The Arabic philosophical fable " Hayy Ibn Yaqzan" is a classic of medieval Islamic philosophy Ibn Tufayl (d 1185) an Andalusian philosopher tells of a happy child raised by a doe on an equatorial island who grows up to discover the truth about the world & his own place in it unaided
- but also unimpeded
- by society language or tradition Hayy's discoveries about God nature & man challenge the values of the culture in which the tale was written as well as those of every contemporary society Translator Lenn E Goodman's commentary places " Hayy Ibn Yaqzan" in its historical & philosophical context The volume features a new preface & index as well as an updated bibliography