P.M. Suleimenov

Candidate of Political Science, Associate Professor

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University,

Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty

The logic of al-Farabi

Great representative of philosophy was Abu Nasr al-Farabi al-Turki (latin names – Alfarabius and Avennasar) (870-950), called the second teacher (after Aristotle). As al-Kindi, he was encyclopaedic man. However, unlike him who puts up the philosophy of theology, al-Farabi actually turned this relationship. ‘Definition of philosophy and the essence of it, - he writes, - is that it is the science of their existing as such’ [1, p.42]. Existence is organized on the principle of hierarchy and at the top of this hierarchy is ‘the first single’, and even more so – Primum Aristotle. This is one, - notes al-Farabi, who ‘is Allah…’ [2, p. 175]. Thus, the name ‘Allah’ is nothing more than a shortcut to the religious philosophy category. In this article we consider the ratio of the thinker.

Custom logic (in Arabic: ‘Mantiq’) al-Farabi spent several treatises. ‘Introductory treatise in logic’, ‘Introductory sections on logic’, ‘Utterances used in logic’, ‘‘Eysagoge’ book or ‘Introduction’’, ‘‘Kataguriyas’ book or ‘Category’’, ‘Syllogism’, ‘Sophistry’, ‘Dialectics’ and others. In his treatise ‘The word on the classification of sciences’ the second section is devoted to logic. It is named: ‘Logic’. He wrote: ‘The art of logic teaches aggregate laws, contributing to the improvement of intelligence and instructing people to the truth in all cases of comprehension of objects of intelligence, in which the confusion may be; the laws that protect and shield him from the errors, mistakes and errors in the relationship of intelligible objects of intelligence, which are not guaranteed by the fact that someone made a mistake with regard to them’ [3, p.118]. In other words, thinking, intelligence were given to man by nature, but this naturally shaped and naturally evolving intelligence is immune from error when applied to objects accessible thinking, ‘objects of intelligence’, according to al-Farabi. Greeks called this natural intelligence is common sense.

Known Kazakh scholar of creation of al-Farabi M.S. Burabaev writes: ‘Abu Nasr al-Farabi`s logic is one of the types of theoretic disciplines, characterized as a head of science and refers to them as art, studying the laws and rules of thought’ [4, p. 73]. In these words, all is true except for the fact, that al-Farabi believed logic ‘Head of Science’. What it is not, it can be seen from his classification of sciences. He really attached great importance to logic, but the head of science for him was a cross ‘divine science’, that is metaphysics. A.Kh. Kasimdzhanov is right, that al-Farabi to questions of logic and the closely related theory of knowledge ‘refers ... to address the concerns of philosophy and sociology, music theory and mathematics, medicine and astronomy’ [5, p. 116].

He has a special treatise ‘Discourse of the Second Teacher Al-Farabi on the values of [the word] intelligence’. Here he is referring to Aristotle's treatise ‘About the soul’, identifies four types of intelligence: ‘a) potential, b) actual, c) acquired and d) active’ [6, p. 23]. Having analysed them, he compares the actual and potential intelligence with relationship with the sun and the eyes. Potential intelligence becomes relevant because of active intellect, which is kind of an acquired. Should, however, note that al-Farabi (as, indeed, and all Arabic-speaking philosophers of the Middle Ages), like Aristotle and all the other ancient Greek philosophers, doesn`t conduct clear demarcation between thought and language. He follows the old, for whom speech and thinking - on the whole phenomena of the same order (their incomplete identity will be discussed below). This identification has psychological roots: thinking subjectively perceived by the person as inner speech, which is different from the external speech in putting into words and phrases. Al-Farabi, generally adheres to that understanding (look: [3, p. 127]). No accident that he claims, that logic ‘gives laws to inner and external speech…’ [3, p. 130].

Let`s back to further characterization of logic of Second Teacher. The art of logic, according to him, ‘is related to the art of grammar, for respect of [art] logic to intelligence and intelligible objects of intellect is the same as the ratio of the grammar to language and words; the grammar in [their own] law about the words gives us the same samples, which gives logic about intelligible objects of intellect’ [3, p. 119]. Laws of logic are an instrument for checking the arguments of intelligible objects of intellect, which by themselves are not immune from errors, omissions and inaccuracies in intelligence. In this ratio he, al-Farabi notes, like scales, ruler or compass, which can accurately set the weight, to draw a straight line or a circle. However, the laws and rules of logic allow us to determine in advance the way towards truth and give confidence on this way. They also allow you to see errors, inaccuracies or errors in the reasoning of others, prevent thoughtless decision on faith certain judgments. Consequently, methods of finding your own truth and methods for testing the knowledge, gained by others, are the same. Ignorance of logic and its rules, non-possession of them dooms man on the fact that he got lost in the path of the truth, and was not able to distinguish the true from the false, gained by others. ‘...If we are ignorant of the logic and we have nothing to try these people, - says Al-Farabi, - we either adhere to the good opinion of all these people, or blaming them all, or finally - we hasten to give preference to someone from them’ [3, p. 124]. In this case, said al-Farabi, is set the goal and the same value and the benefits and harms of the logic of its ignorance. He said a total invention ‘saying those, who imagine that the logic as an unnecessary extravagance, because for a while as if there were a man who has excellent mind, which is never wrong in truth, is not knowing any of the laws of logic’ [3, p.125].

We noted above, that for al-Farabi thinking, intelligence and language activity in principle are the same. This is evident from the definition of their subject matter of logic. He writes: ‘As before the matter of logic (and that such items, which provide law), they are intelligible objects of intellect, since they are indicated by the words, and the words themselves – as they [in turn] indicate intelligible objects of intellect’ [3, p. 126]. At the same time al-Farabi emphasizes, that the logic is not only akin to the grammar, but is different from it, though significantly. ‘It has something common with the grammar that gives laws for words, but is different on it, for the grammar gives them for words that are unique only to the people of anyone, and logic provides general rules that are suitable for the words of all nations’ [3, p. 128]. This is a very important position, so we give another statement of the Second Teacher: ‘The logic, giving the rules for words, gives only the rules that are common to all the people`s words. It extracts them because they are common and do not see anything that is characteristic only of any one nation, and moreover, it is recommended to borrow from scientists all of this that is necessary for this language’ [3, p.129].

In order to al-Farabi the logic is primarily and mainly formal logic, moreover, is quite closely related to the science of language. However, he does not fully identify thinking and language, noting that the language is ethnical, so thinking is universal. This is the same relationship of grammar and logic. To meaningful logic al-Farabi pays very little attention and does not actually develop it.

Al-Farabi have considered the dialectics as belonging to formal logic (that is, its own logic, in his view). He puts it above sophistry, but has no clear criteria for the differences. The apparent advantage of the Second Teacher of dialectic is that he sees in it the form and means cooperation between people.

Literature

1. Al-Farabi. On the common ground of the two philosophers – Divine Plato and Aristotle//al-Farabi. Philosophical treatises. – Almaty: Наука, 1972. – p. 39-104.

2. Al-Farabi. Word on the classification of sciences// al-Farabi. Philosophical treatises. – Almaty: Наука, 1972. – p. 105-192.

3. Al-Farabi. Word on the classification of sciences// al-Farabi. Philosophical treatises. – Almaty: Наука, 1972. – p. 105-193.

4. Burabaev M.S. al-Farabi: on the subject, purpose and structure of the logic// Abu Nasr al-Farabi`s philosophy. – Almaty: Ақыл кітабы, 1998. – 72-83.

5. Kasymzhanov A.Kh. Abu Nasr al-Farabi. – Moscow: Мысль, 1982. – p. 198.