Translating thought: A digital inquiry into Gundissalinus’s interpretive influence on Yanbuʿ al-Ḥayā

Translating thought: A digital inquiry into Gundissalinus’s interpretive influence on Yanbuʿ al-Ḥayā | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Translating thought: A digital inquiry into Gundissalinus’s interpretive influence on Yanbuʿ al-Ḥayā Fırat Çelebi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8104106/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ibn Gabirol's Yanbu' al-Haya , a philosophical work originally written in Arabic, reached the Latin West as the Fons Vitae through a Latin translation in the 12th century. The Latin translation of Ibn Gabirol's Yanbu' al-Haya , known as the Fons Vitae, has been the subject of scholarly scrutiny due to its apparent inconsistencies, doctrinal challenges, and contradictions. This study explores the possible changes and alterations made in the Latin translation of Ibn Gabirol's work, utilizing a range of computational methods. Employing computational stylometric techniques such as Latent Semantic Analysis, Cosine Distance Analysis, and Word Mover Distance, the research reveals that Gundissalinus, as the Latin translator of the Yanbu' al-Haya , allowed his own philosophical views and interpretations to substantially shape the Latin rendering of the text. Fons Vitae exhibits notable semantic and stylistic similarities to Gundissalinus's original works, particularly De Anima , De Processione Mundi , and De Immortalitate Animae , suggesting an infusion of Aristotelian elements that diverge from Ibn Gabirol's Neoplatonic Arabic original. The study demonstrates how computational methods can illuminate complex textual transmission processes and the impact of translators on the works they interpret, offering new insights into intercultural exchange and the development of medieval philosophical thought. The findings support the assertions of scholars, who argue that the Latin translation of the Yanbu' al-Haya represents a deliberate recontextualization of Ibn Gabirol's work within the dominant philosophical currents of the time. Humanities/Cultural and media studies Social science/Cultural and media studies Humanities/Language and linguistics Social science/Language and linguistics Humanities/Literature Humanities/Philosophy Social science/Science technology and society Ibn Gabirol Dominicus Gundissalinus Fons Vitae Digital Stylometry Textual Analysis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 10 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 27 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 13 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8104106","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":614925593,"identity":"09192dde-d88a-4dff-80f1-42d72f3985d4","order_by":0,"name":"Fırat Çelebi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABEklEQVRIie3RsUrEQBCA4QkLu82caVdyxFeIXKESMa+SIJja5rjiwEggNnkAQR8ij7BhIDbhbCNYJL1FxOaKE10VBCHxLC32L3bY4mMHFsBk+oeJ9GtOQVqXLSgGwD7ufJwg6UPpqUnq/SA4RtQ3AS4/CWwjYtK99MtjtJ00W6xr3z0QooV+ThA4apgwMZOqOsPd2zJ7yJt4dpRCaF2vCHAnHCQB4yDLhNBroqzBnqKC9HqTTJORzZBxti6TNww0Od/0dFGQlbDX3wnXryj0ZJQxbCj0iAGztpDDujpF+VimzrSO9wviUOarGLEeIXbFmsXyxLVvrrrnp8rf8+7vunY9912RD5PhFIx/i8lkMpn+0DurZVl+6RnAiAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Akdeniz University, Turkey","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fırat","middleName":"","lastName":"Çelebi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-11-13 09:38:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8104106/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8104106/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105914737,"identity":"a4e11932-b7f7-459f-b265-7274df07ec0d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-01 11:12:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":859762,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"NatureRevised3TranslatingThoughtADigitalInquiryintoGundissalinussInterpretiveInfluenceonIbnGabirolsYanbualHaya1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8104106/v1_covered_91ab8bc6-665c-48d5-a525-710a809b3b83.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Translating thought: A digital inquiry into Gundissalinus’s interpretive influence on Yanbuʿ al-Ḥayā","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Ibn Gabirol, Dominicus Gundissalinus, Fons Vitae, Digital Stylometry, Textual Analysis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8104106/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8104106/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIbn Gabirol's \u003cem\u003eYanbu' al-Haya\u003c/em\u003e, a philosophical work originally written in Arabic, reached the Latin West as the \u003cem\u003eFons Vitae\u003c/em\u003e through a Latin translation in the 12th century. The Latin translation of Ibn Gabirol's \u003cem\u003eYanbu' al-Haya\u003c/em\u003e, known as the Fons Vitae, has been the subject of scholarly scrutiny due to its apparent inconsistencies, doctrinal challenges, and contradictions. This study explores the possible changes and alterations made in the Latin translation of Ibn Gabirol's work, utilizing a range of computational methods. 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