Dialectic and the Arabic Tradition: Al-Farabi and Avicenna on >jadal< and Aristotle's >Topics<

The method of dialectic occupies an ambiguous yet central position in Islamic philosophy and the sciences. This study examines Aristotle's treatise dedicated to dialectic, his Topics, in the works of two influential thinkers of Arabic philosophy: al-Fārābī (d. 950-951 CE) and Avicenna (d. 1037 CE). The study aims to show the systematic place of dialectic (jadal in Arabic) in their works and its relationship to the method of scientific proof, ethics and political philosophy. As this study sh...