Stable Cognitions in the Thought of Avicenna

Document Type : Scholarly Article

Author

PhD in Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In Avicenna’s philosophy, knowledge and cognitions are considered from the perspective of stability and persistence, discussed within the framework of malakāt (dispositions). Another aspect of this issue concerns the role of repetition and habit in the formation of such dispositions and their impact on knowledge and awareness. This study seeks to answer questions such as: How can repetition and habit lead to the establishment of stable cognitions? Avicenna introduces two main classifications in approaching the realm of stable cognitions. First, he distinguishes qualities, forms, and psychic states as either natural or acquired. Within the acquired category, he emphasizes the function of repetition and habit in shaping firm and enduring cognitions. In a second classification, Avicenna divides psychic qualities according to their locus and degree of persistence: those in the rational soul may either be so deeply rooted that their dissolution is difficult, or even impossible, or they may be easily subject to change and transformation. He terms the first type malaka (disposition), and the second ḥāl (transient state). In al-Shifāʾ (The Book of Healing), particularly in the logical section on Categories, Avicenna states that sciences and virtues are themselves a kind of disposition, which highlights his emphasis on the cultivation of dispositions and the formation of stable cognitions. This study, employing a descriptive–analytical method, explains Avicenna’s view of the “naturalization of knowledge and sciences” in connection with the process of disposition-formation, since dispositions are regarded as a “second nature.”

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References

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Avecinnian Philosophy Journal
Volume 29, Issue 73
September 2025
Pages 151-169

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