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Hayy ibn Yaqzan

Alive, Son of Awake

Ibn Tufayl·Arabic

About this text

The first philosophical novel. A child raised alone on a deserted island discovers physics, metaphysics, and God through observation and reason, with no teacher and no scripture.

The child grew and thrived. He began to observe the animals about him and their coverings of hair, feathers, and hard shells. He looked at himself and saw that he was naked. He had neither a weapon for defense nor a natural covering for protection. He tried to make himself coverings from leaves and grasses. And he began to wonder about everything he saw.

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