Averroes (Arabic: ابن رشد, Ibn Rushd; 14 April 1126 - 11 December 1198) was an Andalusian Muslim philosopher, jurist, and physician, born in Córdoba under the Almohad Caliphate. He is best known in the Western tradition for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle, which became so authoritative that he was referred to in medieval Latin scholarship simply as “The Commentator,” while Aristotle was called “The Philosopher.” His work was central to the transmission of Greek philosophy into medieval European intellectual life and had lasting influence on both Christian Scholasticism and Jewish philosophy, as well as on the Islamic philosophical tradition he inherited and extended.

Born into a family of jurists in Córdoba, Averroes was educated in Islamic law, theology, medicine, and philosophy. He served as a court physician and later as chief judge (qadi) in Seville and Córdoba. His philosophical output was prolific: he produced short, middle, and long commentaries on nearly the entire Aristotelian corpus, as well as original works in philosophy, medicine (including the Kitab al-Kulliyyat fi al-Tibb, known in Latin as the Colliget), jurisprudence, and Islamic theology. Late in life he fell out of favor with the Almohad caliph al-Mansur, was briefly exiled, and his philosophical works were suppressed - though he was later rehabilitated. He died in Marrakesh in 1198.

Averroes argued that philosophy and religion, properly understood, do not contradict one another - a position elaborated in his Fasl al-Maqal (The Decisive Treatise). He maintained that demonstrative reasoning (philosophy) and revealed law (Islam) lead to the same truth, and that apparent conflicts arise from misinterpretation of scripture or from the limitations of non-philosophical audiences. His commentaries on Aristotle were translated into Latin, primarily by Michael Scot and Herman the German in the 13th century, and became the standard reference texts in European universities for several centuries.

His interpretation of Aristotle's De Anima - specifically his reading of the “active intellect” as a single, separate, and universal entity rather than as something individual to each person - generated significant controversy. This position, known as monopsychism or the doctrine of the unity of the intellect, was condemned by the Bishop of Paris in 1270 and 1277 and was a central target of Thomas Aquinas's De Unitate Intellectus Contra Averroistas. The school of thought derived from his Latin interpreters is called Averroism.

In Islamic philosophy, Averroes represented the most systematic expression of the Aristotelian tradition but was largely marginalized in the centuries following his death. The relative weight of al-Ghazali's critique of philosophy, the dominance of Ash'ari theology, and other institutional factors in producing that marginalization remains a matter of scholarly discussion. See Viewpoint: Averroes and Islamic Orthodoxy.

There is broad scholarly consensus on the basic biographical facts and on Averroes's historical role as a transmitter and interpreter of Aristotle. Interpretive questions - including the precise meaning of his doctrine of the intellect, the degree to which his thought is consistent with Islamic orthodoxy, and the accuracy of Latin translations in conveying his positions - remain active areas of scholarly discussion. See Averroes Philosophy Consensus.

• Harmony of reason and revelation - Averroes held that philosophy and Islamic law are compatible and that the Quran itself enjoins demonstrative reasoning on those capable of it. Viewpoint: Harmony of Reason and Revelation

• Monopsychism and personal immortality - His reading of the active intellect as a single universal entity was taken by critics to deny individual immortality, a charge his defenders contest. Viewpoint: Monopsychism

• Averroism in Latin Christendom - Medieval Latin Averroists, associated with figures such as Siger of Brabant, drew conclusions from his work that were condemned as incompatible with Christian doctrine, including the eternity of the world and the unity of the intellect. Whether these positions accurately represent Averroes himself is disputed. Viewpoint: Latin Averroism

• Averroes and Islamic orthodoxy - Scholars disagree about whether Averroes's philosophical project was genuinely compatible with Islamic belief or whether it represented a form of rationalist esotericism in tension with mainstream theology. Viewpoint: Averroes and Islamic Orthodoxy

• Averroes - History
• Averroism
• Scholasticism
• Aristotle
• Islamic Philosophy
• Averroes - Debate
• Averroes Philosophy Consensus

1. Averroes. Fasl al-Maqal (The Decisive Treatise). Trans. Charles Butterworth. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2001.
2. Averroes. Tahafut al-Tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence). Trans. Simon Van Den Bergh. London: Luzac, 1954.
3. Arnaldez, Roger. “Ibn Rushd.” Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. Leiden: Brill, 1971.
4. Davidson, Herbert A. Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
5. Leaman, Oliver. Averroes and His Philosophy. Richmond: Curzon Press, 1998.
6. Aquinas, Thomas. De Unitate Intellectus Contra Averroistas. Trans. Ralph McInerny. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 1993.
7. Hasse, Dag Nikolaus. “Influence of Arabic and Islamic Philosophy on the Latin West.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/arabic-islamic-influence/