The Book of Healing (Arabic: کتاب الشفاء, romanized: Kitāb al-Shifāʾ; Latin: Sufficientia; also known as The Cure or Assepha)is a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia written by Abu Ali ibn Sīna (also known as Avicenna). He most likely began to compose the book in 1014, completed it around 1020, and published it in 1027. This work is Ibn Sina's major work on science and philosophy, and is intended to "cure" or "heal" ignorance of the soul. Thus, despite its title, it is not concerned with medicine, in contrast to Avicenna's earlier The Canon of Medicine (5 vols.) which is, in fact, medical. The book is divided into four parts: logic, natural sciences, mathematics (a quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy), and metaphysics. It was influenced by ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle; Hellenistic thinkers such as Ptolemy; and earlier Persian/Muslim scientists and philosophers, such as Al-Kindi (Alkindus), Al-Farabi (Alfarabi), and Al-Bīrūnī.
Sciences
Astronomy In astronomy, the book proposes the theory that Venus is closer to Earth than the Sun.
Chemistry Ibn Sina's theory on the formation of metals combined the alchemical sulfur-mercury theory of metals (although he was a critic of alchemy) with the mineralogical theories of Aristotle and Theophrastus. He created a synthesis of ideas concerning the nature of the mineral and metallic states.
Earth sciences Toulmin and Goodfield (1965), commented on Avicenna's contribution to geology:Around A.D. 1000, Avicenna was already suggesting a hypothesis about the origin of mountain ranges, which in the Christian world, would still have been considered quite radical eight hundred years later Paleontology Ibn Sina also contributed to paleontology with his explanation of how the stoniness of fossils was caused. Aristotle previously explained it in terms of vaporous exhalations, which Ibn Sina modified into the theory of petrifying fluids (succus lapidificatus), which was elaborated on by Albertus Magnus in the 13th century and accepted in some form by most naturalists by the 16th century. Ibn Sina made the following observation on the theories held at the time on fossils and the petrifaction of plants and animals:
"If what is said concerning the petrifaction of animals and plants is true, the cause of this (phenomenon) is a powerful mineralizing and petrifying virtue which arises in certain stony spots, or emanates suddenly from the earth during earthquake and subsidences, and petrifies whatever comes into contact with it. As a matter of fact, the petrifaction of the bodies of plants and animals is not more extraordinary than the transformation of waters."
Psychology
In The Book of Healing, Avicenna discusses the mind, its existence, the mind–body relationship, sensation, perception, etc. He writes that at the most common level, the influence of the mind on the body can be seen in voluntary movements, in that the body obeys whenever the mind wishes to move the body. He further writes that the second level of influence of the mind on the body is from emotions and the will. As an example, he states that if a plank of wood is placed as a bridge over a chasm, a person could hardly creep over it without falling if that person only pictures themself in a possible fall so vividly that the "natural power of limbs accord with it." He also writes that strong negative emotions can have a negative effect on the vegetative functions of an individual and may even lead to death in some cases. He also discusses hypnosis (al Wahm al-Amil), stating that one could create conditions in another person so that they accepts the reality of hypnosis. Avicenna was also the first to divide human perception into the five external senses (the classical senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch known since ancient history) and the five internal senses which he discovered himself:
sensus communis ('common sense'), which integrates sense data into percepts; the imaginative faculty, which conserves the perceptual images; imagination, which acts upon these images by combining and separating them, serving as the seat of the practical intellect; wahm (instinct), which perceives qualities (such as good and bad, love and hate, etc.) and forms the basis of a person's character whether or not influenced by reason; and ma'ni (intentions), which conserve all these notions in memory. Avicenna also gives psychological explanations for certain somatic illnesses, always linking the physical and psychological illnesses together. He describes melancholia (i.e. depression) as a type of mood disorder in which the person may become suspicious and develop certain types of phobias. He states that anger heralds the transition of melancholia to mania, and explains that humidity inside the head can contribute to mood disorders. He recognizes that this occurs when the amount of breath changes: happiness increases the breath, which leads to increased moisture inside the brain, but if this moisture goes beyond its limits, the brain would lose control over its rationality and lead to mental disorders. He also writes about symptoms and treatments for nightmare, epilepsy, and weak memory. Avicenna often used psychological methods to treat his patients. One such example is when a Persian prince had melancholia, suffering from the delusion that he was a cow. He would moo and cry out, "Kill me so that a good stew may be made of my flesh," and would never eat anything. Avicenna was persuaded to take the case. Avicenna sent a message to the patient, asking him to be happy as the butcher was coming to slaughter him, and the sick man rejoiced. When Avicenna approached the prince with a knife in his hand, he asked "where is the cow so I may kill it." The patient then mooed like a cow to indicate where he was. The patient was laid on the ground for slaughter. When Avicenna approached the patient, pretending to be ready to slaughter him, he said, "the cow is too lean and not ready to be killed. He must be fed properly and I will kill it when it becomes healthy and fat." The patient was then offered food which he ate eagerly, and gradually "gained strength, got rid of his delusion, and was completely cured."
Philosophy
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