Najm Al-Dīn Al-Kātibī’s Al-Risālah Al-Shamsiyyah: An Edition and Translation with Commentary

A scholarly edition of a classic textbook on logic Najm al-Dīn al-Kātibī’s al-Risālah al-Shamsiyyah is a scholarly edition and translation of The Rules of Logic, with commentary and notes. Composed by Najm al-Dīn al-Kātibī, a scholar of the Shāfiʿī school of law, al-Risālah al-Shamsiyyah is the most widely read introduction to logic in the Arabic-speaking world. It has probably enjoyed a longer shelf-life than any other logic textbook ever written, having been in use by madrasah students from the early eighth/fourteenth century up until the present day. Building on the theories of Avicenna, al-Rāzī, and other pioneers of logic, al-Kātibī discusses the many pitfalls of building arguments and setting out unambiguous claims in natural language. The enduring nature of the text is a testament to al-Kātibī and his impact on concepts of formal discourse and argument. Cover 1 Letter from the General Editor 4 About This Scholarly Edition 5 Title Page 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Abbreviations 10 Acknowledgments 11 Introduction 14 Note on the Text and the Commentary 23 Notes to the Introduction 29 Najm al-Din al-Katibi’s al-Risalah al-Shamsiyyah 32 The Introduction 38 The First Discussion: On the Quiddity of Logic, and Proof of the Need for It 38 The Second Discussion: On the Subject of Logic 40 The First Treatise: On Simple Terms 42 The First Section: On Expressions 42 The Second Section: On Simple Meanings 46 The Third Section: On Universals and Particulars 50 The Fourth Section: On Definitions 56 The Second Treatise: On Propositions and Their Valuations 60 The Introduction: On Defining the Proposition and Its Primary Divisions 60 The First Section: On the Categorical Proposition 60 The Second Section: On the Divisions of the Hypothetical Proposition 70 The Third Section: On the Valuations of Propositions 74 The Third Treatise: On Syllogism 90 The First Section: On Definition and Division of Syllogism 90 The Second Section: On Mixes of Modalized Premises 98 The Third Section: On Connective Syllogisms with Hypothetical Premises 102 The Fourth Section: On the Repetitive Syllogism 106 The Fifth Section: On Matters Appended to the Syllogism 106 The Conclusion 110 The First Discussion: On Syllogistic Matters 110 The Second Discussion: On the Parts of the Sciences 116 Commentary 118 Notes 318 Tables 334 Figures 340 Appendix 1: Names of Propositions 360 Appendix 2: Propositional Forms 361 Appendix 3: Examples of Quantified Hypothetical Propositions 377 Appendix 4: Contradictories for Modalized Propositions 378 Appendix 5: List of Translated Texts in Commentary 380 Bibliography 385 Further Reading 393 List of Technical Terms 396 Index 406 About the NYUAD Research Institute 447 About the Typefaces 448 Titles Published by the Library of Arabic Literature 449 About the Editor–Translator 455