An Introduction to Arabic Logic

Saloua Chatti

Department of Philosophy
University of Tunis - Tunisia

   In this tutorial, I will present an analysis of Arabic Logic by showing some of its multiple aspects and topics. However, due to the lack of space and time, and given the wide scope of this field, I will focus on three main logicians who are Al Fārābī (873-950, AD), Avicenna (980-1037, AD) and Averroes (1126-1198, AD) and will present their works by comparing their different views on three main topics, namely syllogistic, propositional logic and modal logic. Nevertheless, I will introduce briefly in the first session the other logicians and will present a chronology of the main authors and schools, following Nicolas Rescher's The development of Arabic Logic (1964, Arabic translation, 1985) and Tony Street's "Arabic Logic" (2004).  
   The Arabic treatises were very influenced by Aristotle's texts, and their Greek commentaries, which makes N. Rescher say that Arabic logic is not eastern at all but western. Their works were mainly commentaries of the Aristotelian treatises (a notable exception is Avicenna, who presented his system without focusing on the Aristotelian corpus, although he did know it). They were familiar with Porphyry's text, which they usually comment in the introduction of their own treatises, and also with the Stoïc Logic that they generally include inside their correspondents of the Prior Analytics (called in general Al Qiyās = literally: The Syllogism). Many of them focused a lot on Modal Logic because of its relation with Metaphysics. However, in this field and in others, we find many differences between our main logicians, for Avicenna's logic seems to be different from Al Fārābī's and Aristotle's ones because Avicenna introduced many original linguistic analyses and distinctions. These new subtleties were rejected by Averroes who tried, in his own work, to return back to the original Aristotelian text and to be as faithful as possible to it.
    While focusing on these topics and on the three authors chosen, I will try to determine the characteristics of this logical tradition and its relations to Ancient logic as well as to Medieval Logic. I will leave out, though, the study of the inductive and analogical arguments, which were parts of their logical works. The main questions that I raise are the following: What are the Arabic Logicians' contributions, whether in propositional logic or in syllogistic or in modal logic? How are the main logical connectives (and logical notions in general) defined? To what extent are these systems formal? What sense of formality is privileged?

Session 1
A brief historical presentation of the Arabic logicians, followed by a study of their syllogistics and their characteristics.

Session 2
Propositional logic in the three systems chosen and analysis of the definitions of the logical constants and of the hypothetical syllogisms presented in each of them.

Session 3
The modal logics in the three systems; links and differences between these systems and Aristotle's one as well as the Medieval ones.    

Bibliography

  Al Fārābī: Al Mantikiyāt lil Fārābī, volumes 1 & 2, edited by Mohamed Teki Dench Proh, Qom, 1988.
  Averroes: Ibn Rochd, Talkhīs Mantik Aristū, volumes 1, 2 and 3, edited by Gerard Jehamy, Beyrouth, 1982.
  Avicenna, al-Shifā’, al-Mantiq 3: al-‘Ibāra, ed M. El Khodeiri, rev and intr. by I. Madkour, Cairo, 1970.
  Avicenna, al-Shifā’, al-Mantiq 4: al-Qiyās, ed. S. Zayed, rev. and intr. by I. Madkour, Cairo, 1964.  
  Chatti, Saloua: “Logical Oppositions in Arabic Logic, Avicenna and Averroes”, in Jean-Yves Béziau & Dale Jacquette (eds): Around and Beyond the Square of Oppositions, Birkhäuser, Springer Basel, 2012.
  Chatti, Saloua: “Al Fārābī on Modal Oppositions”, forthcoming.
  Chatti, Saloua: “Avicenna on Possibility and Necessity”, invited talk presented in 'Square of Oppositions III', Beyrouth 2012.
  Rescher, Nicolas: The development of Arabic Logic, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1964, Arabic translation by Mohamed Mahrane, Dar el Maʻārif, Cairo, 1985.
  Street, Tony: “Arabic Logic” in Dov Gabbay & John Woods: Handbook of the history of logic, Volume 1, Elsevier, BV 2004.