Avicenna

Carra de Vaux, Bernard, 1867-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 463K words
Chapters: 47

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Avicenne by Bernard Carra de VauxAuthor: Carra de Vaux, Bernard, 1867-,Language: French, Class: B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Release Date: May 6, 2009

Editor's review

This book is a biographical introduction to Ibn Sina (Avicenna) by the French scholar Bernard Carra de Vaux, written in French and belonging to the category of philosophy and religion. It does not offer a translation of the original works; instead, it situates the life, scholarly standing, and intellectual outline of this medieval Islamic philosopher within the perspective of European intellectual history, making it suitable as secondary introductory material for entering Avicenna's world. For Chinese readers, its value lies especially in presenting a way of understanding Avicenna from early twentieth-century French Orientalism, which can be read in comparison with modern research to observe changes in problem consciousness and evaluative criteria. The public-domain electronic edition from Project Gutenberg is convenient for searching and excerpting, but the typesetting is plain and there are no modern annotations or updated references, so readers need to supplement the background themselves. It is advisable to use it as "one link in the history of research" rather than as an authoritative general survey; first read the introductory chapters to establish a framework, then return to the original text with specific questions, and note judgments that bear the mark of their era.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a preliminary interest in medieval Islamic philosophy and Avicenna's thought who want to start with a secondary introduction
Students of philosophy, religious studies, or history of science who need to understand early European Orientalist research approaches
Researchers with French reading ability who wish to use public-domain electronic resources for textual searching
General readers who want to use Avicenna as a thread for understanding changes in European intellectual history narratives

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping to read translations of Avicenna's original works or a systematic philosophical system
Beginners unable to read French and unwilling to read with the aid of translation tools
Professional researchers needing the latest scholarly annotations, references, and surveys of contemporary research

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and introductory chapters to clarify the author's framework, then decide whether to read closely or selected chapters.
Prepare a brief table of Avicenna's life and major works to check against while reading, avoiding being misled by old transliterations and period judgments.
Read in comparison with modern introductory surveys of Avicenna research, noting differences in evaluative criteria between the two narratives.
Use the French electronic edition for keyword searches, excerpt passages concerning philosophy, medicine, and religion, and build separate notes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book Avicenna's original work or a research work?

This is a French research introduction written by the French scholar Bernard Carra de Vaux, belonging to the category of philosophy and religion; it is not a translation of Avicenna's original works. It focuses on outlining his life and intellectual profile and is suitable as secondary introductory material, but cannot replace reading the originals.

Can I read this book without knowing French?

The original is in French, so direct reading requires a foundation in French. Readers without French can use translation tools to compare paragraph by paragraph, or preferentially choose Avicenna research works available in Chinese translation; if using this book, it is advisable to focus on chapter structure and key terminology searches rather than reading it through.

What is the reading experience of the public-domain electronic edition like?

The Project Gutenberg edition has the advantages of convenience, being free, and being searchable; the typesetting is plain, and it usually lacks modern editorial annotations and updated references. Readers need to supplement background materials themselves and note judgments bearing the early twentieth-century academic context, and should not treat it as the latest authoritative general survey.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Carra de Vaux, Bernard, 1867- Author · French · 1867–1953

Bernard Carra de Vaux (1867–1953) was a French Orientalist who focused on the history of Arabic science. Public information about his life is limited, but it is clear that his scholarly work centered on translating and introducing Islamic philosophical and astronomical writings, with particular attention to the thought of Avicenna (Ibn Sina). Two of his works are held in this collection, including Avicenne and La doctrine de l'Islam. These works show him moving between textual scholarship and translation, bringing Arabic and Islamic scientific and philosophical material into French academic circles and offering European readers a reliable reference for understanding medieval Islamic scholarship. His writing emphasizes accurate transmission of source texts, is plain and rigorous in style, and has had some influence in the intersection of Oriental studies and the history of science.