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Review Avicenna: The Metaphysics of the Rational Soul

By : Rina Nur Shabrina

Article

: Avicenna: The Metaphysics of the Rational Soul

Author

: Dimitri Gutas
Ibn Sinas thought about soul is influence by Aristotles thought,

Aristotle said that the rational soul is a first potential and the first
perfection in the body, this statement is compounded by Ibn Sina with, the
soul is something that affects the whole of decisions made and carried out
by the body, and the effect on the whole things. 1 According to Ibn Sina,
the soul is the essence of the human. The rational soul, according to Ibn
Sina something which itself is inside a human, something that is separate
from the body and its form does not always exist in the material body, the
rational soul is the perfection of a major for the natural physical
mechanical aspects of doing activities that exist over the selection of
discretion and conclusions the mind, as well as from the body. It could be
said that the existence of the rational soul is in the body but is separated
from the human body itself. The existence of the rational soul is started
the existence of it and not before it, and the rational soul has an
association and a relationship with humans throughout the human body is
alive.2
Rational soul has specific power for human. The rational soul
functions are doing the attributed of the reason (al-aql), which is a
combination or unity between knowledge (science) and deeds/action
(amal). Ibn Sina defines as the rational soul as the first perfection for
natural body in mechanistic, where on one side it undertaken various
existential behavior based endeavor thoughts and conclusions of ideas,
but the other side it perceives all universal problem.
1 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics of the Rational Soul (Blackwell Publishing : oxford, UK,
2012), p.417

2 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics......, p.417-418


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Ibn sina devides the function of the rational soul into two parts,
namely: Practical, is likely to encourage people to decide appropriate
actions carried out or abandoned, in which we could call moral behavior
especially in body. And Theoretical reason is that potential and sense of
talent, sense of actual and reasonable cost. This potency that perceives
images of universal and abstract, both substantively abstract and abstract
nature of the material sense of liberation and everything connected with
it.3
In the concept of emanation of Ibn Sina on cosmology, there is
intelligence in the universe and every area has different meanings and
attributes, and it comes from divinity (wjib al-wujd),

This is the first

intelligence, the overall process of what is in the world and on earth, the
last intelligance is a " the realm of the earth" and is known as an active
intellect (al-'aql al-fa 'al), one of them is human. Because all of the
intellect is not material and completely merely potential, their activities
can be regarded as a thought. they thought the object was intelligence
that the universal concepts which ended in the formation of self. In other
words intelligibles as a whole consists of theoretical philosophy sciences:
physics, mathematics, and metaphysics.

The human rational soul or intellect, has four different relationships


with intelligence, namely: material intellect ('al hayln) is material,
passive the first impulse to want to know something, but not able to know,
just to accommodate his senses impression without forma. dispositional
intellect ('aql bi-l malaka) has potential as a material intellect, and has
trained to think about abstract things actual intellect ('aql bi-l-fi'l), this
sense has an ability to think about abstract things , acquired intellect ('
aql mustafad) the intellect that has the real understanding about

3 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics......, p. 418

4 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics......, p. 418-419


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intellect, and has an ability to think about abstract things without an


effort, and this intellect is ready to get a knowledge from active intellect

Life is not possible there unless has been a physical material


(body). Since its growth, soul require, dependent, and was created
because of (the availability of) bodies. In the actualization of its function,
use and requires bodies soul. Relationship between soul and bodies in Ibn
Sinas view is not a relationship of separation of two different substances,
but it is a relationship of mutual need attachments between one and
another. That is, the need for integral in human beings, in which the soul
can not be possible without their bodies. Likewise, the bodies will not work
without a soul. The substance of the rational soul is immortal, when the
body is soul death does not come off, but persist in happiness or misery,
depending on its relation with the deeds of thr body itself (deeds that
have been done during the life of the world).6
Ibn Sina also has a the theory of al-Faydh (emanation). For Ibn
Sina, God as pure reason emites the first reason and second reason
emanates first sense and the first heaven, and so on in order to reach a
reasonable tenth and earth. Emanating from the tenth sense of all that are
in the earth under the moon. Ibn Sina said that from reasonable there are
three out of existence, namely: Intellect, nafs (soul) and jism (body).7
The Prophecy according to Ibn Sina has the ability to hear the word
of the divine soul (God), saw the angels, so all creatures. The Prophet with
his prophetic soul trying to deliver the human species that humans
become the most noble creatures. Importance of symptoms prophetic and
divine revelation is something that by Ibn Sina were sought to be built in
four levels: intellectual, "imaginative", wonders, and socio-political. The
totality of all four levels of this gives us a clear indication of the
motivation, character and direction of religious thought. According to the
5 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics......, p. 419
6 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics......, p. 418, 424

7 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics......, p. 420


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prophetic philosophy of Ibn Sina, the power in the sense of material is so


great that without going through drills easily connect with an active sense
and receive light or revelation from God. Has a similar sense sacred
power. This is the highest form of reason that can be obtained by humans
and are found only in the prophets. So in a technical sense this revelation
then encourage people to do good and be good people, not just purely as
a mere intellectual insight and inspiration. So there is no religion that only
by pure reason. However, this technical revelation, in order to achieve the
required quality potential, also inevitably suffer from the fact that the
revelation does not give the actual truth, but the truth in a veil of
symbols.8
There are several conclusion about soul. First, the concept of Ibn
Sina on soul is very comprehensive, particularly his description of the
interrelationship that exist on the dimensions of the physical and nonphysical in human beings, in which the soul is the most important element
that gives movement so that the body may alive. He is the perfect start
for the bodies. Second, that the soul is the substance of a separate standalone with the bodies. He is not accidental (arad) and not the bodies
(jism) itself. Hence, he does not have the form in the form of the body. The
body only as a form. The potential that appears as part of the body and in
addition are also part of the soul. Thirdly, Ibn Sina conclude that the soul
is eternal. At the time the bodies perish, eternal life because he is art of
the essence of God is eternal. Soul will feel pleasure or ultimate misery
after he separated from the body.

8 Dimitri Gutas, Avicenna: The Metaphysics......, p. 422


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