Al-Razi Quotes on Knowledge
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (c. 854–925), the Persian physician and philosopher known to the Latin Middle Ages as Rhazes and the most explicitly rationalist of the great early Islamic philosophers, defended in the Doubts about Galen and the now-fragmentary metaphysical works the case that philosophical knowledge is in principle accessible to every rational human being through the disciplined use of reason and the patient testing of received doctrine against observation and argument. The framework rejects the necessity of prophetic mediation in matters of natural and metaphysical inquiry — a position whose boldness made al-Rāzī's metaphysics highly controversial in the subsequent Islamic tradition and survives chiefly through the reports of his philosophical opponents.
Quotes
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Attributed to Al-Razi:
“Truth in medicine is an unattainable goal, and the art as described in books is far beneath the knowledge of an experienced thoughtful physician.”
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Attributed to Al-Razi:
“All learning is preceded by the recognition of one's own ignorance.”
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Attributed to Al-Razi:
“The intellect is God's greatest gift to humankind, and we should not impose another authority above it.”
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Attributed to Al-Razi:
“The physician's task is to imitate the work of nature.”
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“Islamic Science, the Scholar and Ethics , Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation.”
The doctor 's aim is to do good, even to our enemies, so much more to our friends , and my profession forbids us to do harm to our kindred, as it is instituted for the benefit and welfare of the human race, and God imposed on physicians the oath not to compose mortiferous remedies. -
“I prayed to God to direct and lead me to the truth in writing this book. It grieves me to oppose and criticize the man Galen from whose sea of knowledge I have drawn much. Indeed, he is the Master and I am the disciple. Although this reverence and appreciation will and should not prevent me from doubting, as I did, what is erroneous in his theories. I imagine and feel deeply in my heart that Galen”
Introduction of Doubts about Galen , as quoted in Bashar Saad, Omar Said, Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine: Traditional System, Ethics, Safety, Efficacy, and Regulatory Issues , John Wiley & Sons, 2011. ISBN 9781118002261 , page -
“Al-Razi, Al Syrat al Falsafiah [The Philosophical Approach]”
... In short, while I am writing the present book, I have written so far around 200 books and articles on different aspects of science, philosophy, theology, and hekmat (wisdom). ... I never entered the service of any king as a military man or a man of office, and if I ever did have a conversation with a king, it never went beyond my medical responsibility and advice. ... Those who have seen me kn