الوصف
Abstract: Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037) distinguishes five internal senses: sensus communis, faculty of representation, faculty of imagination, estimative faculty and recollective or retentive faculty. While Aristotle presents a faculty of imagination without attributing any real creative power to it, Ibn Sīnā distinguishes in imagination between two faculties: the retentive imagination “al-khayāl” and the compositive imagination “mutakhayyila”. The first faculty has the role of sensitive memory, while the second power creates new imaginary images. The paper discusses Ibn Sīnā’s theory of imagination, especially the faculty of imagination called “mutakhayyila”. It also indicates its nature, the way it functions, its relation with the other internal senses, and its role in psychological and religious phenomena, such as emotions, dreams, prophecy and revelation.
Keywords: The soul, faculty of fantasy, estimative faculty, recollective or retentive faculty, prophecy.
