Papers by Riccardo Strobino
Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jul 5, 2018
Oriens, 2016
The notion of per se (kath'hautó) is a signature component of Aristotle's theory of science. This... more The notion of per se (kath'hautó) is a signature component of Aristotle's theory of science. This paper has two aims: (i) to examine for the first time Avicenna's (d. 1037) account of per se (ḏātī) in the context of his theory of demonstration, especially in the Kitāb al-Burhān, and more generally in what I shall call the Posterior Analytics complex, i.e., a larger set of relevant texts from Avicenna's logical works that deal with An. Post., and (ii) to connect it with his theory of predicables as formulated in the Kitāb al-Madḫal, and more generally in what I shall call, by analogy, the Isagoge complex. In the Posterior Analytics complex, Avicenna reasserts the role of per se predication and articulates an innovative and systematic interpretation (showing a debt towards Fārābī and the Greek commentary tradition) of the notions of per se 1 and per se 2 originally developed by Aristotle in An. Post. a4 around the idea of a term being taken in the definition of another term. In the Isagoge complex, Avicenna understands per se 1 and 2 in terms of two types of entailment of different strength-containment (taḍammun) and implication (iltizām)-, which are in turn associated with the technical notions of inseparability in conception (taṣawwur) and in imagination (tawahhum). As a result, the distinction between per se 1 and 2 in Avicenna turns out to be philosophically grounded in a larger theoretical framework than it is in Aristotle. In addition to its intrinsic interest, Avicenna's solution also counts as an interpretive effort that aims to solve some traditional exegetical problems in Aristotle, e.g., the question whether the class of per se 2 predicates from An. Post. a4 and that of per se accidents coincide, an issue that has vexed commentators since antiquity. strobino
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Logic
The paper is about the notion of logical consequence in late 14th-century Latin logic. The proble... more The paper is about the notion of logical consequence in late 14th-century Latin logic. The problem is discussed with regard to the inedited treatise on consequences by Peter of Mantua (d. 1399/1400) whose work on logic reflects the highly sophisticated level of reception of both English and Continental logic in Italy at the end of the century. Various characterizations of the idea of “following from” are explored and classified in order to achieve an informal characterization of the "latitudo" (range of degrees) of validity for a logical consequence, based on the thought that different notions of inseparability may govern the connection between terms occurring in the premises and conclusions of valid inferences.
History and Philosophy of Logic, 2018
This paper analyzes a classification of different types of demonstration introduced by Alfarabi (... more This paper analyzes a classification of different types of demonstration introduced by Alfarabi (d. 950 CE) in his Kitāb al-Burhān (Book of Demonstration). Alfarabi identifies eight combinations of demonstrative syllogisms, grouped in function of the different types of per se relations expressed by their premises and conclusions, where terms are definitionally connected with one another. The list contains a total of thirty-nine moods illustrated by a rich array of examples drawn from various scientific disciplines, including arithmetic, geometry, and natural philosophy. The combinations and moods are discussed extensively by Averroes (d. 1198 CE) in the section of his Epitome of the Organon devoted to the Posterior Analytics and in his Quaesita on logic. Alfarabi’s classification also possibly inspired a simplified taxonomical effort in Avicenna’s (d. 1037 CE) Kitāb al-Burhān.
Πάλαι τοί σου ἀκρ ῀ ωμαι, ὦ Σώκρατες, καθομολογ ῀ ων, ἐνθυμούμενος ὃτι, κἄν παίζων τίς σοι ἐνδῷ ὀ... more Πάλαι τοί σου ἀκρ ῀ ωμαι, ὦ Σώκρατες, καθομολογ ῀ ων, ἐνθυμούμενος ὃτι, κἄν παίζων τίς σοι ἐνδῷ ὀτιο῀ υν, τούτου ἅσμενος ἔχηͺ ὥσπερ τὰ μειράκια. Plato, Gorgias, 499 B 4-6. τα῀ υτα ἥμ῀ ιν ἄνω ἐκε῀ ι ἐν το῀ ις πρόσθεν λόγοις οὕτω φανέντα, ὡς ἐγὼ λέγω, κατέχεται καὶ δέδεται, καὶ εἰ ἀγροικότερόν τι εἰπε῀ ιν ἔστιν, σιδηροῖς καὶ ἀδαμαντίνοις λόγοις, ὡς γοῦν ἂν δόξειεν οὑτωσί, οὓς σὺ εἰ μὴ λύσεις ἢ σοῦ τις νεανικώτερος, οὐχ οἷόν τε ἄλλως λέγοντα ἢ ὡς ἐγὼ νῦν λέγω καλῶς λέγειν.
