The concept of meaning according to Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd and its role in the development of philosophical thought

Abstract

This paper examines the central role played by the concepts of continuity and discontinuity in Ibn Rushd’s philosophical system and argues that these notions form a unifying thread linking his natural philosophy, his theory of the intellect, and his approach to the relationship between religion and rational inquiry. By engaging critically with the atomistic views of the theologians, Ibn Rushd defends a continuous and law-governed structure of nature that preserves causal necessity and renders scientific explanation possible. In the field of psychology and epistemology, he develops a nuanced account of the conjunction between the human potential intellect and the Active Intellect, portraying intellectual realization as a gradual transition from sensible particulars toward universal truths. His writings on jurisprudence and scriptural interpretation further reveal an effort to reconcile revelation with philosophical reasoning, grounded in the principle that truth is one and cannot contradict itself. The study concludes that Ibn Rushd’s connective framework—rooted in Aristotelian rationalism yet re-articulated within an Islamic context—had a significant impact on the development of both Islamic thought and Latin Averroism, and continues to offer a valuable model for addressing contemporary debates on science, religion, and the unity of knowledge