Comparison Between Aristotle and Ibn Sina Regarding the Theory of the Active Intellect
Keywords:
Comparison, Aristotle, Avicenna, Comparative Philosophy, Arabic Language Education
Abstract
This study examines the concept of the “Active Intellect” (al-‘aql al-fa‘āl) in the philosophies of Aristotle and Avicenna through a comparative analytical approach based on their primary works, De Anima and The Book of Healing. The research is motivated by the importance of understanding the development of the concept of intellect in the history of philosophy and its role in linking knowledge, the soul, and reality. In addition, the study highlights the relevance of philosophical texts in Arabic language education, particularly in fostering critical thinking and conceptual understanding. The objective is to identify similarities and differences between the two philosophers and to trace the transformation of the concept from the Greek to the Islamic context. The method employed is a descriptive-analytical comparative approach based on close textual reading. The findings show that both philosophers agree on the cognitive function of the Active Intellect as the actualizer of intellectual potential, yet differ in its ontological and metaphysical foundations. Aristotle’s account remains ambiguous, whereas Avicenna provides a more systematic cosmological framework. This study concludes that the concept of the Active Intellect is not only philosophically significant but also pedagogically relevant for Arabic language teaching through philosophical texts.
References
Burnett, Charles. “The Statements of Medieval Latin Translators on Why and How They Translate Works on Science and Philosophy from Arabic.” In Why Translate Science?, 445–87. Brill, 2022.
Cai, Zhenyu. “Avicenna on Representation: Towards an Existential-Relational Account of Intentionality.” British Journal for the History of Philosophy 33, no. 3 (2025): 415–34.
Creswell, John W, and Cheryl N Poth. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. Sage publications, 2016.
D’Ancona, Cristina. “The ‘Conjunction’ of the Intellect with the Separate Substances and God: The Greek and Graeco-Arabic Background.” Studia Graeco-Arabica 11, no. 1 (2021): 177–216.
Ibrahim, Husayn, Muhammad Fariduddin Attar, Peter Adamson, Jens Hanßen, and Thomas Würtz. “Avicenna, Avicennism (s), and the Later Philosophical Traditions.” In International Workshop at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2024.
Krippendorff, Klaus. Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Sage publications, 2018.
Morvarid, Hashem. “Avicenna on Common Natures and the Ground of the Categories.” British Journal for the History of Philosophy 32, no. 4 (2024): 766–97.
Najafi, Mostafa. Language and Reason in Islamic Thought: Faḫr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī’s Reconciliation of Manṭiq and Bayān. Vol. 16. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2025.
Nurfazri, Muhammad, and Ferli Septi Irwansyah. “Critical Thinking in Islam: What and How Its Practices.” In Gunung Djati Conference Series, 41:37–47, 2024.
Rezakhany, Hassan. “Some Properties of Immediate Judgements in Islamic Philosophy from Avicenna to Jurjānī.” Oriens 53, no. 1–2 (2025): 36–78.
Sahin, Abdullah. “Reimagining the Vocation of Being a Scholar at the Intersection of Islamic and Western Higher Education: A Proposal.” In The Contemporary Scholar in Higher Education: Forms, Ethos and World View, 251–77. Springer, 2024.
Saruhan, Müfit Selim. “Ibn Sīnā and Ibn Rushd’s Conceptions of the Soul in Light of Aristotle’s Theory of Four Causes.” Kanz Philosophia: A Journal for Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism 11, no. 2 (2025): 235–52.
Vincenzo, Silvia Di. “Aristotle’s Categories in the Arabic Tradition.” Works of Philosophy and Their Reception-Aristotle’s Categories, 2024.
العلوانى, داليا فکري محمد. "استخدام استراتيجيات التعليم الممتع للمختارات الأدبية لتنمية مهارات الإبداع اللغوي لتلاميذ المرحلة الإعدادية الأزهرية". مجلة القراءة والمعرفة, advance online publication, 1 مايو، 2021. https://doi.org/10.21608/mrk.2021.169799.
القادر, محمود هلال عبد. "أثر استخدام استراتيجيات تعلم اللغة في تدريس اللغة العربية على تنمية بعض المهارات اللغوية لدى طلاب المرحلة الابتدائية". مجلة العلوم التربوية و النفسية 7, عدد 16 (2023): 103–21. https://doi.org/10.26389/AJSRP.Q081222.
