TEHRAN – Iranian scholars came together for a one-day conference in Hamedan on Saturday to discuss the philosophy of the Islamic physician and philosopher Avicenna (980–1037).
Entitled the Wisdom in the Philosophy of Avicenna Conference, the gathering was organized by the Avicenna Cultural and Scientific Foundation to commemorate Iran’s National Physicians’ Day, which is August 23.
Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati, Avicenna Cultural and Scientific Foundation Director Ayatollah Ghiaseddin Taha-Mohammadi, and a large number of clerics and academics attended the conference, which was held at the Hamedan University of Medical Sciences.
In his address at the ceremony, Jannati said that it is not fair to call Avicenna a world famous physician and to ignore his artistic and philosophical contributions.
“If we restrict Avicenna within our geographical borders, we have not served the world of science. He is a scholar whose thoughts have gone across the world and he belongs to the entire earth,” he said.
Although Avicenna’s thoughts and works have still not been disseminated throughout the world as much as they should be, “Avicenna is still regarded as one of the leading philosophers of the world,” he added.
Avicenna is a treasure of our society, and we need to make use of him in developing the Islamic civilization, he added.
Photo: Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati (C) and a number scholars visit the tomb of Avicenna in Hamedan after the opening ceremony of the Wisdom in the Philosophy of Avicenna Conference on August 23, 2014. (ISNA/Puria Pakizeh)
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