Human love: Physical and mental health from Avicenna's viewpoint.

Avicenna is one of the most eminent and influential Persian philosophers and scientists whose philosophical and medical works are of high significance all over the world. Using descriptive analysis, the present study aims to deal with philosophical, physiological, and psychological aspects of human love and lovesickness from his perspective. His anthropology stems from his philosophical contemplation and practical experience in medicine. According to the research results, Avicenna believes that the love of noble-minded and young for external beauty, as a branch of human love, leads to the perfection of moral virtues and spiritual tendencies. Virtual love for beautiful human forms, as a representation of divine names and attributes, is a means to reach absolute perfection and true love in the mystic journey. With respect to the medical and psychological aspects, Avicenna holds that lovesickness brings disease to the soul and body of a lover. Lustful and impious love has resulted from intermingling, recurrent, and obsessive perceptions of mental forms. Since it terminates proper and moderate reasoning and disturbs the mental balance of a lover, it would lead to spiritual, mental, and even physical impairment. After explaining the features and symptoms of lovesickness, Avicenna reviews its therapeutic treatments including spiritual and physical remedies. He concludes that physical condition and temperamental health are obedient to and under the control of the mind.

The definition of life and death from the view of Avicenna and modern medicine.

By a comparison between the definition of life and death in Modern Medicine and Avicenna's view, it is perceived that each of them has looked at the above concepts from their special perspective. The topic of Avicenna's view is the being of life and the topic of Modern Medicine is the origin, appearance, and impressions of life. In his philosophical and medical works, Avicenna described the separation of the soul from the body as the ultimate reason for ceasing life. On the other, with the accepted medical standards, death is attributed to the organs in the human body and relies on the function or lack of function in the body's organs. Despite the differences between these two fields of knowledge, there can be collaboration between science and philosophy to achieve significant results in this regard to make useful contributions to the clarification of the concept of life and death. The findings of the study demonstrate that although the question of life and death is investigated in Avicenna's philosophy as a transcendental issue and in modern medicine as a material one, a general-specific relationship can be made between science and philosophy in defining the concept of life and death in the natural world domain.

Heart and the process of its development in the human body from the view of Avicenna.

The issue of the first organ developed in the human body has been studied by many scholars, especially in medical science, since a long time ago. The significance of this subject is due to the fact that it can illustrate the developmental process of body structure in a better way. There are three approaches in this regard which consider either the heart, brain, or liver as the first organ to develop in the human body. Avicenna, as a proficient physician who had a comprehensive outlook in his works, recognizes the heart as the first organ to develop in the embryo. He also regards it as a place for a vaporous spirit that acts as an intermediary between soul and body, like an electrical current in the heart. He makes use of experimental evidence based on traditional medicine as well as rational arguments to prove his viewpoint.