Ibn Taymiyya Against the Greek Logicians [Hardcover]

Wael B. Hallaq (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198240430 | ISBN-13: 978-0198240433 | Publication Date: November 11, 1993

Ibn Taymiyya, one of the greatest and most prolific thinkers of medieval Islam, held Greek logic responsible for the "heretical" metaphysical conclusions reached by Islamic philosophers, theologians, mystics, and others. Unlike Ghazali, who rejected philosophical metaphysics but embraced logic, Ibn Taymiyya considered the two inextricably connected. He therefore set out to refute philosophical logic, a task which culminated in one of the most devastating attacks ever levelled against the logical system upheld by the early Greeks, the later commentators, and their Muslim followers. His argument is grounded in an empirical approach that in many respects prefigures the philosophies of the British empiricists. Hallaq's translation, with a substantial introduction and extensive notes, makes available to a wider audience for the first time an important work that will be of interest to specialists in ancient and medieval philosophy and to historians of logic and empiricist philosophy, as well as to scholars of Islam and Middle Eastern thought.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A competent and readable translation of a key text of Islamic civilization. The work carries the insignia of Clarendon Press, Oxford is a further testimony of its enduring value. Apart from students of Muslim thought, specialists in philosophies and historians of logic are sure to benefit from this sterling effort. Indeed, it should prove to be of equal interest to all the critics, Muslims or otherwise, of modern science."--Muslim World Book Review

"...Hallaq's work should be viewed as an important contribution to Ibn Taymiyah studies, one that largely appreciates and critically evaluates the thought of this important intellectual of the Mamluk period."--Mamluk Studies Review

Language Notes

Text: English, Arabic (translation)
Original Language: Arabic

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 11, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198240430
• ISBN-13: 978-0198240433
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,573,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a translation of `Allama Suyuti's "Jahd al-Qariha", March 11, 2008

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Talib al-`Ilm "Talib" (Karachi, Pakistan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ibn Taymiyya Against the Greek Logicians (Hardcover)

Lest the reader is misled, it should be pointed out that this is not a translation of `Allama Taqi al-Din ibn Taymiyya's most famous critique of Aristotelian logic, popularly known as "al-Radd `ala al-Mantiqiyin" (formally, "Nasihat ahl al-Iman fi al-Radd `ala Mantiq al-Yunan"), which is said to have anticipated Mill's logic and Hume's philosophy.

Instead, as the author informs us, the work translated is `Allama Suyuti's (d. 911/1505) abridgement (to about 32,000 words), some two centuries later, of al-Radd (some 138,000 words), entitled "Jahd al-Qariha fi Tajrid al-Nasiha" (the al-Nasiha being a reference to al-Radd). In abridging the work `Allama Suyuti has not re-phrased al-Radd; instead, he has merely deleted the philosophical parts (and eliminated repetitions), retaining the logical parts of the original work.