La teoria delle obbligazioni rappresenta un significativo esempio di come un insieme di tecniche ... more La teoria delle obbligazioni rappresenta un significativo esempio di come un insieme di tecniche logiche possa essere applicato, in maniera feconda, a contesti disputazionali in cui la dimensione dialogica e l'interazione tra soggetti coinvolti in un confronto dialettico hanno un ruolo di primo piano. L'attenzione che numerosi studiosi hanno manifestato nei confronti di questa parte della <em>logica modernorum</em> negli ultimi quarat'anni testimonia la profondità e la difficoltà dei problemi teorici che stanno alla base della teoria. Molte interpretazioni sono state avanzate circa le motivazioni che spingono i logici medievali a scrivere trattati in cui il portato delle loro dottrine logiche – come, ad esempio, la teoria delle <em>consequentiae</em> - viene declinato ed elaboratamente applicato al gioco dialettico tra due disputanti. La gamma di tali letture comprende differenti ipotesi: la teoria delle obbligazioni potrebbe fornire un nucleo di ...
History and Philosophy of Logic, 2018
This paper analyzes a classification of different types of demonstration introduced by Alfarabi (... more This paper analyzes a classification of different types of demonstration introduced by Alfarabi (d. 950 CE) in his Kitāb al-Burhān (Book of Demonstration). Alfarabi identifies eight combinations of demonstrative syllogisms, grouped in function of the different types of per se relations expressed by their premises and conclusions, where terms are definitionally connected with one another. The list contains a total of thirty-nine moods illustrated by a rich array of examples drawn from various scientific disciplines, including arithmetic, geometry, and natural philosophy. The combinations and moods are discussed extensively by Averroes (d. 1198 CE) in the section of his Epitome of the Organon devoted to the Posterior Analytics and in his Quaesita on logic. Alfarabi’s classification also possibly inspired a simplified taxonomical effort in Avicenna’s (d. 1037 CE) Kitāb al-Burhān.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2018
Formal Approaches and Natural Language in Medieval Logic, 2017
The paper is about the notion of logical consequence in late 14th-century Latin logic. The probl... more The paper is about the notion of logical consequence in late 14th-century Latin logic. The problem is discussed with regard to the inedited treatise on consequences by Peter of Mantua (d. 1399/1400) whose work on logic reflects the highly sophisticated level of reception of both English and Continental logic in Italy at the end of the century. Various characterizations of the idea of “following from” are explored and classified in order to achieve an informal characterization of the "latitudo" (range of degrees) of validity for a logical consequence, based on the thought that different notions of inseparability may govern the connection between terms occurring in the premises and conclusions of valid inferences.
Documenti e studi sulla tradizione filosofica medievale, 2017
The article discusses the relationship between chapter II.7 of Avicenna’s (d. 1037) Kitāb al-Burh... more The article discusses the relationship between chapter II.7 of Avicenna’s (d. 1037) Kitāb al-Burhān (Book of Demonstration) and its 12th-century Latin translation by Dominicus Gundissalinus ( . ca 1150), famously incorporated by the latter as an independent section in his own De divisione philosophiae. The text deals with the division of the sciences and their mutual relations, and is the only part of Avicenna’s Burhān — his most extensive treatment of Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics — ever to be translated into Latin.
I examine different ways in which philosophical content and text relate to each other in the Arabic and in the Latin, focusing in particular on emendations, textual transmission, style of translation, and lexical usage.
