al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyin

al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyin (Refutation of the Logicians), originally titled Nasihat Ahl al-Iman fi al-Radd ala Mantiq al-Yunan (Advice to the People of Faith Regarding the Refutation of Greek Logic), is a treatise on epistemology and logic by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE) al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1.

Background and Composition

In his preface, Ibn Taymiyya remarks that he had long maintained that Greek logic is neither needed by an intelligent person nor useful to a dull one, though he had initially assumed many of its premises to be valid due to the truth found in several of them al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1. After identifying flaws in various logical doctrines, he wrote brief notes on the subject al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1.

While residing in Alexandria, he encountered individuals who uncritically revered the philosophers through intimidation and blind imitation (taqlid) al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1. In response, he drafted the initial core of his critique in a single sitting between the noon (Zuhr) and afternoon (Asr) prayers, later expanding and dictating it across multiple sessions until it was completed al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1. He noted that while his primary concern had originally been to refute the philosophers in metaphysics (ilahiyyat), he came to see that many of their foundational errors in metaphysics stemmed directly from the principles they formulated in logic Taqrib Fatawa Ibn Taymiyy…+1.

Structure and Core Arguments

The work is organized around four central stations (maqamat), divided into two negative (salbi) and two positive (mujab) theses regarding definitions (hudud) and syllogisms (aqyisa) Jahd al-Qariha fi Tajrid …+1:

1. The negative stance on conceptualization: Refuting the claim that non-axiomatic conceptualization (tasawwur) cannot be obtained except by means of a formal definition (hadd) al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1. Ibn Taymiyya argues that this universal negative assertion lacks proof and that human beings and scholars across disciplines reliably conceptualize realities without recourse to Aristotelian definitions al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1.
2. The positive stance on definitions: Refuting the claim that a definition on its own imparts the conceptualization of external realities al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1.
3. The negative stance on assent: Refuting the claim that non-axiomatic judgments or assents (tasdiqat) cannot be known except through the categorical syllogism (qiyas) al-Radd ala al-Mantiqiyyi…+1.
4. The positive stance on syllogisms and demonstration: Examining the logicians' assertion that the categorical syllogism or demonstration (burhan) imparts certainty and knowledge of judgments Jahd al-Qariha fi Tajrid …+1. While acknowledging that a formally valid syllogism composed of two true premises produces a valid conclusion, he argues that the elaborate figures of Aristotelian syllogistics do not provide new knowledge of external singular existents that cannot be attained without them, and he defends the validity and epistemic utility of analogical reasoning (qiyas al-tamthil) against the logicians' dismissal of it Jahd al-Qariha fi Tajrid …+1.

Reception, Abridgments, and Transmission

His student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya praised Ibn Taymiyya's critiques of logic, writing that in his larger and smaller works on the topic he brought forth remarkable insights and uncovered the shortcomings of Greek logic Miftah Dar al-Saada wa Ma….

The Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH) abridged the book under the title Jahd al-Qariha fi Tajrid al-Nasiha to provide students with a concise version of Ibn Taymiyya's critique Jahd al-Qariha fi Tajrid …+1.

A primary surviving manuscript of the text was preserved in the Asafiyya Library in Hyderabad, which the Yemeni scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Mu'allimi examined and noted had been read before the author and contained handwritten corrections by him al-Fawaid al-Lughawiyya -…. The text was edited by Abd al-Samad Sharaf al-Din and printed in Bombay in 1368 AH (1949 CE) al-Fawaid al-Lughawiyya -…+1.