Galen as Read and Perceived by Medieval Islamic Medicine

Authors

  • H Ebrahimnejad Doctor of Philosophy, Professor niversity of Southampton, UK Author

Keywords:

Galen, Islam, Greek medicine, Islamic medicine, anatomy, history of medicine

Abstract

The influence of Galen in Islamic countries is linked to the extensive contribution of Greek scientific knowledge during the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. As a religion and political force, Islam—competing with Christianity and the Byzantine Empire—played a key role in spreading the heritage of Greek medicine. Islam originated in a geographical and cultural sphere close to Hellenistic civilization, and the development and distribution of "non-Islamic" science and knowledge were necessary for its growth.

The dominance of Greek medical thought in Islamic culture was likely possible because the integration of Greek intellectual heritage was part of the ideological process during the formation of Islam itself. However, Greek medicine, as it was perceived by Islam, was no longer a body of knowledge that could develop independently; it needed to be interpreted in a way that aligned with Islamic requirements.

While theoretical teaching in Hellenistic medicine was based on anatomical observations, this practice was neglected starting in the second half of the third century BC, until Galen revived it in the second century AD. However, theoretical innovation based on anatomy did not occur in Islamic medicine. A lack of clear understanding of the practical relevance of anatomy to the development of medical knowledge led to it becoming exclusively descriptive in medieval Islam. This underestimation does not fully explain why dissection and surgery did not develop in Islamic medicine; religious and theoretical factors played a more significant role.

The author attempts to show how Galen was perceived in the Islamic world and based on an analysis of Islamic readings of his works, reveals the reasons for the gap between the Christian West and the Islamic East in their approaches to ancient Greek medicine.

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2015-02-28

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How to Cite

Ebrahimnejad, H. (2015). Galen as Read and Perceived by Medieval Islamic Medicine. History of Medicine, 2(1). https://historymedjournal.com/HOM/index.php/medicine/article/view/73