The Animal Environment and Human Health: The Approach Followed by the Medieval Zoologist Ğāḥiẓ (Ninth Century)

Abstract

Medieval medical studies allow us to address the issue of human health in its general environment and in particular in its geographical and climatic environment. The work of Ğāḥiẓ (an Arab scholar of the eighth and ninth centuries) allows us to focus notably on the relationship between human health and its animal environment. This author was in an exceptional scientific position for such analysis. In fact, he was very familiar with the physics (or natural sciences) of medieval times as well as with the body and human temperament and had a profound knowledge of the zoological science of his time. The originality of this scholar lies in the conviction that animals are worthy of specific research and must be studied for themselves. Ğāḥiẓ, with his deep knowledge of zoology, also examined the effects of animals on the physical and mental health of humans. In this chapter, we will focus in particular on his Book of Animals, the Kitāb-al-Ḥayawān, composed of 7 volumes of nearly 400 pages each. In this study, the author brings together all the zoological knowledge of his time. He reviews the data from Greek sources (notably Aristotle and Galen); he also mentions the writings of his contemporaries, particularly the Arab grammarians (such as al-Asma‘ī) who enriched zoological knowledge through personal observation and precise terminological research. Ğāḥiẓ also collected the oral testimonies of travelers. But above all, this work includes his observations, associated at times with his own experimentation. Ğāḥiẓ therefore brings to the zoological knowledge of his time some elements that are totally new, on occasion rejecting propositions made by the most legitimate authorities (such as Aristotle). In this chapter, we shall first focus on Ğāḥiẓ’s observations regarding the health of animals when in captivity. Then, we will examine two categories of animals: firstly, snakes, the mysterious animal featured in tales and beliefs, a symbol of strength, cleverness, and cunning, as well as an object of admiration and fear because of the power of their venom. Secondly, we focus on pests, today called “insects.” Ğāḥiẓ pays the same amount of attention to these two categories, examines their power and nuisance, and searches for scientific explanations as well as solutions in relation to human health.