The Development of Arabic Logic

Anton, John Peter, 1920Journal of the History of Philosophy, Volume 4, Number 4, October 1966, pp. 338-339 (Review)
Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press

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Book Reviews
Aesthetic Theories: Studies in the Philosophy o] Art. Ed. by Karl AsChenbrenner and Arnold
Isenberg. (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1965. Pp. xi + 491. $7.95.) Given the large number of good anthologies and paperbound books now available in aesthetics, one is naturally inclined to question the values of still another collection of readings. Such was my inclination as I approached this book of selections. However, I was pleased to find that---in addition to the usual selections from Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and so on--the editors have included several important but neglected works in traditional aesthetic theory. Among these are essays by Hutcheson, Diderot, Reid, Adam Smith, Francis Jeffrey, and Theodor Lipps. Professor Aschenbrenner translated Diderot's Encyclopedia article on beauty and Lipps' essay on empathy so that they could be included in this volume. The editors' governing aim has been to present the main tradition of aesthetic theory from Plato to Sartre. At the same time they have restricted their selections to philosophical works, as distinguished from the writings of artists, critics, historians, psychologists, and others who have contributed to aesthetics. The resulting collection of over twenty-five substantial readings amply testifies to the richness and continuity of traditional philosophical aesthetics. Through brief introductions, the editors relate each selection to this tradition and to the issues which are still alive in aesthetic theory. The one shortcoming in an otherwise very useful book is the paucity of bibliographical suggestions. JAMES F. DOYLE

Claremont Men's College

The Development o] Arabic Logic. By Nicholas Rescher. (Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh

Press, 1964. Pp. 262. $6.50.) In the first part of this book Rescher offers a survey of Arabic logic, tracing its beginnings to around A.D. 800. The discussion opens with a brief exposition of the Syriac Christian translation of late Alexandrian Aristotelianism into an Arabic setting. According to Professor Rescher, "The Arabic Aristotelians are thus the continuators of the work of the Hellenistic Greeks, and such Arabic-language scholars as al-F~r~bi, Avicenna, and Averroes are later links in a chain whose earlier members include such Greek-language scholars as Alexander of Aphrodisias, Porphyry, Themistius, and Ammonius" (p. 22). Rescher devotes a chapter to each of the following: (i) The "First Century" of Arabic logic, from 800 to 900, which is understood to have been a period mainly of transmission, translation, and assimilation. (ii) The flowering of Arabic logic which takes place between 900 and 1000, a period dominated by the School of Baghdad, and during which we witness the pursuit of logic for its own sake. I t is generally acknowledged that the leading thinker here is al-Fg~r~bi. "By the end of the 10th century," Rescher writes, "Greek logic was not only Arabicized, but also on the way to being Islamized--both in the origin of its personnel and the geographical distribution of the foci of its pursuit" (p. 47). (iii) Next we come to the century of Avicenna (1000-1100). We are told that this period as a whole was one of stagnation, with the notable exception of the logical contributions of Avicenna. During this period the School of Baghdad was steadily approaching the point of exhaustion and death: "Avicenna dominated his century (otherwise barren) in influence and skill" (p. 50). Throughout this century, logic "is no longer studied via Aristotle's treatises, and logic books were no longer commentaries on Aristotle, but handbooks, more or less independent treatises covering the ground after their own fashion" (p. 52). (iv) We turn to the century of Averroes. Now the center of logical studies and philosophic initiative belongs to Muslim Spain. As Rescher says, and as is generally conceded, "Averroes was beyond question the towering figure of Arabic [338]

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logic in the 12th century, or indeed in its entire history" (p. 56). He wrote commentaries on Aristotle's logical works and he considered himself the successor of al-F~rs as c o m m e n t a t o r o n Aristotle. (v) T h e discussion next focuses on " T h e Clash of Schools," circa 1200 to circa 1400. T h e y are identified as the Eastern and Western schools. The clash takes on something of a minor d r a m a as the author relates some of the highlights t h a t lead the reader to understand the underlying currents which bring a b o u t the eventual and gradual demise of the Western school. (vi) This portion of the exposition and historical account of the d e v e l o p m e n t of Arabic logic deals with two continuous phases although distinct from each o t h e r : (a) the period from 1300 to a b o u t 1400, which is one of "reconciliation," and (b) t h a t from 1400 to a b o u t 1500, which is aptly characterized as the "Age of Schoolmasters." Thus, Rescher tells us : The period after 1300 m a y be characterized as the terminal epoch of Arabic Logic, when its ossification becomes complete. The 13th century h a d been the age of the manual, when the treatises t h a t were to serve as the standard texts of logical study were composed. The 14th century saw the a t t a i n m e n t of a stable tradition of c o m m e n t a r y and interpretation. After 1400 we reach the age of the schoolmasters, when a proliferation of commentaries and supercommentaries growing o u t of the instructional use of these s t a n d a r d texts of the preceding century came into being (p. 73). Toward the end of the d e v e l o p m e n t of Arabic logic we see t h a t the initial relationship, which logic bore to medicine and science, m a t h e m a t i c s a n d astronomy, was replaced by a new kinship with the "Islamic" sciences of theology, law, philology, and rhetoric. As our author puts the matter, "In the wake of its acceptance by Islam, logic fell increasingly into the h a n d s of the schoolmasters, who were concerned with the mastery of texts, r a t h e r t h a n with a grasp of living ideas and the active application of technique" (p. 82). Professor Rescher has been able to offer a clear delineation of the strands of logic t h a t found their way into the mainstream of Islamic t h o u g h t and science. This book tells us how in the first period logic was cultivated among the Syrian Christian theologians a n d physicians who translated the Aristotelian logical works and various commentaries into Arabic. One thing which stands out clearly in Rescher's account is the deep connection he correctly traces between the practice of medicine and the study of logic in Islam as preparatory to the practical ends of therapy. As it t u r n e d out, in subsequent developments logical studies were eventually given a privileged place, for logic became a much needed propaedeutic part of the medical curriculum. T h o u g h Rescher is careful n o t to neglect to m e n t i o n the incorporation of Stoic logic into Arabic logical thought, introduced via the commentaries of Galen, he appears reluctant to give sufficient a t t e n t i o n to other vital aspects of his story. F o r instance, he leaves the reader without the requisite information and guidance to u n d e r s t a n d the full a r g u m e n t t h a t lies b e h i n d the rising tide of objection within the circles of Arabic religious orthodoxy against the Aristotelian doctrines expounded in, e.g., Posterior Analytics. Somehow, we miss in Rescher's account the rich detail a n d systematic exploration indispensable to historical studies of this sort of the tension between philosophy and logic, on the one hand, and religious faith and theological doctrine, on the other. Another disappointing omission is the evident absence of a n y close analysis of the specific features of the diverse logical works mentioned in this book. Seen in this way, then, the reader is compelled to conclude t h a t this otherwise valuable study is best understood as an " i n t r o d u c t i o n " to a basic phase of the intellectual history of Islam rather t h a n as an exhaustive study of the documents involved. P a r t two of this book deserves special m e n t i o n a n d praise. I t consists of a most useful a n d thorough register of Arabic logicians, and it also gives all the particulars of any influential teacher who played a significant role in the continuity of Arabic logical tradition. Beginning with T i m o t h e o s (728-823), the list gives 166 such logicians. The general bibliography a n d the index of ancient and medieval writers are done with meticulous care. JOHN P. ANTON

~bate University o] New York, Buffalo