Medicine

This chapter provides a look at the philosophically interesting aspects of Razi’s abundantly extant works on medicine, which were heavily influenced by Galen but also independent-minded and informed by Razi’s own medical practice. After surveying the range of his medical works and their various purposes, the chapter examines specific topics including his anthropology and anatomical theory and his medical epistemology, under which heading it is asked how far medicine is based on empirical evidence as opposed to theories taken over from natural philosophy. Finally, the chapter examines Razi’s authorial persona in his medical output. This is itself based on Galen’s self-presentation as an unusually skilled doctor who could correct the judgments of both contemporaries and ancient authorities.

Time and Place

The final two principles of Razi’s cosmology are time and place, which he considers to be an eternal framework in which the world is created. Both “absolute time” or eternity and “absolute place” or void are seen as independent of bodies or motion. This is shown to be a critique of Aristotelian’s physics inspired by Plato, by way of Galen. The chapter argues that for Razi, Aristotle’s definitions of time and place are accurate but only as concerns “relative” time and place, that is, the time and place of individual bodies. More fundamental are eternal duration and void, which are based on the concepts of time and place found in Plato’s Timaeus.

God

A look at the first of Razi’s five principles, a perfectly good and all powerful deity. Razi establishes the existence of God on the grounds of fairly traditional arguments, especially the design argument. He is particularly concerned to explain how God can be both the source of order and goodness in the universe, and absolved of blame for disorder and suffering. To solve this problem he postulates another “active” principle alongside God, namely a foolish universal Soul, which receives wisdom by having God’s light emanated upon it. Another topic in focus in this chapter is the eternity of the world, which Razi denies. On this topic the work On Metaphysics is discussed, and its probable authenticity defended.

Ethics

The final chapter of the book investigates Razi’s two surviving works on ethics, The Philosophical Way of Life and The Spiritual Medicine. It is shown, against readings of him as a hedonist, that he actually rejects pleasure as a central value of life and encourages readers to turn away from the concerns of the body. Indeed he is so far from being a hedonist that he upholds the Platonist account of pleasure as a mere return to a neutral state. In the end he defends a life of moderation, rejecting both asceticism and hedonism, but even this is only to pave the way for what really matters: philosophical understanding and liberation from the body.

Soul

Razi’s posits a foolish cosmic soul that is responsible for triggering the creation of the world after it “turns toward” matter. This chapter shows that his reasons for this turn especially on the need to explain evil and suffering in the world. It also explores the relation between this cosmic soul and the individual souls of humans, drawing on not only what is known of Razi’s philosophical works, but also on his medical writings. Another question discussed at length is the relation between human and animal souls. Here it is argued that Razi may not, as usually assumed, have believed in the possibility of human-animal transmigration. Furthermore, it is shown that his views on animal rationality are more traditional than has been supposed, since he excludes rationality and intellect from the mental lives of animals. However, he does admit that animals are capable of a kind of non-rational “thought” or intelligence.

Matter

This chapter takes a look at Razi’s atomic theory of matter: why it must be posited as an eternal principle alongside God and soul, and how bodies are made up of atoms. It is shown that Razi had a fairly detailed theory as to how atomic density explains the property of elemental bodies, as well as several arguments for the reality of void. The resulting theory is more comparable to that of the ancient atomists than to the atomism of contemporary Islamic theologians. A final section attempts to understand Razi’s writings on alchemy in the light of this atomistic physics, and suggests that alchemical transformations may be explained on his view in terms of the manipulation of atoms.

Doubts about Razi

This introduction to the book offers a survey of what is known about Razi’s life and works, drawing especially on medieval biographical reports about him and medieval book lists, with crucial sources including Ibn al-Nadim, Ibn Abi Usaybia, and al-Biruni. The main areas of Razi’s thought are sketched out on the basis of these lists. The chapter also offers a critical overview of the sources that report on his thought, emphasizing the difficulty of reconstructing the ideas of a philosopher who is known largely through the testimony of his enemies. Finally the chapter discusses Razi’s style of writing, and traces his authorial persona to the example set by Galen.

Prophecy

The most controversial aspect of Razi’s thought is his apparent critique of revealed religion, as reported by hostile opponents who depict him as an outright denier of prophecy. This chapter argues instead that Razi was concerned to attack a narrower target, namely groups within Islam that he considered to have schismatic religious views. In particular he took aim at the Ismailis, whom he accused of slavish devotion to their Imams. This, it is suggested, provoked a response which distorted and oversimplified Razi’s position. In fact Razi’s position was likely not dissimilar to that of other rationalist philosophers in the Islamic world, like his near contemporary al-Farabi, who held that one should ideally form one’s beliefs through philosophical inquiry, but that the Quran when understood correctly agrees with the deliverances of philosophy.