بوقرة, نعمان. "المقامة البشرية لبديع الزمان الهمذاني قراءة نصية تداولية في ضوء نظرية الحجاج." المجلة العربية للعلوم الإنسانية 31, عدد 123 (2013): 43–82. https://doi.org/10.34120/ajh.v31i123.2369.
"مجلة الأستاذ للعلوم الإنسانية والاجتماعية | بحوث جامعة بغداد". تاريخ الوصول 4 فبراير، 2026. https://alustath.uobaghdad.edu.iq/.
Ali, A. "al-Tahawwul fi al-lughah wa-al-tafkir ’abr al-thaqafah = التحول في اللغة والتفكير عبر الثقافة". 2014.
Ali, A. "Editorial Words كلمة التحرير". 6 أكتوبر، 2016.
Amalia, Dian Risky, Jauharotun Nafisah, Siti Sulaikho, و Nafi’atu Rohmah. "Al-Waʻyu al-Ẓātī Li al-Țalabah Fī Taʻlīmi al-Lugah al-ʻArabiyyah Fī Jāmi’ati Ma’ārif Lampung". JICALLS: Journal of Arabic Education, Linguistics, and Literature Studies 2, عدد 1 (2024): 47–60. https://doi.org/10.51214/jicalls.v2i1.787.
Anggara, Syamfa Agny. "منهج تعليم اللغة العربية في الجامعة الإسلامية في ضوء الفلسفة". Lughawiyyat: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Dan Sastra Arab 2, عدد 2 (2019): 166–75. https://doi.org/10.38073/lughawiyyat.v2i2.157.
"Aristotle’s Psychology > The Active Mind of De Anima Iii 5 (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)". تاريخ الوصول 1 فبراير، 2026. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-psychology/active-mind.html.
"AVICENNA vi. Psychology". Encyclopaedia Iranica, د.ت. تاريخ الوصول 2 فبراير، 2026. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avicenna-vi/.
Drew, Valerie, و Lorele Mackie. "Extending the Constructs of Active Learning: Implications for Teachers’ Pedagogy and Practice". The Curriculum Journal 22, عدد 4 (2011): 451–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2011.627204.
Eltingari, S., Zakaria Omar, Abdullah Muhammad Adam Kheir, Shamsuddin Mohd Nor, و Mohamad Abdur Rahman Ibrahim. "قضايا تعليم اللغة العربية وتعلمها (Issues in Arabic teaching and learning)". 2011.
Gutas, Dimitri. "Ibn Sina [Avicenna]". في The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2025, تحقيق Edward N. Zalta و Uri Nodelman. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2025/entries/ibn-sina/.
Gutas, Dimitri. "Ibn Sina [Avicenna]". في The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2025, تحقيق Edward N. Zalta و Uri Nodelman. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2025/entries/ibn-sina/.
Iis Susiawati و Rizka Al Fajr. "From Classical Texts to Digital Platforms: Reconstructing Arabic Language Pedagogy for Multidisciplinary Education Goals". Proceeding of the International Conference on Global Education and Learning 2, عدد 1 (2025): 32–45. https://doi.org/10.62951/icgel.v2i1.146.
Kabadayi, Talip. ARISTOTLE AND AVICENNA (IBN SINA) IN TERMS OF THE THEORY OF INTELLECTS. د.ت.
Kafi, Fina Aunul, و Halimi Halimi. "Falsafah Al-Lugah Wa al-Fikr: Atsaruhuma Fi at-Ta’lim Wa Ta’allum al-Lugah al-Arabiyah". Al-Fusha : Arabic Language Education Journal 6, عدد 2 (2024): 65–73. https://doi.org/10.62097/alfusha.v6i2.1717.
Mantzanaris, Konstantinos D. "Postmodern interferences in adult education: towards a debate with the domineering learning foundations". 2020. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Postmodern-interferences-in-adult-education%3A-a-with-Mantzanaris/9f96c650e414d9bc8d7891d60dd7f389ab662177.
Oliveira, K. D. S. "Compreensão de textos literários na educação infantil: rodas de leitura e mediação docente". 16 فبراير، 2017. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Compreens%C3%A3o-de-textos-liter%C3%A1rios-na-educa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-rodas-Oliveira/2f4117fdbfcbbf52f82627a07d85d57de55bbe3c.
Shahini, Gholamhossein, و Zahra Nouri. "Investigating Students’ Philosophic-Mindedness through Their Producing Philosophical Questions: Hindering and Facilitating Factors". IIUM Journal of Educational Studies 6, عدد 1 (2018): 18–37. https://doi.org/10.31436/ijes.v6i1.219.
