Meaning and definition:Skepticism and semantics in twelfth-century Arabic Philosophy

The theory of essential definitions is a fundamental anti-sceptic element of the Aristotelian-Avicennian epistemology. In this theory, when we distinguish the genus and the specific differentia of a given essence we thereby acquire a scientific understanding of it. The aim of this article is to analyse systematically the sceptical reasons, arguments and conclusions against real definitions of three major authorities of twelfth-century Arabic philosophy: Fahr al-Din al-Razi, Sihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi and Abu l-Barakat al-Badadi. I focus on showing how their refutation of our capacity to provide essential definitions of things is rooted in their semantic theory: we only know things under certain descriptions which are identical to the meanings of the words that we use to refer to them, yet these descriptions do not capture the essences of things in themselves. The best result one can achieve with Aristotelian-Avicennian scientific definitions is a "nominal definition". With this, Razi, Suhrawardi and Abu l-Barakat will put some serious epistemic limitations on our capacity to attain scientific knowledge of things, at least as Aristotle and Avicenna would have it

Die Gaben der Erkenntnisse des ʿUmar as-Suhrawardī

übers. und eingeleitet von Richard Gramlic

Maǧmūʿa fi 'l-ḥikma al-ilāhīya

Ṣihāb-ad-Dīn Yaḥyā as-Suhrawadī.ʿUniya bi-taṣḥīḥiī H. KūrbīnNebent.: Opera metaphysica et mysticaText teilw. in arab. Schr., arab., teilw. in latein. Schr

Opowieść o wygnaniu na Zachód

Opowieść o wygnaniu na Zachód  (Qiṣṣat al-ġurba al-ġarbiyya) jest tłumaczeniem krótkiego dzieła Šihāb ad-Dīna Yaḥyi as-Suhrawardīego (1154-1191). Tłumaczenie i opracowanie: Łukasz Piątak, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań

Manṭiq Ḥikmat al-ishrāq, [193-?].

Careful though incomplete copy of the first part (al-Qism al-awwal) of Ḥikmat al-ishrāq, the widely-known text on the philosophy of illumination by Shihāb al-Dīn Yaḥyá ibn Ḥabash al-Suhrawardī (d.1191), ending with the conclusion of al-Faṣl al-thānī of al-Maqālah al-thālithah (see p.42 of the Walbridge and Ziai edition).Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 967Origin: Lacks dated scribal colophon ; likely copied in Egypt in the late 1930s and bound for James Heyworth-Dunne (d.1974).Former shelfmark: Mich. Isl. Ms. temp. no. 116Binding: Boards covered in black textured cloth ; pastedowns and flyleaves in wove paper printed with a geometric pattern (resembling a scale pattern) in dull gold ; cover gold-stamped with "حكمة الاشراق" ; sewn in heavy white thread over two recessed cords ; overall in fairly good condition with minor abrasion at board edges.Support: Machine laid and wove paper ; opening type (pp.3-42) machine laid, sturdy, dark cream to beige in color ; final type machine wove, sturdy, dark cream in color.Decoration: Text of opening two sections executed entirely in red ink.Script: Ruqʻah ; careful, compact modern hand initially in a medium to bold line, in final section in a thinner line ; serifless and freely ligatured with mainly closed counters, effect of inclination to the right and of words descending to baseline, pointing somewhat careless and in strokes rather than distinct dots.Layout: Written in 12-14 lines per page.Collation: ii, 2 V(20), IV (28), II (32), ii ; pages between sections (corresponding to gatherings) left blank, some serving as 'title pages' (see pp.23, 43, 59) ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, presumably supplied during digitization (includes inner flyleaves).Explicit: "والضوابط القليلة الجامعة خير من الكثرة المحوجة الى تكلفات واعتذارات واهبة تم المنطق"Incipit: "جل ذكرك اللهم وعظم قدسك وعز جارك وعلت سبحانك وتعالى جهدك ... وبعد اعلموا اخواني ان كثرة اقتراحكم في تحرير حكمة الاشراق اوهنت عزمي في الامتناع وازالت ميلي الى الاضراب عن الاسعاف ..."Title from 'title pages' at openings of each section (pp.3, 23, 43, 59).Ms. codex.Walbridge, John. The Leaven of the Ancients: Suhrawardī and the heritage of the Greeks. Albany (NY), 2000.Walbridge, John. The Wisdom of the mystic East: Suhrawardī and platonic Orientalism. Albany (NY), 2001.Ziai, Hossein. "al-Suhrawardī, S̲h̲ihāb al-Dīn Yaḥyā b. Ḥabas̲h̲ b. Amīrak, Abu 'l-Futūḥ." In EI2,Brockelmann, C. GAL,Suhrawardī, Yaḥyá ibn Ḥabash. The Philosophy of illumination : Ḥikmat al-ishrāq : a new critical edition of the text of Ḥikmat al-ishrāq. Ed. John Walbridge and Hossein Ziai. Provo, (UT), 1999.Careful though incomplete copy of the first part (al-Qism al-awwal) of Ḥikmat al-ishrāq, the widely-known text on the philosophy of illumination by Shihāb al-Dīn Yaḥyá ibn Ḥabash al-Suhrawardī (d.1191), ending with the conclusion of al-Faṣl al-thānī of al-Maqālah al-thālithah (see p.42 of the Walbridge and Ziai edition).Mode of access: Internet.Acquired in the Fall of 1950.On upper pastedown, label with ex libris of James Heyworth-Dunne (d.1974), stamped with inventory number, "Ex Libris | J. Heyworth-Dunne | D. Lit. (London) | No. 7912" ; UM Library inscription on p.3 "Dunning | Heyworth-Dunne | 6-13-51 | 71955" ; a few marginal glosses and corrections ; inner flyleaves and final leaf carry further excerpts (see pp.2, 66, 67)

کلمات طیبات / از تالیفات ابو الخیر مولوی حافظ محمد علی مرادابادی ; بسعی و تصحیح و تحشیه مولوی محمد قمر الدین مرادابادی, و مولوی محمد صدیق حسن

application/pdfIn Persianباب 1. در مکاتیبباب 2. ترجمه رساله اسرار العارفین و سیر الطالبی