Averroes' influence on 13th century scholastic thought

The aim of this study is to investigate in which aspects Averroes had an influence on Scholastics of the 13th century. Some important historical events have been pointed out to clarify this influence. One of these is the Latin translation movement, which made it possible for Scholastics to become familiar with the works of both Greek philosophers and Islamic thinkers. Averroes' commentaries on Aristotle were also translated into Latin at the beginning of the 13th century. Another was the foundation of universities where the new knowledge gained through translated works would be taught and discussed. Averroes' works echoed in this century, especially around the University of Paris. Four theses, known as the unity of intellect, the eternity of the world, happiness in this life, and the double truth, were associated with Averroes and Averroism in this period. In the context of these theses, the views held by Siger of Brabant, Boethius of Dacia, Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, and John Pecham were scrutinized by making necessary comparisons. The results showed that Scholastic thinkers made considerable use of Averroes' commentaries for the understanding and interpreting Aristotle's philosophy. Moreover, it was found that the term Averroism was used to define a group in the 13th century and therefore, such a movement could be mentioned historically. However, it was seen that the theses attributed to Averroism were not common to the thinkers who were labelled as Averroists, and for this reason, it was understood that the term did not refer to an ideational equivalent movement. As a matter of fact, it was concluded that Averroism was based on the adoption and application of a certain method regarding the relationship between philosophy and religion.