I'm glad to have been able to help you identify the man on your stamp
as Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi. I have gathered excerpts from online
sources that will give you a brief overview of al-Kindi's remarkably
broad career. You may want to read some of these articles in their
entirety; to do so, just click the link beneath each excerpt.
"The spread of Hellenistic philosophy in the Muslim world would be
first expounded on by the first Arabic philosopher al-Kindi
(ca.800-865). He wrote many works on Greek science and philosophy. He
laid the foundation for others to follow in studying philosophical
works. His main contribution was the firm conviction that Greek
heritage contained important truths that Muslims could not afford to
overlook. As a mathematician he realized the importance of
Aristotelian Logic, However, al-Kindi found Aristotelian metaphysics
contradictory; that Aristotle did not offer valid logical support to
the issue of the eternity of the world.
Al-Kindi in his mathematical philosophy presented an argument that
actual infinity is self-canceling. Also in his philosophy of nature he
showed that matter, motion, and time as closely related concepts (this
is an advanced worked comparing it with the knowledge of the middle
ages.) Since matter cannot be eternal, and cannot generate its
existence (c.f. essence and generation argument) then its motion and
time are not eternal too. Al-Kindi was the first Muslim philosopher to
note clearly that the metaphysics of the Greek philosophers is first
self contradictory, and second it contradict the Islamic belief. He
also gave a religious basis for studying these fields.
Al-Kindi would prove to be the most difficult Islamic thinker to study
which explains the dearth of works on him. This is due to a variety of
reasons some of which is that he was a scientist, philosopher of
science, a rigorous mathematician and a man of letters with a high
command of Arabic. One who is not well versed in all of these topics
in addition to a solid grasp of scientific Arabic would not be able to
fully appreciate al-Kindi nor his contributions"
Muslim Philosophy: The Introduction of Greek Philosophy in the Muslim World
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/intgkp.htm
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Al-Kindi.html
"To his people he became known as ... the philosopher of the Arabs. He
was the only notable philosopher of pure Arabian blood and the first
one in Islam. Al-Kindi was the most leaned of his age, unique among
his contemporaries in the knowledge of the totality of ancient
scientists, embracing logic, philosophy, geometry, mathematics, music
and astrology."
University of St Andrews: Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Sabbah Al-Kindi
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Al-Kindi.html
"Al-Kindi General Hospital, one of the biggest medical centres in
present day Baghdad was named after his tremendous contributions in
medical and pharmaceutical. Al-Kindi was best known as a philosopher,
but he was also a physician, pharmacist, ophthalmologist, physicist,
mathematician, geographer, astronomer, and chemist. He was also
concerned with music, logogriphs, the manufacture of swords and even
the art of cookery. He wrote about 270 publications... Al-Kindi also
delved in medicine. He produced 22 publications on medical topics. One
of his major contributions in medicine and pharmaceutics is to
determine and apply a correct dosage, which formed the basis of
medical formulary."
Muslim Heritage: Al-Kindi, Encyclopaedic Scholar of the Baghdad 'House of Wisdom'
http://www.muslimheritage.com/day_life/default.cfm?ArticleID=370&Oldpage=1
"Al-Kindi was a philosopher, mathematician, physicist, astronomer,
physician, geographer and even an expert in music. It is surprising
that he made original contributions to all of these fields. On account
of his work he became known as the philosopher of the Arabs.
In mathematics, he wrote four books on the number system and laid the
foundation of a large part of modern arithmetic. No doubt the Arabic
system of numerals was largely developed by al- Khawarizmi, but
al-Kindi also made rich contributions to it. He also contributed to
spherical geometry to assist him in astronomical studies.
In chemistry, he opposed the idea that base metals can be converted to
precious metals. In contrast to prevailing alchemical views, he was
emphatic that chemical reactions cannot bring about the transformation
of elements. In physics, he made rich contributions to geometrical
optics and wrote a book on it. This book later on provided guidance
and inspiration to such eminent scientists as Roger Bacon.
In medicine, his chief contribution comprises the fact that he was the
first to systematically determine the doses to be administered of all
the drugs known at his time. This resolved the conflicting views
prevailing among physicians on the dosage that caused difficulties in
writing recipes."
Trinity College: Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi
http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/phil/philo/phils/muslim/kindi.html
"Al-Kindi was the first physician who systematically determined the
dosage for most drugs. It greatly helped in the development of dosage
standards (prescription) for patients. In the field of Chemistry,
Al-Kindi argued that base metals cannot be converted to precious
metals and that chemical reactions cannot produce transformation of
basic elements. He made important contributions to the Arabic system
of numerals. In addition, he contributed to spherical geometry while
assisting al-Khwarizmi in astronomical studies. Al-Kindi's original
work provided the foundation for modern arithmetic. He also made
original contributions to geometrical optics, a special field of
Physics, and wrote a book on it. Several centuries later, Al-Kindi's
work inspired Roger Bacon.
Al-Kindi researched on the scientific aspects of music. He stated that
the various notes that combine to produce harmony have a specific
pitch, and the degree of harmony depends on the frequency of notes.
Further, he provided a method for the determination of pitch. Al-Kindi
stated that when a sound is produced it generates waves in the air,
which strike the eardrum.
Al-Kindi wrote more than two hundred forty books. Among them are
sixteen books in Astronomy, twenty-two each in Medicine and
Philosophy, twelve in Physics, thirty-two in Geometry, eleven in
Arithmetic, nine in Logic, four on the number system, seven in Music
and five in Psychology. In addition, he wrote monographs on
astronomical instruments, tides, rocks and precious stones."
Hasanuddin University: YAQUB IBN ISHAQ AL-KINDI (ALKINDUS)
http://www.unhas.ac.id/~rhiza/saintis/kindi.html
More on al-Kindi and his works may be found here:
Muslim Philosophy: Al-Kindi
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/kindi/default.htm
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "al-kindi"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22al-kindi%22
I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, or if a
link doesn't work for you, please request clarification; I'll gladly
offer further assistance before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