Кулахметова, М. "АҒЫЛШЫН ТІЛІНІҢ ЛИНГВОМӘДЕНИ АСПЕКТІЛЕРІН ОҚЫТУДЫҢ ЛИНГВОДИДАКТИКАЛЫҚ ЕРЕКШІЛІКТЕРІ". Вестник КазНПУ имени Абая. Серия Филологические науки 1, عدد 1(75) (2021): 354–60. https://doi.org/10.51889/2021-1.1728-7804.61.
Cai, Zhenyu. “Avicenna on Representation: Towards an Existential-Relational Account of Intentionality.” British Journal for the History of Philosophy 33, no. 3 (2025): 415–34.
Creswell, John W, and Cheryl N Poth. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. Sage publications, 2016.
D’Ancona, Cristina. “The ‘Conjunction’ of the Intellect with the Separate Substances and God: The Greek and Graeco-Arabic Background.” Studia Graeco-Arabica 11, no. 1 (2021): 177–216.
Ibrahim, Husayn, Muhammad Fariduddin Attar, Peter Adamson, Jens Hanßen, and Thomas Würtz. “Avicenna, Avicennism (s), and the Later Philosophical Traditions.” In International Workshop at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2024.
Krippendorff, Klaus. Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Sage publications, 2018.
Morvarid, Hashem. “Avicenna on Common Natures and the Ground of the Categories.” British Journal for the History of Philosophy 32, no. 4 (2024): 766–97.
Najafi, Mostafa. Language and Reason in Islamic Thought: Faḫr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī’s Reconciliation of Manṭiq and Bayān. Vol. 16. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2025.
Nurfazri, Muhammad, and Ferli Septi Irwansyah. “Critical Thinking in Islam: What and How Its Practices.” In Gunung Djati Conference Series, 41:37–47, 2024.
Rezakhany, Hassan. “Some Properties of Immediate Judgements in Islamic Philosophy from Avicenna to Jurjānī.” Oriens 53, no. 1–2 (2025): 36–78.
Sahin, Abdullah. “Reimagining the Vocation of Being a Scholar at the Intersection of Islamic and Western Higher Education: A Proposal.” In The Contemporary Scholar in Higher Education: Forms, Ethos and World View, 251–77. Springer, 2024.
Saruhan, Müfit Selim. “Ibn Sīnā and Ibn Rushd’s Conceptions of the Soul in Light of Aristotle’s Theory of Four Causes.” Kanz Philosophia: A Journal for Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism 11, no. 2 (2025): 235–52.
Vincenzo, Silvia Di. “Aristotle’s Categories in the Arabic Tradition.” Works of Philosophy and Their Reception-Aristotle’s Categories, 2024.
العلوانى, داليا فکري محمد. "استخدام استراتيجيات التعليم الممتع للمختارات الأدبية لتنمية مهارات الإبداع اللغوي لتلاميذ المرحلة الإعدادية الأزهرية". مجلة القراءة والمعرفة, advance online publication, 1 مايو، 2021. https://doi.org/10.21608/mrk.2021.169799.
القادر, محمود هلال عبد. "أثر استخدام استراتيجيات تعلم اللغة في تدريس اللغة العربية على تنمية بعض المهارات اللغوية لدى طلاب المرحلة الابتدائية". مجلة العلوم التربوية و النفسية 7, عدد 16 (2023): 103–21. https://doi.org/10.26389/AJSRP.Q081222.
بوقرة, نعمان. "المقامة البشرية لبديع الزمان الهمذاني قراءة نصية تداولية في ضوء نظرية الحجاج." المجلة العربية للعلوم الإنسانية 31, عدد 123 (2013): 43–82. https://doi.org/10.34120/ajh.v31i123.2369.
"مجلة الأستاذ للعلوم الإنسانية والاجتماعية | بحوث جامعة بغداد". تاريخ الوصول 4 فبراير، 2026. https://alustath.uobaghdad.edu.iq/.
Ali, A. "al-Tahawwul fi al-lughah wa-al-tafkir ’abr al-thaqafah = التحول في اللغة والتفكير عبر الثقافة". 2014.
Ali, A. "Editorial Words كلمة التحرير". 6 أكتوبر، 2016.
