Presenting a detailed analysis of the manuscripts, contents, structure and historical transmission of The Discussions, this volume is a collection of correspondence written by eleventh-century philosoher Avicenna, his students and colleagues.
The first chapter contains a study of the extant manuscripts complete with palaeographical and codicological details. The second chapter traces the transmission of the texts that now constitute The Discussions and offers convincing arguments for their posthumous collection. The third chapter presents biographical studies of Avicenna's students Bahmanyar and Ibn Zayla, and his colleague Abū l-Qāsim al-Kirmānī, in order to develop the historical and intellectual contexts of these philosophical discussions. The fourth chapter develops theories for the dating and original sequence of the individual letters on the basis of textual evidence.