Reviews
This highly interesting volume can be described in three ways. First it is a historical analysis of the concept of autodidacticism. Second, it is the history of a particular book. Finally, the book is self-described as an exercise in interdisciplinarity... The method of this historiographic proposal is described as 'historical sampling,' whereby the appropriation of a text in various cultural contexts is displayed and compared. In all three of the abovementioned ways, the present reviewer judges the book to be a success. Moreover, it is written in such a lively style with rich detail that it is engrossing from start to finish.
Ben-Zaken sketches this backdrop to Hayy beautifully.
This engaging book is slight in size yet ambitious in scope and innovative in methodology... overall, this is a splendid and daring book!
This book will inspire future scholars along three different paths. First,it encourages fuller development of the reception-history of Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan; second, it opens up new directions in the study of the wider themes of autodidacticism and experimental learning in the early modern world; and, finally, it illustrates a new, increasingly popular methodology in the practice of intellectual history that moves beyond the constraints of period, national literature, religious orientation, and even scholarly discipline to produce a thick description of the movement of ideas across time. This is an extraordinary accomplishment for a relatively slim monograph.
This is an impressive interdisciplinary achievement.
A fascinating and deftly told story of the development of autodidacticism... This study opens an illuminating window to cross-cultural exchanges.
Reading ayy Ibn-Yaqān is a mesmerizing study that will enchant anyone interested in interdisciplinary cross-cultural explorations that transform the way we look at the past and the present.
This whirlwind tour through five centuries does an immense amount of work in presenting of both the text itself and four contexts of reception. Ben-Zaken’s patient ‘de-layering’ of each generation’s use of the text uncovers new readings of all-contexts – the original work and of its repeated translations.
A fascinating work of multi-cultural scholarship tracing the fortunes of a 12th century Arabic text in four eras of Western history.
Book Details
Preface
Introduction: The Pursuit of the Natural Self
1. Taming the Mystic: Marrakesh, 1160s
2. Climbing the Ladder of Philosophy: Barcelona, 1348
3. Defying Authority, Denying Predestination, and
Preface
Introduction: The Pursuit of the Natural Self
1. Taming the Mystic: Marrakesh, 1160s
2. Climbing the Ladder of Philosophy: Barcelona, 1348
3. Defying Authority, Denying Predestination, and Conquering Nature: Florence, 1493
4. Employing the Self and Experimenting with Nature: Oxford, 1671
Conclusion: Sampling the History of Autodidacticism
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index