. These conceptualisations of the natural world were developed according to the specific requirements of many different disciplines, with the consequent result of producing a fragmentation of images of nature. Despite this plurality, two main tendencies emerged. On the one hand, the natural world was seen as a reflection of God’s perfection, teleologically ordered and structurally harmonious. On the other, it was also considered as a degraded version of the spiritual realm – a world of impeccable ideas, separate substances, and celestial movers. This book focuses on this tension between order and randomness, and idealisation and reality of nature in the Middle Ages. It provides a cutting-edge profile of the doctrinal and semantic richness of the medieval idea of nature, and also illustrates the structural interconnection among learned and scientific disciplines in the medieval period, stressing the fundamental bond linking together science and philosophy, on the one hand, and philosophy and theology, on the other. This book will appeal to scholars and students alike interested in Medieval European History, Theology, Philosophy, and Science.

Our understanding of science, mathematics, and medicine today can be deeply enriched by studying the historical roots of these areas of inquiry in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. The fields of ancient science and mathematics have in recent years witnessed remarkable growth. The present volume brings together contributions from more than thirty of the most important scholars working in these fields in the United States and Europe in honor of the eminent historian of ancient science and medicine Heinrich von Staden, Professor Emeritus of Classics and History of Science at the Institute of Advanced Study and William Lampson Professor Emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at Yale University. The papers range widely from Mesopotamia to Ancient Greece and Rome, from the first millennium B.C. to the early medieval period, and from mathematics to philosophy, mechanics to medicine, representing both a wide diversity of national traditions and the cutting edge of the international scholarly community.

The Routledge Handbook on the Sciences in Islamicate Societies provides a comprehensive survey on science in the Islamic world from the 8th to the 19th century. Across six sections, a group of subject experts discuss and analyze scientific practices across a wide range of Islamicate societies. The authors take into consideration several contexts in which science was practiced, ranging from intellectual traditions and persuasions to institutions, such as courts, schools, hospitals, and observatories, to the materiality of scientific practices, including the arts and craftsmanship. Chapters also devote attention to scientific practices of minority communities in Muslim majority societies, and Muslim minority groups in societies outside the Islamicate world, thereby allowing readers to better understand the opportunities and constraints of scientific practices under varying local conditions. Through replacing Islam with Islamicate societies, the book opens up ways to explain similarities and differences between diverse societies ruled by Muslim dynasties. This handbook will be an invaluable resource for both established academics and students looking for an introduction to the field. It will appeal to those involved in the study of the history of science, the history of ideas, intellectual history, social or cultural history, Islamic studies, Middle East and African studies including history, and studies of Muslim communities in Europe and South and East Asia.