From: Thomas Hockey et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference. New York: Springer, 2007, pp. 635-636 |
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Kindī: Abū
Yūsuf Yaʿqūb
ibn Isḥāq al‐Kindī
Glen M. Cooper
Born probably Kūfa,
(Iraq), circa 800
Died probably Baghdad,
(Iraq), after 870
Kindī
was a pivotal figure in the transmission of Greek science into the Islamic
world. A polymath, he left approximately 260 treatises on various scientific
and philosophical subjects, including optics, astronomy, arithmetic, geometry,
medicine, music, and metaphysics. Only a few of these have survived. Little
is known about his life.
Kindī
arrived in Baghdad, the capital of the Islamic realm, during the reign of
the ʿAbbāsid Caliph Maʾmūn
(reigned: 813–833), when the Graeco–Arabic translation movement was in its
early stages. Kindī enjoyed the favor of several caliphs, serving as
tutor to the son of Caliph Muʿtaṣim (reigned: 833–842), under
whom Kindī especially flourished, but he fell into disgrace under Caliph
Mutawakkil (reigned: 847–861). His library was confiscated, and he was publicly
beaten, possibly due to court intrigue. According to some accounts, Kindī's
library was eventually restored.
Although
he is remembered primarily as “the philosopher of the Arabs,” Kindī was
active in many areas of scientific research. His work is significant in the
history of astronomy for a number of reasons. First, he founded the philosophical
program of study, centering on the works of Aristotle,
without which the pursuit of Greek‐inspired astronomy, and the many
contributions made by Islamic theoretical astronomers, would have been impossible.
He taught that philosophical knowledge can be acquired only through years
of sustained study. The sciences of the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry,
music, and astronomy) must be mastered before the student can understand Aristotle's
writings on logic, physics, ethics, and metaphysics, or other sciences such
as astrology and medicine. Kindī's approach toward the ancient sciences
was to complete them, and his strategy of presentation was to combine observation
with the Euclidean “axiomatic method” of rational demonstration, a perspective
he presented in a treatise entitled That Philosophy Can Be Acquired Only
by Mathematical Discipline. Kindī did not slavishly follow Aristotle
or other Greek philosophers. For example, he produced an ingenious argument
against the infinite magnitude of the Universe; by employing a skillful reductio
ad absurdum argument, Kindī showed how the notion of actual infinity
leads to paradoxes.
Second,
Kindī began the systematic formulation of a scientific Arabic terminology
based on Greek concepts. This idiom formed the groundwork for the later philosophical
and scientific contributions of Fārābī,
Ibn Sīnā, Ghazālī,
Ibn Rushd, and others. And through
Latin translations of the 12th century, Kindī's influence also extended
into Europe.
Third,
Kindī also created an Islamic idiom, showing how Greek ideas could be
adapted into the Islamic metaphysical framework, without detriment to either.
Despite these efforts, however, Kindī clashed with contemporary Islamic
theologians, who often viewed the Greek sciences with suspicion.
In terms of actual work in astronomy and cosmology, Sezgin lists some
30 works, only 13 or so being extant. Of those that are extant, five are general
or cosmological works (one being a paraphrase of the Almagest), three
concern instruments, and the rest are on particular topics. None of these
seem particularly original but indicate an interest in making the Greek scientific
heritage better known to a wider audience. Kindī also wrote extensively
on astrological topics and was responsible for introducing Abū
Maʿshar
to astrology; he was to become the most influential astrological authority
in both the Arabic and the Latin Middle Ages. Finally, it is worth mentioning
that Kindī was also interested in optics, a subject important to astronomy,
and developed a new analytical approach, punctiform analysis, whereby each
point of the visible object is perceived by an individual ray coming from
the eye.
D'Alverny,
M. T. and F. Hurdy. “Al‐Kindi, De Radiis.” Archives d'histoire doctrinale
et littéraire du moyen‐âge 41:139–260.
Endress, Gerhard (1997). “The Circle of Al‐Kindī.”
In The Ancient Tradition in Christian and Islamic Hellenism: Studies on
the Transmission of Greek Philosophy and Sciences, edited by Gerhard Endress
and Remke Kruk, pp. 43–76. Leiden: Research School CNWS. (Contains a detailed
discussion of the figures associated with Kindī's circle, the philosophers,
scientists, and translations, and describes the scope of their work.)
Gutas,
Dimitri (1998). Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco–Arabic Translation
Movement in Baghdad and Early ʿAbbāsid
Society (2nd–4th/8th–10th centuries). London: Routledge.
Ivry, Alfred L. (1974). Al‐Kindī's Metaphysics.
Albany: State University of New York Press. (A work fundamental to understanding
Kindī's philosophy.)
Lindberg, David C.
(1976). “Al‐Kindi's Critique of Euclid's Theory of Vision.” Chap. 2
in Theories of Vision from al‐Kindi to Kepler,. pp. 18–32. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Rescher, Nicholas (1964). Al‐Kindī: An Annotated
Bibliography. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. (Somewhat dated,
but still very useful.)
Rescher, Nicholas and Haig Khatchadourian (1965). “Al‐Kindī's
Epistle on the Finitude of the Universe.” Isis 56: 426–433.
Rosenthal, F. (1956). “Al‐Kindī and Ptolemy.” In
Studi orientalistici in onore di Giorgio Levi Della Vida. Vol. 2, pp.
436–456. Rome: Instituto per l'Oriente. (Contains a discussion of Kindī's
paraphrase of the Almagest, placing it within the context of Kindī's
other writings and of the understanding of Ptolemaic astronomy of Kindī's
time.)
Sezgin, Fuat. Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums.
Vol. 5, Mathematik (1974): 255–259; Vol. 6, Astronomie
(1978): 151–155; Vol. 7, Astrologie–Meteorologie und Verwandtes
(1979): 130–134. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Walzer, R. (1957). “New Studies on al‐Kindi.” Oriens
10: 203–232. (Excellent summary of the then available treatises by Kindī.)