The syllogism and its premises

The syllogism · al-qiyās · pp. 26–27

الْقِيَاسُ

Draft · awaiting review

Arabic text after the print of Jakarta 1434/2013 · translation by The Mantiqi, draft

About this text

al-Sullam al-munawraq السُّلَّمُ الْمُنَوْرَقُ

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Akhḍarī (d. 983/1575)

Text: Arabic, transcribed by The Mantiqi from this print: Mutūn al-manṭiq wa-l-ḥikma: Īsāghūjī wa-l-Sullam al-munawraq, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, Jakarta 1434/2013, pp. 20–32 View the scan
Lessons follow: The lessons are The Mantiqi's own explanations, chapter by chapter of the text itself.
Translation: The Mantiqi's own; a draft.
Review: Draft, awaiting review by Ustadh Muhammad Yusuf.

The text

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Arabic original, Mutūn al-manṭiq wa-l-ḥikma: Īsāghūjī wa-l-Sullam al-munawraq, Jakarta 1434/2013

إِنَّ الْقِيَاسَ مِنْ قَضَايَا صُوِّرَامُسْتَلْزِمًا بِالذَّاتِ قَوْلًا آخَرَا

ثُمَّ الْقِيَاسُ عِنْدَهُمْ قِسْمَانِفَمِنْهُ مَا يُدْعَى بِالِاقْتِرَانِي

وَهْوَ الَّذِي دَلَّ عَلَى النَّتِيجَةِبِقُوَّةٍ وَاخْتَصَّ بِالْحَمْلِيَّةِ

The syllogism is composed of propositions and entails of itself another statement. The syllogism, among them, is of two kinds: one is called conjunctive, which points to the conclusion potentially and is limited to categoricals.

Google Translate ↗p. 26

فَإِنْ تُرِدْ تَرْكِيبَهُ فَرَكِّبَامُقَدِّمَاتِهِ عَلَى مَا وَجَبَا

وَرَتِّبِ الْمُقَدِّمَاتِ وَانْظُرَاصَحِيحَهَا مِنْ فَاسِدٍ مُخْتَبِرَا

فَإِنَّ لَازِمَ الْمُقَدِّمَاتِبِحَسَبِ الْمُقَدِّمَاتِ آتِ

If you want to build it, put together its premises as is required: order the premises and look, testing the sound from the unsound, for what follows from the premises comes according to the premises.

Google Translate ↗pp. 26–27

وَمَا مِنَ الْمُقَدِّمَاتِ صُغْرَىفَيَجِبُ انْدِرَاجُهَا فِي الْكُبْرَى

وَذَاتُ حَدٍّ أَصْغَرٍ صُغْرَاهُمَاوَذَاتُ حَدٍّ أَكْبَرٍ كُبْرَاهُمَا

وَأَصْغَرٌ فَذَاكَ ذُو انْدِرَاجِوَوَسَطٌ يُلْغَى لَدَى الْإِنْتَاجِ

The premise that is the minor must fall under the major. The one with the minor term is the minor of the two, and the one with the major term the major; the minor term is the one that falls under, and the middle term is dropped in the conclusion.

Google Translate ↗p. 27

The lesson

A is composed of and entails of itself another statement. It is (iqtirānī) or (istithnāʾī). The conjunctive points to the only potentially — the conclusion is not stated in it — and is the one built of .

To build one, order the and test them: a is only as good as its premises. The must fall under the . The premise with the (aṣghar) is the minor, the one with the (akbar) the major; the minor term is the one that falls under, and the (wasaṭ), shared by both premises, is dropped in the conclusion.

Terms

الْقِيَاسُ al-qiyās: syllogism
الِاقْتِرَانِيُّ al-iqtirānī: conjunctive: the conclusion is in it potentially
الصُّغْرَى / الْكُبْرَى al-ṣughrā / al-kubrā: minor / major premise
الْأَصْغَرُ / الْأَكْبَرُ al-aṣghar / al-akbar: minor / major term
الْحَدُّ الْوَسَطُ al-ḥadd al-wasaṭ: middle term: dropped in the conclusion

Examples

كُلُّ إِنْسَانٍ حَيَوَانٌ وَكُلُّ حَيَوَانٍ جِسْمٌ فَكُلُّ إِنْسَانٍ جِسْمٌ
man is the minor term, body the major, animal the middle

Test yourself

3 questions on this lesson. With 6 out of 10 or more (two stars) the next lesson opens.

Question 1
What happens to the middle term in the conclusion?
Question 2
The conjunctive syllogism points to the conclusion…
Question 3
Why must the premises be tested?

Next lesson: The four figures

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