The Latin reception of Arabic life sciences: Translation and analysis of Michael Scotus' Libri de animalibus I. based on Aristotle's Kitab al-Hayawan

This thesis analyses the scholarly transmission process of the Arabic translation and compilation of Aristotle's major works on the life sciences, Kitab al-Hayawan, in the context of the Arabic-Latin translation tradition, focusing on Book I of Michael Scotus' Libri de animalibus, the first Latin translation of the text. The aim of the study is to reveal how Aristotle's legacy, which was revived in a different language and tradition as the Kitab al-Hayawan, was reproduced in Late Medieval Europe. In this regard, both the philological and terminological problems of the practice of translation from Arabic into Latin and the main issues of Book I are discussed. The thesis consists of four parts: (1) the formation of Aristotelian life sciences and their reception in Antiquity, the Islamic world and the Latin West; (2) the life and works of Michael Scotus and the position of his Libri de animalibus in the history of science; (3) The analysis of the first book of Libri de animalibus and its significance in the Arabic-Latin scholarly tradition is examined. Additionally, the Latin text of Book I of Libri de animalibus, its Turkish translation, and the Arabic text of the first maqalat of Aristotle's Kitab al-Hayawan have been included in order. There are also glossaries of Philosophical-Scientific Terms-Concepts, Names of Living Beings, and Anatomical Terms. The main claim of the thesis is that Michael Scotus' translation of Aristotle's Kitab al-Hayawan from Arabic into Latin laid the foundation of the life sciences in Latin Western Europe. Thus, it explains Scotus' role in shaping the field of life sciences in the Early Modern Period by providing an example of both linguistic and intellectual transmission.