Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition

Aristotle wrote of two “points of definition”: one posited in negative and the other in positive terms. The negative formulation argues that concepts can be comprehended only through definition, while the positive point stresses the consequences of definition by focusing on the benefits to the scie...

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Autor principal:	Sobhi Rayan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	International Institute of Islamic Thought 2010
Materias:	Islam BP1-253
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f276d1421b9e4ebe82a34756a012a5f1
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f276d1421b9e4ebe82a34756a012a5f12021-12-02T17:49:36ZIbn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition10.35632/ajis.v27i4.3712690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/f276d1421b9e4ebe82a34756a012a5f12010-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/371https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 Aristotle wrote of two “points of definition”: one posited in negative and the other in positive terms. The negative formulation argues that concepts can be comprehended only through definition, while the positive point stresses the consequences of definition by focusing on the benefits to the sciences achieved through those “concepts.” Ibn Taymiyya criticizes these ideas on the grounds that definition neither necessarily leads to the revelation of the facts and truths of things and their quiddities, nor does it necessarily help in developing the sciences. We notice that his main criticism is directed at specific metaphysical elements of definition, such as genus, species, differences (differentia/ divisions), quiddity, and universality. He argues that these elements are purely mental and do not necessarily correspond to existence. Ibn Taymiyya differentiates between metaphysics and the concrete physical world for, in his opinion, not all that comes to mind necessarily corresponds to existing objects in the concrete physical world. Therefore, human knowledge should be established on concrete rules subject to experiment. He therefore refutes the logic of quiddity, which depends upon pure intellect, and calls for an experimental logic devoid of metaphysics. Sobhi RayanInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 27, Iss 4 (2010)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Islam BP1-253
spellingShingle	Islam BP1-253 Sobhi Rayan Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition
description	Aristotle wrote of two “points of definition”: one posited in negative and the other in positive terms. The negative formulation argues that concepts can be comprehended only through definition, while the positive point stresses the consequences of definition by focusing on the benefits to the sciences achieved through those “concepts.” Ibn Taymiyya criticizes these ideas on the grounds that definition neither necessarily leads to the revelation of the facts and truths of things and their quiddities, nor does it necessarily help in developing the sciences. We notice that his main criticism is directed at specific metaphysical elements of definition, such as genus, species, differences (differentia/ divisions), quiddity, and universality. He argues that these elements are purely mental and do not necessarily correspond to existence. Ibn Taymiyya differentiates between metaphysics and the concrete physical world for, in his opinion, not all that comes to mind necessarily corresponds to existing objects in the concrete physical world. Therefore, human knowledge should be established on concrete rules subject to experiment. He therefore refutes the logic of quiddity, which depends upon pure intellect, and calls for an experimental logic devoid of metaphysics.
format	article
author	Sobhi Rayan
author_facet	Sobhi Rayan
author_sort	Sobhi Rayan
title	Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition
title_short	Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition
title_full	Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition
title_fullStr	Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition
title_full_unstemmed	Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition
title_sort	ibn taymiyya’s criticism of aristotelian definition
publisher	International Institute of Islamic Thought
publishDate	2010
url	https://doaj.org/article/f276d1421b9e4ebe82a34756a012a5f1
work_keys_str_mv	AT sobhirayan ibntaymiyyascriticismofaristoteliandefinition
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Ibn Taymiyya’s Criticism of Aristotelian Definition

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