Ibn Bajja Quotes
Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Yahya Ibn Bajja, known to the Latin West as Avempace, was an Andalusian polymath, the first major Islamic philosopher of the Iberian peninsula after Ibn Hazm and the principal predecessor of Ibn Tufayl and Averroes. He served as a vizier in several Almoravid courts and wrote on logic, music, astronomy, physics, and ethics. The quotes below are attributed to Ibn Bajja, organized by topic.
Ibn Bajja on Happiness
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Attributed to Ibn Bajja:
“True happiness is the contemplation of intelligibles.”
Ibn Bajja on Knowledge
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Attributed to Ibn Bajja:
“The solitary thinker has reached the highest stage of the philosophical life.”
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Attributed to Ibn Bajja:
“Knowledge is the soul's perfection.”
Ibn Bajja on Mind
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Attributed to Ibn Bajja:
“Reason rises by stages from the senses to the contemplation of the divine.”
Ibn Bajja on Politics
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Attributed to Ibn Bajja:
“The wise man in an unwise city is a stranger to it.”