Avicenna

Era: Medieval Era

Lived: AD980 - 1037

Module: Medicine – Medieval - Islamic

Important in Medicine because…

·         Wrote a book drawing together medical knowledge and ideas from ARISTOTLE, GALEN and HIPPOCRATES. This ‘Canon of Medicine’ meant many medical ideas were reintroduced into Europe.

·         Avicenna’s liking for Greek ideas led to opposition and anger within the Islamic world. This was part of a decline in rationalist thinking in the East.

·         Despite been one of Islam’s most revered philosophers, he did not believe in Creation stories or in personal immortality, even denying that God was interested in individuals. This contradicted much of what many Muslims held to be true, and it opposed religious teaching.