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What role did the Active Intelligence play in Avicenna’s philosophy?

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Avicenna The title page of the 1556 edition of Avicenna's *The Canon of Medicine* (*Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb*). This edition (sometimes called the 1556 Basel edition) was translated by medieval scholar Gerard of Cremona.

In Avicenna’s cosmology, the Active Intelligence serves as the final link in a celestial hierarchy that originates from God, the First Cause and necessary Being.1

Within this framework, existence emanates from God through a series of ten intelligences. The Active Intelligence occupies the lowest position in this chain, acting as the bridge between the celestial realm and the human world. It communicates with humanity through divine light, a concept that carries symbolic authority derived from the Qur'an.1

By functioning as the agent that imparts existence to the sublunary sphere, the Active Intelligence facilitates the interaction between form and matter, enabling the perpetual process of generation and corruption in the physical world. This hierarchical structure allowed Avicenna to harmonize his philosophical system with theocentric beliefs, ensuring that all creation remains eternally dependent upon the Creator.12