Alhacen's Optics: A Translation and Annotation of an Important Work of 13th C. Islamic Science

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Introduction: The PI plans to collate, edit, translate, and annotate the final book, Book 7, of the Latin version of Alhacen's Opticsis, thereby offering to make available a complete edition of a critical scientific work from the 13th century. Some of the most important and interesting work currently being done in medieval and early modern European history concerns the history of vision and visuality. For this work to continue and flourish, access to good editions of primary source material is essential. Alhacen's optical treatise is one such source, in many ways, an essential source. Within decades of its appearance in Europe in the 13th century, Alhacen's theory of vision had come to shape a theological and scientific attitudes about vision, epistemology and cognition. Traces of Alhacen's ideas can be found not only in all manner of scholastic writings, but even in religious works, in preaching handbooks and devotional treatises. Finally, there seems little doubt that Alhacen's ideas directly or through scholastic thinkers who summarized his ideas, influenced attitudes about art and artistic production.Intellectual Merit: This early 13th century work is very important for understanding Islamic science, as well as the extent to which European natural philosophy owed some of its innovative ideas to these Islamic sources. It will be an invaluable resource, internationally, and for many years to come.Broader Impact: Although this is a very erudite scholarly production, it nevertheless will prove to be invaluable to the international history of science, Islamic science, and medieval studies communities; so, it does have a relatively broad (given the context) scholarly impact.