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Glossary
All terms of the first reading, A to Z, with the Arabic and a short definition. Open a term for its full explanation.
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A
- Accidental universal · al-ʿaraḍīالعَرَضِيّAn accidental universal (ʿaraḍī) is one that lies outside the reality of what it is said of.
- Acquired knowledge · al-naẓarīالنَّظَرِيّAcquired knowledge (naẓarī, also kasbī) is knowledge reached only through reflection (naẓar).
- Argument · al-ḥujjaالحُجَّةAn argument (ḥujja) is what leads to an unknown assent.
- Assent · al-taṣdīqالتَّصْدِيقAssent (taṣdīq) is judging that a relation holds or does not hold, such as judging that every human is an animal.
C
- Categorical proposition · al-ḥamliyyaالحَمْلِيَّةA categorical proposition (ḥamliyya) judges that one thing is, or is not, another.
- Certain premises · al-yaqīniyyātاليَقِينِيَّاتThe certain premises (yaqīniyyāt) are the six kinds of proposition from which a demonstration is built.
- Common accident · al-ʿaraḍ al-ʿāmmالعَرَضُ العَامّA common accident (ʿaraḍ ʿāmm) is a universal said of what falls under one reality and of other things too, and predicated non-essentially.
- Composite utterance · al-murakkabالمُرَكَّبA composite utterance (murakkab, also muʾallaf) is one whose part signifies a part of its meaning.
- Conception · al-taṣawwurالتَّصَوُّرConception (taṣawwur) is grasping a meaning in the mind without judging anything about it.
- Conditional proposition · al-sharṭiyyaالشَّرْطِيَّةA conditional proposition (sharṭiyya) is made of two propositions joined by a relation of connection or of separation.
- Conjunctive syllogism · al-qiyās al-iqtirānīالقِيَاسُ الاقْتِرَانِيّA conjunctive syllogism (iqtirānī) is one in which neither the conclusion nor its contradictory is stated in the premises.
- Connective conditional · al-muttaṣilaالمُتَّصِلَةA connective conditional (muttaṣila) judges that one proposition holds, or does not hold, given another.
- Contradiction · al-tanāquḍالتَّنَاقُضContradiction (tanāquḍ) is when two propositions differ in affirmation and negation such that, by themselves, one must be true and the other false.
D
- Defining statement · al-qawl al-shāriḥالقَوْلُ الشَّارِحA defining statement (al-qawl al-shāriḥ, also muʿarrif) is what leads to an unknown conception.
- Demonstration · al-burhānالبُرْهَانDemonstration (burhān) is a syllogism composed of certain premises (yaqīniyyāt), and so yields a certain conclusion.
- Descriptive definition · al-rasmالرَّسْمA descriptive definition (rasm) defines a thing through a proprium; the complete form (rasm tāmm) joins the proximate genus and a proprium.
- Dialectic · al-jadalالجَدَلDialectic (jadal) is a syllogism composed of widely accepted premises (mashhūrāt) or premises conceded by the opponent (musallamāt).
- Differentia · al-faṣlالفَصْلA differentia (faṣl) is a universal predicated of a thing in answer to the question “which thing is it in its essence?”
- Disjunctive conditional · al-munfaṣilaالمُنْفَصِلَةA disjunctive conditional (munfaṣila) judges that two propositions are, or are not, incompatible.
E
- Essential definition · al-ḥaddالحَدّAn essential definition (ḥadd) defines a thing through its essential parts; the complete form (ḥadd tāmm) joins the proximate genus and the differentia.
- Essential universal · al-dhātīالذَّاتِيّAn essential universal (dhātī) is one that belongs to the reality of what it is said of.
- Exceptive syllogism · al-qiyās al-istithnāʾīالقِيَاسُ الاسْتِثْنَائِيّAn exceptive syllogism (istithnāʾī) is one in which the conclusion or its contradictory is stated in the premises.
F
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M
- Middle term · al-ḥadd al-awsaṭالحَدُّ الأَوْسَطThe middle term (al-ḥadd al-awsaṭ) is the term repeated in both premises of a conjunctive syllogism and dropped in the conclusion.
- Minor and major premise · al-ṣughrā wa-l-kubrāالصُّغْرَى وَالكُبْرَىThe minor premise (al-ṣughrā) is the one containing the minor term; the major premise (al-kubrā) is the one containing the major term.
P
- Particular · al-juzʾīالجُزْئِيّA particular (juzʾī) is a meaning whose very conception prevents it from being shared by many.
- Poetics · al-shiʿrالشِّعْرPoetics (shiʿr) is a syllogism composed of imaginative premises (mukhayyalāt) that move the soul to desire or aversion.
- Predicate · al-maḥmūlالمَحْمُولThe predicate (maḥmūl) of a categorical proposition is what is affirmed or denied of the subject.
- Proposition · al-qaḍiyyaالقَضِيَّةA proposition (qaḍiyya) is a statement of which it can be said to its speaker that he is truthful or a liar in it.
- Proprium · al-khāṣṣaالخَاصَّةA proprium (khāṣṣa) is a universal said only of what falls under one reality, and predicated of it non-essentially.
Q
R
S
- Signification by correspondence · dalālat al-muṭābaqaدَلَالَةُ المُطَابَقَةSignification by correspondence is when an utterance signifies the whole meaning for which it was coined.
- Signification by implication · dalālat al-iltizāmدَلَالَةُ الالْتِزَامSignification by implication is when an utterance signifies something outside its meaning that necessarily accompanies that meaning in the mind.
- Signification by inclusion · dalālat al-taḍammunدَلَالَةُ التَّضَمُّنSignification by inclusion is when an utterance signifies a part of the meaning for which it was coined.
- Simple conversion · al-ʿaks al-mustawīالعَكْسُ المُسْتَوِيSimple conversion (ʿaks mustawī) makes the subject of a proposition its predicate and the predicate its subject, keeping its quality and its truth.
- Simple utterance · al-mufradالمُفْرَدA simple utterance (mufrad) is one whose part does not signify a part of its meaning.
- Sophistry · al-mughālaṭaالمُغَالَطَةSophistry (mughālaṭa) is a syllogism composed of false premises that resemble true ones (mushabbahāt) or of estimative premises (wahmiyyāt).
- Species · al-nawʿالنَّوْعA species (nawʿ) is a universal predicated of many things that agree in their reality, in answer to the question “what is it?”
- Subject · al-mawḍūʿالمَوْضُوعThe subject (mawḍūʿ) of a categorical proposition is what the judgement is about.
- Syllogism · al-qiyāsالقِيَاسA syllogism (qiyās) is a statement composed of propositions such that, once they are granted, another statement follows from them necessarily and by themselves.