This work consists of ten essays by scholars in different fields in Arab-Islamic studies on Ibn Tufayl's "Hayy ibn Yaqzan", a work of medieval Arabic literature with important dimensions in social and intellectual history, literature, mysticism, philosophy, medicine and science. Most of the essays were presented at a conference at the Wellcome Institute in London. The studies examine numerous aspects of social and intellectual life in North Africa and Spain in medieval Islamic times and explore the textual intercommunication between author and audience.