Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn (/ˌɪbənxælˈduːn/; Arabic: أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, Abū Zayd ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Khaldūn al-Ḥaḍramī; May 27, 1332 – March 19, 1406) was a (Tunisian) Arab Muslim historiographer and historian, regarded to be among the founding fathers of modern sociology, historiography, demography, and economics.
He is best known for his book, the Muqaddimah (literally the "Introduction", known as the Prolegomena in Greek).
The book influenced 17th-century Ottoman historians like Ḥajjī Khalīfa and Mustafa Naima who used the theories in the book to analyze the growth and decline of the Ottoman Empire.
19th-century European scholars also acknowledged the significance of the book and considered Ibn Khaldun as one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages.
On physical evolution
Ibn Khaldun on evolution:
One should then look at the world of creation. It started out from the minerals and progressed, in an ingenious, gradual manner, to plants and animals. The last stage of minerals is connected with the first stage of plants, such as herbs and seedless plants. The last stage of plants, such as palms and vines, is connected with the first stage of animals, such as snails and shellfish which have only the power of touch. The word "connection" with regard to these created things means that the last stage of each group is fully prepared to become the first stage of the next group.
The animal world then widens, its species become numerous, and, in a gradual process of creation, it finally leads to man, who is able to think and to reflect. The higher stage of man is reached from the world of the monkeys, in which both sagacity and perception are found, but which has not reached the stage of actual reflection and thinking. At this point we come to the first stage of man after (the world of monkeys). This is as far as our (physical) observation extends.
On cultural evolution
Perhaps the most frequently cited observation drawn from Ibn Khaldūn's work is the notion that when a society becomes a great civilization (and, presumably, the dominant culture in its region), its high point is followed by a period of decay.
This means that the next cohesive group that conquers the diminished civilization is, by comparison, a group of barbarians.
Once the barbarians solidify their control over the conquered society, however, they become attracted to its more refined aspects, such as literacy and arts, and either assimilate into or appropriate such cultural practices.
Then, eventually, the former barbarians will be conquered by a new set of barbarians, who will repeat the process.
Some contemporary readers of Khaldun have read this as an early business cycle theory, though set in the historical circumstances of the mature Islamic empire.
See also
External links
- Ibn Khaldun @ Wikipedia
