Terminology

Typically, a deserted island is denoted as such because it exists in a state of being deserted, or abandoned. Note that an arid desert climate is not typically implied; one dictionary uses the phrase 'deserted island' to illustrate the use of 'deserted' as an adjective meaning "desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied". According to another, "A deserted island is a small tropical island, where nobody lives."

Deserted islands in literature and popular culture

The first known novels to be set on a deserted island were Philosophus Autodidactus written by Ibn Tufail (1105-1185), followed by Theologus Autodidactus written by Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288). The protagonists in both (Hayy in Philosophus Autodidactus and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus) are feral children living in seclusion on a deserted island, until they eventually come in contact with castaways from the outside world who are stranded on the island. The story of Theologus Autodidactus, however, extends beyond the deserted island setting when the castaways take Kamil back to civilization with them.Dr. Abu Shadi Al-Roubi (1982), "Ibn Al-Nafis as a philosopher", Symposium on Ibn al-Nafis, Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait (cf. Ibnul-Nafees As a Philosopher, Encyclopedia of Islamic World).

William Shakespeare's 1610-11 play, The Tempest, uses the idea of being stranded on a deserted island as a pretext for the action of the play. Prospero and his daughter Miranda are set adrift by Prospero's treacherous brother Antonio, seeking to become Duke of Milan, and Prospero in turn shipwrecks his brother and other men of sin onto the island.

A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's Philosophus Autodidactus appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger,Amber Haque (2004), "Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists", Journal of Religion and Health 43 (4): 357-377 1. followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as German and Dutch translations.Martin Wainwright, Desert island scripts, The Guardian, 22 March 2003. In the late 17th century, Philosophus Autodidactus inspired Robert Boyle, an acquaintance of Pococke, to write his own philosophical novel set on a deserted island, The Aspiring Naturalist.G. J. Toomer (1996), Eastern Wisedome and Learning: The Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-Century England, p. 222, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198202911. Ibn al-Nafis' Theologus Autodidactus was also eventually translated into English in the early 20th century.