Argumentation and Arabic Philosophy of Language
Résumé
The domain of Islamic thought and intellectual history boasts an important body of studies relevant to the Arabic philosophy of language, as well as a growing interest in Islamicate argumentation theory and practice.1 There remains, however, a dearth of volumes which pool research from both areas and examine them together. Filling this gap is more critical than ever. In our time, significant work is being conducted in argumentation theory, but little of it draws from, or relates to, the rich intellectual traditions of Islam. Exceedingly few historians of logic, let alone modern argumentation theorists, seem to have heard of Islamicate dialectical theory (jadal, munāẓara, or ādāb al-baḥth), much less benefited from its millennium of insightful developments.
With this in mind, the main objective behind this special volume of Methodos was to provide a venue for studies of hermeneutics, linguistic analysis, and deductive reasoning in the theory / practice of argumentation relevant to the Arabic philosophy of language, including contributions on:
1) theories which are geared towards argument (e.g., dialectical justifications and objections, linguistic fallacies, strategies and protocols for engagement on particular issues, etc.);
2) the dynamic of argument in shaping concepts and theories (e.g., explaining how systematic argument fashioned certain scholars’ solutions); and
theories “in action” (e.g., argument analyses of the historical, scholarly dialectic on a certain problem).
Moreover, and understanding that interdisciplinarity is a quintessential feature of premodern Islamic thought, we were eager to attract contributions from a spectrum of disciplines (e.g., philosophy, theology, and law) so as to provide testimony for the dynamic “unity in diversity” of Islamic thought. Thanks to the efforts of our contributors, we are happy to report a measure of success in both of these objectives.