Q0565
“The soul is a substance; it is not a body, nor is…” — Avicenna (The Healing, On the Soul)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Healing, On the Soul. Theme: being.
English
The soul is a substance; it is not a body, nor is it impressed in a body as a form in matter in the way of bodily forms.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Healing, On the Soul and files it under Islamic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Avicenna
Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna, 980–1037) wrote The Healing and The Canon of Medicine, dominating Islamic and later Latin curricula. Born near Bukhara, he synthesized Aristotelian and Neoplatonic themes into a system centered on the Necessary Existent and an immortal rational soul.
How to read this passage
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Paul Tillich and Avicenna), being is framed through Africana Philosophy and Religious Existentialism. Some passages define being; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through being, mind.
Concepts in this quote
- Being
- Being appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat being as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Mind
- Philosophy of mind asks what consciousness, thought, and mental life are—and how they relate to body and world.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Avicenna. (n.d.). The soul is a substance; it is not a body, nor is it impressed in a body as a form in matter in the way of bodily forms. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0565
MLA: Avicenna. “The soul is a substance; it is not….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0565.
Chicago: Avicenna. “The soul is a substance; it is not….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0565.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “The soul is a substance; it is not…”?
The passage is attributed to Avicenna, The Healing, On the Soul. The archive attributes this English wording to The Healing, On the Soul and files it under Islamic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Avicenna mean by being?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Paul Tillich and Avicenna), being is framed through Africana Philosophy and Religious Existentialism. Some passages define being; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through being, mind.