Science and Religion in Mamluk Egypt

The discovery of the pulmonary transit of blood was a ground-breaking discovery in the history of the life sciences and a prerequisite for William Harveyâs fully developed theory of blood circulation three centuries later. This book is the first attempt at understanding Ibn al-NafÄsâs anatomical discovery from within the medical and theological works of this thirteenth century physician-jurist and his broader social religious and intellectual contexts. Although Ibn al-NafÄs did not posit a theory of blood circulation he nevertheless challenged the reigning Galenic and Avicennian physiological theories and the then prevailing anatomical understandings of the heart. Far from being a happy guess Ibn al-NafÄsâs anatomical result is rooted in an extensive re-evaluation of the reigning medical theories. Moreover this book shows that Ibn al-NafÄsâs re-evaluation is itself a result of his engagement with post-Avicennian debates on the relationship between reason and revelation and the rationality of traditionalist beliefs such as bodily resurrection. Breaking new ground by showing how medicine philosophy and theology were intertwined in the intellectual fabric of pre-modern Islamic societies Science and Religion in Mamluk Egypt will be of interest to students and scholars of the History of Science the History of Medicine and Islamic Studies. . Language: English