Al-Fārābī's Logic

Origin. Al-Fārābī (c. 870-950). "Second Teacher" (after Aristotle). Aristotelian synthesis. Arabic logical terminology. Foundation of Islamic Aristotelianism.

Models. Aristotelian logic systematized. Five arts of logic. Demonstration highest. Classification of sciences. Logical vocabulary established.

Formalism.

Five arts (ṣināʿāt): burhān (demonstration): certain premises, certain conclusions. jadal (dialectic): accepted premises, probable conclusions. khiṭāba (rhetoric): persuasive premises. shiʿr (poetics): imaginative premises. safsaṭa (sophistry): deceptive premises. Hierarchy of certainty.

Categorical syllogism: Aristotelian figures and moods. Arabic terminology established. ḥadd akbar (major term). ḥadd aṣghar (minor term). ḥadd awsaṭ (middle term).

Conditions for demonstration: Premises true. Premises primary (not derived). Premises more known than conclusion. Premises causes of conclusion. Necessary connection.

Categories (maqūlāt): Ten Aristotelian categories. jawhar (substance). kamm (quantity). kayf (quality). Nine accidents.

Classification of sciences: Logic: tool (organon). Theoretical: physics, mathematics, metaphysics. Practical: ethics, politics. Logic prerequisite to all.

Against Stoic logic: Propositional logic subordinate. Syllogistic central. Conditionals reducible. Aristotelian priority.

Political philosophy: Logic governs virtuous city. Philosopher-king knows demonstration. Others rely on rhetoric/dialectic. Logical hierarchy = social hierarchy.

Symbols.

Term	Arabic	Meaning
burhān	برهان	demonstration
qiyās	قياس	syllogism
ḥadd	حد	term
muqaddima	مقدمة	premise

Metatheory. Five arts. Demonstration. Aristotelian systematization. Arabic terminology.

Applies to. Islamic philosophy. History of logic. Aristotelian tradition. Classification of sciences.

Limitations. Historical period. Aristotelian framework. Arabic context. Transmitted texts.