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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine Ibn Taymiyya's criticism of Aristotelian logic, and to test the arguments he raises against it, as well as the theory he proposes as an alternative.
Ibn Taymiyya tries to prove that Aristotelian logic cannot contribute to knowledge because it is based on metaphysical foundations. He raises arguments that are intended to expose the contradictions of Aristotelian logic. These arguments are based partly on the principles of relativity and skepticism, and partly on empirical presuppositions.
Ibn Taymiyya proposed the use of analogical reasoning (qiyas al-tamthil) which is a type of evaluation and measurement based on the comparison between particulars, or the relations between two similar or dissimilar things. It can be seen that the most important and decisive thing in this relation is the common attribute that links two particular occurrences. Therefore, this inference deals with the relations between things and the causal connections between them. This is expressed in the research method used in the Islamic juridical sciences, which are causal methods, such as: the coextensiveness and coexclusiveness (tard wa-'aks), coextensiveness-cum-coexclusiveness (dawaran), and classification and successive elimination (al-sabr wa l-taqsim).
Introduction
Contrary to the accepted view that the philosophy of Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) neglected scientific thought and based itself on the principles of religion as sacred and indisputable, I would like to present an essentially different view and try to emphasize that his criticisms were based on rational arguments that reflect systematic and consistent intellectual thought. Although Ibn Taymiyya is considered as one of the great sages of Islamic law, he separated the standard metaphysical beliefs of religion from the empirical investigation of the phenomenal world that concerns things that change and are indeterminate.
It may be said that, to a large extent, modern research has been satisfied with a partial explanation or theory on the subject of criticism against logic. W.B. Hallaq published a book called Ibn Taymiyya Against the Greek Logicians,1 which is a translation of the book by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti - "Jahd al-Qariha fiTajrid al-Nasiha", and which is, in itself, a summary of Ibn Taymiyya's book "al-Radd 'ala l-Mantiqiyyin" (Answer to Logicians). The book contains an important introduction that deals with the criticism against logic and footnotes that explain and interpret...