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When will Al-Jahiz finally get credit for his early ideas about evolution, long before Darwin? His book Kitab al-Hayawan is still in print.

by leyth 1y ago

echelon_musk 1y ago
Do you have a horse in the race here, so to speak? Wikipedia [0] has the following to say: > According to Frank Edgerton (2002), the claim made by some authors that al-Jahiz was an early evolutionist is "unconvincing" > If certain historians have claimed that Jahiz wrote about evolution a thousand years before Darwin and that he discovered natural selection, they have misunderstood. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Jahiz https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Jahiz
- leyth 1y ago
  Any chance you could finish the article before launching another disk-filling spree? > "He certainly saw ecosystems, as we would call them now, in the natural world. He also understood what we might call the survival of the fittest.[46]" > "Animals engage in a struggle for existence, and for resources, to avoid being eaten, and to breed." He added, "Environmental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming them into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to their offspring." Masood, E. (2009, March 1). Islam's evolutionary legacy. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/feb/27/islam-religion-evolution-science https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/feb/27... I should also note that I do have a 'horse in the race', having read Al-Jahiz’s work myself. I'm well aware that some struggle to accept that such a monumental intellectual contribution came from a Black scholar—yes, Al-Jahiz—at a time when much of the world was still in the so-called Dark Ages.
  - echelon_musk 1y ago
    I was likely just looking to confirm my own biases and should have read more! Without having read Al-Jahiz's work myself I'm limited by relying on English translations and commentaries. Thanks for the rebuttal.
    - leyth 1y ago
      You’re welcome friend.

When will Al-Jahiz finally get credit for his early ideas about evolution, long before Darwin? His book Kitab al-Hayawan is still in print.

by leyth 1y ago

When will Al-Jahiz finally get credit for his early ideas about evolution, long before Darwin? His book Kitab al-Hayawan is still in print.

echelon_musk 1y ago

Do you have a horse in the race here, so to speak? Wikipedia [0] has the following to say: > According to Frank Edgerton (2002), the claim made by some authors that al-Jahiz was an early evolutionist is "unconvincing" > If certain historians have claimed that Jahiz wrote about evolution a thousand years before Darwin and that he discovered natural selection, they have misunderstood. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Jahiz https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Jahiz

leyth 1y ago
Any chance you could finish the article before launching another disk-filling spree? > "He certainly saw ecosystems, as we would call them now, in the natural world. He also understood what we might call the survival of the fittest.[46]" > "Animals engage in a struggle for existence, and for resources, to avoid being eaten, and to breed." He added, "Environmental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming them into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to their offspring." Masood, E. (2009, March 1). Islam's evolutionary legacy. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/feb/27/islam-religion-evolution-science https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/feb/27... I should also note that I do have a 'horse in the race', having read Al-Jahiz’s work myself. I'm well aware that some struggle to accept that such a monumental intellectual contribution came from a Black scholar—yes, Al-Jahiz—at a time when much of the world was still in the so-called Dark Ages.
- echelon_musk 1y ago
  I was likely just looking to confirm my own biases and should have read more! Without having read Al-Jahiz's work myself I'm limited by relying on English translations and commentaries. Thanks for the rebuttal.
  - leyth 1y ago
    You’re welcome friend.