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Philosophy, 2016
Oriens, 2016
The notion of per se (kath'hautó) is a signature component of Aristotle's theory of science. This... more The notion of per se (kath'hautó) is a signature component of Aristotle's theory of science. This paper has two aims: (i) to examine for the first time Avicenna's (d. 1037) account of per se (ḏātī) in the context of his theory of demonstration, especially in the Kitāb al-Burhān, and more generally in what I shall call the Posterior Analytics complex, i.e., a larger set of relevant texts from Avicenna's logical works that deal with An. Post., and (ii) to connect it with his theory of predicables as formulated in the Kitāb al-Madḫal, and more generally in what I shall call, by analogy, the Isagoge complex. In the Posterior Analytics complex, Avicenna reasserts the role of per se predication and articulates an innovative and systematic interpretation (showing a debt towards Fārābī and the Greek commentary tradition) of the notions of per se 1 and per se 2 originally developed by Aristotle in An. Post. a4 around the idea of a term being taken in the definition of another term. In the Isagoge complex, Avicenna understands per se 1 and 2 in terms of two types of entailment of different strength—containment (taḍammun) and implication (iltizām)—, which are in turn associated with the technical notions of inseparability in conception (taṣawwur) and in imagination (tawahhum). As a result, the distinction between per se 1 and 2 in Avicenna turns out to be philosophically grounded in a larger theoretical framework than it is in Aristotle. In addition to its intrinsic interest, Avicenna's solution also counts as an interpretive effort that aims to solve some traditional exegetical problems in Aristotle, e.g., the question whether the class of per se 2 predicates from An. Post. a4 and that of per se accidents coincide, an issue that has vexed commentators since antiquity.
Oriens, 2015
Avicenna's (d. 1037) theory of demonstration is largely inspired by Aristotle's Posterior Analyti... more Avicenna's (d. 1037) theory of demonstration is largely inspired by Aristotle's Posterior Analytics but also, at the same time, characterized by significant flashes of originality. One of the areas where Avicenna's innovative contribution is most evident is his interpretation of the notion of necessity in the context of demonstrative arguments. The paper investigates two issues. First, the relationship between the notion of substantial necessity and that of descriptional necessity and their relevance for Avicenna's theory of scientific discourse. Second, the question whether Barbara lxl qualifies as a genuine demonstrative argument, i.e., whether its combination of modalized premises provides sufficiently strong epistemic grounds for certitude to come about in the conclusion of a syllogism.
Documenti e studi sulla tradizione filosofica medievale, 2012
Les commentaires médiévaux sur les Seconds Analytiques, 2015
British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2015
In his Kitab al-Burhan (Book of Demonstration), Avicenna discusses a theoretical framework broadl... more In his Kitab al-Burhan (Book of Demonstration), Avicenna discusses a theoretical framework broadly inspired by Aristotle's Posterior Analytics which brings together logic, epistemology and metaphysics. One of the central questions explored in the book is the problem of the relation between knowledge, certainty and causal explanation. Burhan 1.8, in particular, is devoted to the analysis of how certainty comes about in causal as opposed to non-causal contexts. The distinction is understood in Avicenna's system as one between cases in which the conclusion of an argument is warranted only in virtue of an appropriate middle term, and cases in which there is no such intermediary because the predicative link between subject and predicate of the conclusion is immediate. In this context, Avicenna makes use of the case of relative terms (muḍ afat) to clarify certain crucial aspects of his theory. The paper explores this discussion and shows how Avicenna's account of the relatively marginal role of relatives in the context of demonstration depends on insights that are central to his metaphysics and epistemology.
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Papers by Riccardo Strobino
I examine different ways in which philosophical content and text relate to each other in the Arabic and in the Latin, focusing in particular on emendations, textual transmission, style of translation, and lexical usage.
I examine different ways in which philosophical content and text relate to each other in the Arabic and in the Latin, focusing in particular on emendations, textual transmission, style of translation, and lexical usage.