Analysis Of Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan

Medieval philosophy is the synthesis of philosophy and religion, or revelation. In Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Hayy is a perfect example of how reason and revelation are used to determine the ways of the world. While trying to determine if the world was created or eternal, Hayy reasons that he cannot resolve this question. Reason cannot prove that the universe was created or eternal. However, he determines that no matter what the origin of the world, “the world must have a non-corporeal Cause” (Tufayl, 2009, pg. 131). Hayy supports this conclusion by first stating that if the world was created in time, then a creator that is not created must be the Cause. Next, he supports his conclusion by stating if the world is eternal, then the universe must have an infinite force that causes the motion of the universe. Lastly, Hayy supports his conclusion by establishing characteristics of the first Cause that is behind either the creation or infinite motion of the universe. These characteristics include a non-physical body, eternal being, infinite perfection, knowledge, and goodness. In this paper, I will first discuss Hayy’s conclusion of why there must be a first Cause if the world was created. I will then discuss Hayy’s conclusion of why there must be a first Cause if the world is eternal. Lastly, I will discuss Hayy’s conclusion of the characteristics that this first Cause must contain.

The first reason that Hayy concludes that there is a first Cause is because if the world was created in time, then a creator that is not created must have created it. Hayy decided that for the universe to be created in time, there must be a time when the universe came to be from nothing. This meant there had to be a time before the univer...

... middle of paper ...

...argument that the universe is eternal, the first Cause must have knowledge on how to keep the universe in motion. In the argument that the universe is created, the first Cause must be knowledgeable on how to create the universe. The Creator must also be knowledgeable about the creators in the universe in which he created. He must know how to create each creature in a way that they will survive in the universe. The final characteristic that the first Cause must have is goodness. In either argument, the first Cause must be good in order to give parts of himself to a universe that is not necessary for his own survival.

In the medieval philosophical tale Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Hayy is unsure of whether the universe is eternal or created. He states that he cannot resolve this question because reason cannot prove that the universe was created or eternal. Nonetheless,