2023-2024 Catalog

PHIL 323 Logic, Language, and Knowledge in Medieval Arabic-Islamic Philosophy

What is language, and where does it come from? What is it to know something, and how can we achieve knowledge? What is the nature of reasoning, and how should we discern good argumentation from bad? Philosophers of the medieval Arabic-Islamic tradition, such as al-Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā, and Ibn Rushd, proposed detailed answers to these and other related questions, grounding their proposals in powerful arguments. By adopting a broadly Aristotelian framework, but going well beyond its confines, these figures paved the way for later European Latin philosophy, which borrows heavily from their insights. We'll study those insights and their reception in this class.

Credits

4 units

Core Requirements Met

  • Pre-1800
  • Regional Focus