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The Healing of the Soul: Architecture and Ambition of Avicenna's Kitāb al-Shifāʾ
One thousand years after the publication of Avicenna's (Ibn Sīnā, 980-1037) Book of Healing (Kitāb al-Shifāʾ), Falsafa - the meetings on Arabic philosophy at the IMA - dedicates its 2026-2027 season to this monumental work. Logic, physics, mathematics, metaphysics: meeting after meeting, we will explore the various facets of one of the most ambitious and influential texts in intellectual history, in Islam and beyond.
L'Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris 5th)
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About
In 2027, the millennium of the Kitāb al-Shifāʾ will be celebrated, the work through which Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā) assigns to what is often considered a philosophical encyclopedia the task of exposing philosophical knowledge in its entirety. Its very title - The Book of Healing - states the ambition of this enterprise: to deliver the soul from ignorance. By traversing the architecture of the work—logic, physics, mathematics, and metaphysics—we will show how the order of its parts reflects a unitary and ambitious philosophical design, where the path of knowledge coincides with that of intellectual salvation. The goal will be to question not only what the Shifāʾ says, but the way its structure embodies the Avicennian ideal of a complete and ordered science which, culminating in metaphysics, is capable of leading the human soul, and therefore the individual, to its perfection.
With: Olga L. Lizzini, professor at Aix-Marseille University, where she teaches Islamic studies and the intellectual tradition of Islam. A specialist in Avicenna, and more generally in Arab-Islamic and medieval philosophy, she is particularly interested in Arabic-language metaphysics, its Greek sources, and its receptions in the Jewish and Latin worlds. Among her most recent publications: Traité sur l’unité divine de Yaḥyā ibn ʿAdī, introduced, translated from Arabic and commented, Les Belles Lettres, 2025; Avicenne, Vrin, 2026; La philosophie arabe à l’étude. Sens, limites et défis d’une discipline moderne, co-edited with J.-B. Brenet, Vrin, 2019.
The Falsafa meetings are coordinated and hosted by Jean-Baptiste Brenet, medievalist, professor of Arabic philosophy at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, agrégé in philosophy and doctor from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (section of religious sciences).
These lectures are recorded and published as podcasts, accessible on streaming platforms and on the IMA website.
Our take on this event
Refresh your mind with a deep dive into the visionary world of Avicenna, a thinker who believed true enlightenment was the ultimate cure for the soul. Whether you are a philosophy enthusiast or just curious, this session offers a fascinating look at the structure of ancient knowledge in an iconic setting.
The Institut du Monde Arabe hosts a lecture dedicated to Avicenna’s Kitāb al-Shifāʾ, a foundational philosophical encyclopedia, ahead of its 2027 millennium. On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, professor Olga L. Lizzini explores the structure of this work, which aims to liberate the soul from ignorance through logic, physics, mathematics, and metaphysics. This session, designed for an audience aged 18 and over, examines how this structured knowledge leads to intellectual salvation. The lecture takes place in the library at level 1 and is fully wheelchair accessible. Attendance is free, though booking a spot in advance is mandatory.
As the millennium of the Kitāb al-Shifāʾ approaches in 2027, the Institut du Monde Arabe presents a deep dive into the philosophy of Ibn Sīnā, known as Avicenna. This session takes place on October 6, 2026, from 19:00 to 20:00, focusing on the ambitious architecture of his masterpiece, which seeks to guide the human soul toward perfection through a comprehensive, ordered scientific framework.
The lecture features Olga L. Lizzini, a professor at Aix-Marseille University and an expert in Arabic-Islamic philosophy, who will analyze how the book's various disciplines converge in its culmination: metaphysics. The Falsafa series is coordinated and moderated by Jean-Baptiste Brenet, a professor of Arabic philosophy at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne.
The event is held in the library on level 1. Admission is free, but reservations are required for all attendees. The venue provides full wheelchair access. Please be aware that this lecture is strictly for participants aged 18 and older. For those unable to attend in person, the conference will be recorded and published as a podcast on streaming platforms and the IMA website.
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