The Nature and Scope of Fallacies Resulting from Equivocation with Emphasis on the Views of Aristotle, Al-Farabi, and Avicenna

Document Type : Original Article

Author

• Mohammad hasan Izadi-Tabar

.Assistant professor at Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute (RA).

10.22067/epk.2024.89010.1352

Abstract

Sharing in names, sharing in the essential states of the word, and sharing in the accidental states of the word are important types of equivocation fallacy that have been the focus of attention of logicians throughout the history of logic. In this article, the views of Aristotle, Al-Farabi, and Avicenna on these three types of fallacies are explored, and the common points and differences of their views are shown. All of them are aware of the importance of these three types of fallacies and have placed them at the forefront of the discussion of fallacies, and they agree on many examples of these fallacies, but there are differences in the way they express the types and interpretations they have about them and in the scope of some types. Two differences can be seen in their words: one is in the application of "sharing" to these types, as Avicenna has used the word sharing in all three, but Aristotle and Al-Farabi have exclusively applied it to the first and second types. Of course, it is more precise to exclusively use sharing for the first type, and applying it to other types seems to be imprecise. Another difference is in the scope and extent of fallacy in i‘jām (a fallacy related to the diacritic points that distinguish various consonants that have the same form in Arabic and Persian alphabet and writing system) which Avicenna considers it synonymous with the accidental states of the word and applies it both in writing and speech, but Aristotle and Al-Farabi restrict it to writing. From the words of Aristotle and Avicenna, four meanings are inferred for the term "i‘jām", and this variety of meanings has become the reason for the difference in the scope of i‘jām in their views. In fact, Aristotle, Al-Farabi, and Avicenna do not disagree on the fallacy that is specific to writing.

Keywords

• fallacy of sharing in names
• sharing in the states of the word
• sharing in the essential states of the word
• and sharing in the accidental states of the word
• fallacy in diacritics
• fallacy in i‘jām

Main Subjects

• Islamic Philosophy and Kalam

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