Averroes

Life

Averroes was born in 1126 CE in Córdoba, al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), into a distinguished family of Maliki jurists — both his father and grandfather served as chief judge (qadi) of Córdoba. He received the traditional education in Islamic law, theology, medicine, and philosophy, and was introduced to the Almohad caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I by the philosopher Ibn Tufayl around 1169.

The caliph reportedly complained that Aristotle's works were too difficult to read and asked whether anyone could provide clear commentaries. Ibn Tufayl recommended Averroes, who proceeded to write his monumental series of commentaries on Aristotle — three levels of commentary (short epitomes, middle commentaries, and long line-by-line commentaries) on virtually every Aristotelian text.

Averroes served as qadi of Seville and later Córdoba, and as court physician to the Almohad caliphs. In 1195, under the new caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur, he was briefly exiled to Lucena and his philosophical works were condemned — probably due to political pressure from conservative religious scholars. He was rehabilitated shortly before his death in Marrakesh in 1198 CE.

The Commentaries

Averroes' commentaries on Aristotle are his greatest achievement. He produced three types for most major works:
- Epitomes (jawami'): brief summaries of the main doctrines
- Middle commentaries (talkhisat): paraphrases with original argumentation
- Long commentaries (tafsir): line-by-line analysis with extensive philosophical discussion

In the Latin West, these commentaries were translated in the 13th century and became the standard apparatus for reading Aristotle. Averroes was simply 'The Commentator,' as Aristotle was 'The Philosopher.'

The Incoherence of the Incoherence

Averroes' Tahafut al-Tahafut is a point-by-point response to al-Ghazali's Incoherence of the Philosophers. On each of al-Ghazali's twenty criticisms, Averroes defends the philosophical position while showing that al-Ghazali misunderstood or misrepresented the philosophers' arguments. He argues that demonstration (burhan) — philosophical proof — is the highest form of reasoning and that philosophy, properly practiced, does not conflict with revelation.

The Harmony of Philosophy and Religion

In the Decisive Treatise (Fasl al-Maqal), Averroes argues that philosophy is not merely permitted but obligatory for those capable of it. The Quran itself commands reflection and rational investigation. When philosophical conclusions appear to conflict with the literal meaning of Scripture, the text should be interpreted allegorically — but only by qualified philosophers, not by the general public.

Averroes distinguished three classes of people by their intellectual capacities: the masses (who are persuaded by rhetoric), the theologians (who are persuaded by dialectical argument), and the philosophers (who achieve demonstrative knowledge). Each group appropriately approaches truth at its own level.

The Unity of the Intellect

Averroes' most controversial doctrine — and the one that generated the most intense debate in the Latin West — is his interpretation of Aristotle's 'agent intellect' as a single, universal intellect shared by all human beings. Individual humans participate in this single intellect, which is numerically one for all humanity. This 'monopsychism' (as the Latins called it) seemed to deny individual immortality and was vigorously attacked by Thomas Aquinas in De Unitate Intellectus.

Legacy

Averroes' influence in the Islamic world was limited after his death — the philosophical tradition in the Islamic West (al-Andalus and the Maghreb) largely ended with him. But his impact on the Latin West was enormous. 'Latin Averroism' — centered at the University of Paris and represented by Siger of Brabant and Boethius of Dacia — was one of the most powerful intellectual movements of the 13th century and provoked the great synthesis of Aquinas. Averroes' commentaries remained in use in European universities until the 17th century.