How to Define Definition: An Analysis on the Dispute about the Relation between the Definiens and the Definiendum in the Post-Avicennan Arabic Logic

Authors : Afife Şeyma TAÇ

Pages : 5-19

View : 48 | Download : 7

Publication Date : 2019-05-05

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :As standing at the very heart of the conception insert ignore into journalissuearticles values( ta ṣ awwur );, definition is not only the ultimate purpose of conception but also paves the way for the assent insert ignore into journalissuearticles values( ta ṣ dīq );. Therefore, it would merely be surprising to find definition sections at right after the principles of conception, namely five universals, and before the first part of assent, viz. the proposition, in the books compiled through the tradition of post-Avicennan Arabic logic. Having begun with identifying what definition is, definition sections proceed with its conditions, types, and the things that violate an ideal definition. This paper focuses on the  absolute   definition  itself by considering it as a  definiendum  and its definition as its  definiens  to analyze whether this  definiens  satisfies one particular condition set in definition theory, namely the condition that a  definiens  must not be applied to anything other than the  definiendum . In terms of this specific rule, we encounter with two opposing views on the convenience of the terms implying “necessity” insert ignore into journalissuearticles values( istilzām ); utilized when formulating the  definiens  of absolute definition.
Keywords : Post Avicennan logic, conception, assent, definiendum, definiens, definition, necessity

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