Ibn Bājja on Climates

Abstract Extant information about Ibn Bājja’s interest in climatology is limited to a few vague anecdotes. This article seeks to expand our understanding of his views on the inhabitable and uninhabitable regions of the earth, drawing primarily on his commentaries on Aristotle’s Meteorology ( al-Āthār al-ʿulwiyya ) and Generation and Corruption ( al-Kawn wa-l-fasād ). The article presents an attempt to explain why Ibn Bājja believed that some sections of the earth are inhabitable, how climate affects the human character, and how this topic fits into Ibn Bājja’s overall framework of thought.