Amalia, Dian Risky, Jauharotun Nafisah, Siti Sulaikho, و Nafi’atu Rohmah. "Al-Waʻyu al-Ẓātī Li al-Țalabah Fī Taʻlīmi al-Lugah al-ʻArabiyyah Fī Jāmi’ati Ma’ārif Lampung". JICALLS: Journal of Arabic Education, Linguistics, and Literature Studies 2, عدد 1 (2024): 47–60. https://doi.org/10.51214/jicalls.v2i1.787.
Anggara, Syamfa Agny. "منهج تعليم اللغة العربية في الجامعة الإسلامية في ضوء الفلسفة". Lughawiyyat: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Dan Sastra Arab 2, عدد 2 (2019): 166–75. https://doi.org/10.38073/lughawiyyat.v2i2.157.
"Aristotle’s Psychology > The Active Mind of De Anima Iii 5 (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)". تاريخ الوصول 1 فبراير، 2026. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-psychology/active-mind.html.
"AVICENNA vi. Psychology". Encyclopaedia Iranica, د.ت. تاريخ الوصول 2 فبراير، 2026. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avicenna-vi/.
Drew, Valerie, و Lorele Mackie. "Extending the Constructs of Active Learning: Implications for Teachers’ Pedagogy and Practice". The Curriculum Journal 22, عدد 4 (2011): 451–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2011.627204.
Eltingari, S., Zakaria Omar, Abdullah Muhammad Adam Kheir, Shamsuddin Mohd Nor, و Mohamad Abdur Rahman Ibrahim. "قضايا تعليم اللغة العربية وتعلمها (Issues in Arabic teaching and learning)". 2011.
Gutas, Dimitri. "Ibn Sina [Avicenna]". في The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2025, تحقيق Edward N. Zalta و Uri Nodelman. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2025/entries/ibn-sina/.
Gutas, Dimitri. "Ibn Sina [Avicenna]". في The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2025, تحقيق Edward N. Zalta و Uri Nodelman. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2025/entries/ibn-sina/.
Iis Susiawati و Rizka Al Fajr. "From Classical Texts to Digital Platforms: Reconstructing Arabic Language Pedagogy for Multidisciplinary Education Goals". Proceeding of the International Conference on Global Education and Learning 2, عدد 1 (2025): 32–45. https://doi.org/10.62951/icgel.v2i1.146.
Kabadayi, Talip. ARISTOTLE AND AVICENNA (IBN SINA) IN TERMS OF THE THEORY OF INTELLECTS. د.ت.
Kafi, Fina Aunul, و Halimi Halimi. "Falsafah Al-Lugah Wa al-Fikr: Atsaruhuma Fi at-Ta’lim Wa Ta’allum al-Lugah al-Arabiyah". Al-Fusha : Arabic Language Education Journal 6, عدد 2 (2024): 65–73. https://doi.org/10.62097/alfusha.v6i2.1717.
Mantzanaris, Konstantinos D. "Postmodern interferences in adult education: towards a debate with the domineering learning foundations". 2020. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Postmodern-interferences-in-adult-education%3A-a-with-Mantzanaris/9f96c650e414d9bc8d7891d60dd7f389ab662177.
Oliveira, K. D. S. "Compreensão de textos literários na educação infantil: rodas de leitura e mediação docente". 16 فبراير، 2017. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Compreens%C3%A3o-de-textos-liter%C3%A1rios-na-educa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-rodas-Oliveira/2f4117fdbfcbbf52f82627a07d85d57de55bbe3c.
Shahini, Gholamhossein, و Zahra Nouri. "Investigating Students’ Philosophic-Mindedness through Their Producing Philosophical Questions: Hindering and Facilitating Factors". IIUM Journal of Educational Studies 6, عدد 1 (2018): 18–37. https://doi.org/10.31436/ijes.v6i1.219.
Кулахметова, М. "АҒЫЛШЫН ТІЛІНІҢ ЛИНГВОМӘДЕНИ АСПЕКТІЛЕРІН ОҚЫТУДЫҢ ЛИНГВОДИДАКТИКАЛЫҚ ЕРЕКШІЛІКТЕРІ". Вестник КазНПУ имени Абая. Серия Филологические науки 1, عدد 1(75) (2021): 354–60. https://doi.org/10.51889/2021-1.1728-7804.61.
Published
2026-04-13
How to Cite
Khamoush, A., Masruri, H., & Yousuf, S. (2026). Comparison Between Aristotle and Ibn Sina Regarding the Theory of the Active Intellect. Borneo Journal of Language and Education, 6(1), 154-174. https://doi.org/10.21093/benjole.v6i1.12767
Section
Articles
.png)
