An Explanation of the Existential Necessity of Active Intellect in Ibn Sina's View

Ibn Sina accepted, in his philosophical system, an abstract being, called Active Intellect, seeking to present a rational explanation for its existential necessity. Before him, Aristotle suggested the existence of Active Intellect in his own philosophy. Aristotle’s main concern was to resolve the issue of understanding universals, because in his philosophical system, the soul – as a material being – was not able to perceive immaterial intellectual forms. As a result, Aristotle necessarily believed in the non-material active intellect whose existential status for him is somehow ambiguous. In his attempt to resolve this issue, Ibn Sina took a different approach to explain the existence of active intellect. Was Ibn Sina successful in explaining the existential status of Active Intellect in his new approach? If yes, how did he deal with it? In the present article, after explaining Ibn Sina’s approach, we will use the principle "al-wahid" to prove the necessary existence of Active Intellect as the one granting intellectual forms; and finally, evaluate Ibn Sina’s view.