5. Avicenna (980AD - 1037AD)

1. Like the ancient thinkers, Avicenna was also of the view that human soul was non-material and immortal. It does not exist in any material form, but nevertheless exists in the body. Therefore he rejected the concept of unity between soul and body as given by Aristotle. To him soul was a separate entity and the body was a separate one. Avicenna was of the view that soul has its identity and its own operative laws just as there are the operative laws of the body.
2. Avicenna was of the view that the mind has a tremendous effect upon the body, such that it can make it sick or make it healthy. Here the mind and the soul are considered to be the same thing as the ancient thinkers or philosophers thought. Avicenna thought that the soul has an influence to the extent that if a person thinks that he is not well the body responds in a similar fashion and he actually becomes ill. Therefore, soul is stronger than the body and it can dictate the body to behave in a certain manner. He further added that strong soul or mind can not only affect a person’s own body but it can affect others as well. This is the case in hypnosis where a person tends to bring the other person under the influence of his mind and makes him do what he wants him to.
3. Following the Aristotelian tradition Avicenna recognized four stages of motion. Motion here refers to the process of performing a certain act. Based on these stages of motions, Avicenna tried to explain the human actions. The four stages of motion are:
   • Imagination: Imagination is the process of thinking about something in which in turn leads to a desire of possessing that thing.
   • Desires: represents a person’s willingness to achieve something or to act in a certain manner. The person desires to posses something or to do something.
   • Impulsion: The desires of person cause him or push him to do something. Person is motivated by desire to make a certain move which would satisfy the desire.
   • Movement: here a person actually makes the move to satisfy the desire that was cause by his imagination and which has forced him to perform a certain action or make a movement to satisfy it.
   • In other words, imagination creates desires, which in turn propels the person and then the person acts.
4. Another of Avicenna’s contributions is that he distinguished between primary and secondary perceptions.
   • Primary Perception: It is the subjective perception of a person that is based on his personal dispositions. For example if a person is taking a walk in a garden and he has in his mind that there are snakes in that garden, he is quite likely to confuse a twig with a snake. That is due to his personal disposition that there are snakes in that garden. In other words, an illusion is a primary perception. This kind of perception is called subjective perception.
   • Secondary Perception: Secondary perception is objective perception based on logical reasoning and rationality of observation. In this case personal biases and disposition do not influence the perceptions which are totally based on empirical evidence.
5. He also elaborated the concept “Wahm” which plays a significant part in Avicenna’s thought. “Wahm” is akin to what modern psychologists, particularly psychotherapists describe as “nervous response.” The modern psychotherapists have explained that nervous response is the forerunner of many psychological and physical ailments. This is what Avicenna had explained earlier. An example of nervous response or “Wahm” is the stress created in a person, which ultimately has negative impacts on a person’s health, behavior and psyche.