Avicenna's Scientific method in Ben Jonson's "The "Alchemist المنهج العلمي عند ابن سينا في مسرحية بن چونسون " الكيميائي" | ||||
| مجلة کلية الأداب - جامعة حلوان | ||||
| Article 2, Volume 59, Issue 2 - Serial Number 59, July 2024, Page 51-88 PDF (785.03 K) | ||||
| Document Type: المقالة الأصلية | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/kgef.2024.254622.1189 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Author | ||||
إيمان مجدي 
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| الجامعة العمالية | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| During the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, known as the great age of translation, Arabic scientific and philosophical literature was transmitted to Europe through centers of translation in Spain. Alchemy, the art of transmuting base metals into gold revived from ancient Egyptian and Greek culture by Arab scholars, was one of the transmitted Arabic cultural products which had a great appeal in Europe. Avicenna, whose scientific method depends on observation and experimentation, rejects alchemy because it is experimentally impossible to transmute base metals into gold. He considers alchemists cheats who exploit people's lust for money. Translated into Latin, Avicenna's philosophical and medical writings became an integral part of European cultural legacy that the Renaissance inherited. This paper assumes that Ben Jonson was affected by Avicenna's legacy and traces the influence of Avicenna's scientific method and stance on alchemy on Jonson's play "The Alchemist " in terms of plot, theme, characterization, and dialogue. Satirically, Jonson dramatizes themes of greed, deception, and fraud through the careers of two conmen who set up a fake alchemy laboratory in order to swindle wealthy clients. What Avicenna proposes about alchemy has close affinity to what Jonson proposes in his play. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Avicenna; Scientific method; The Alchemist | ||||
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