The Final Word: Al-Dawani and the Liar Paradox in the Islamic World
This volume presents a new English translation of Jalal al-Din al-Dawani's (1424-1502) treatise on the ancient problem of the Liar Paradox, along with an extensive historical introduction and a detailed commentary on the text. Al-Dawani was a distinguished Persian philosopher who wrote important texts in logic, philosophy, theology, and ethics. His text includes a critical discussion of several proposed solutions to the Paradox, and touches on a wide range of topics in philosophical logic and the philosophy of language, including the problem of empty names, the status of reductio ad absurdum, the possibility of self-reference, and the role of speaker intention in restricting the scope of subject and predicate terms. Al-Dawani's own proposed solution involves the articulation of a grounding constraint on truth-aptness of the same sort proposed in the 20th century by Hans Herzberger and Saul Kripke, a constraint that is defended in part by an analysis of the distinction between declarative and non-declarative discourse that is reminiscent of, but different than, J.L. Austin's analysis of the distinction between declarative and performative discourse.

In this translation, Ahmed Alwishah and David Sanson introduce a text from very late post-Avicennan philosophy to the English speaking world. Not only does it introduce a new source for a vast field of academia, but it contributes to a growing period of scholarly interest. This translation will spur robust debate amongst students and scholars of the history of Islamic thought, logic, and the philosophy of language.
1148562805
The Final Word: Al-Dawani and the Liar Paradox in the Islamic World
This volume presents a new English translation of Jalal al-Din al-Dawani's (1424-1502) treatise on the ancient problem of the Liar Paradox, along with an extensive historical introduction and a detailed commentary on the text. Al-Dawani was a distinguished Persian philosopher who wrote important texts in logic, philosophy, theology, and ethics. His text includes a critical discussion of several proposed solutions to the Paradox, and touches on a wide range of topics in philosophical logic and the philosophy of language, including the problem of empty names, the status of reductio ad absurdum, the possibility of self-reference, and the role of speaker intention in restricting the scope of subject and predicate terms. Al-Dawani's own proposed solution involves the articulation of a grounding constraint on truth-aptness of the same sort proposed in the 20th century by Hans Herzberger and Saul Kripke, a constraint that is defended in part by an analysis of the distinction between declarative and non-declarative discourse that is reminiscent of, but different than, J.L. Austin's analysis of the distinction between declarative and performative discourse.

In this translation, Ahmed Alwishah and David Sanson introduce a text from very late post-Avicennan philosophy to the English speaking world. Not only does it introduce a new source for a vast field of academia, but it contributes to a growing period of scholarly interest. This translation will spur robust debate amongst students and scholars of the history of Islamic thought, logic, and the philosophy of language.
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The Final Word: Al-Dawani and the Liar Paradox in the Islamic World

The Final Word: Al-Dawani and the Liar Paradox in the Islamic World

The Final Word: Al-Dawani and the Liar Paradox in the Islamic World
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The Final Word: Al-Dawani and the Liar Paradox in the Islamic World

The Final Word: Al-Dawani and the Liar Paradox in the Islamic World

Overview

This volume presents a new English translation of Jalal al-Din al-Dawani's (1424-1502) treatise on the ancient problem of the Liar Paradox, along with an extensive historical introduction and a detailed commentary on the text. Al-Dawani was a distinguished Persian philosopher who wrote important texts in logic, philosophy, theology, and ethics. His text includes a critical discussion of several proposed solutions to the Paradox, and touches on a wide range of topics in philosophical logic and the philosophy of language, including the problem of empty names, the status of reductio ad absurdum, the possibility of self-reference, and the role of speaker intention in restricting the scope of subject and predicate terms. Al-Dawani's own proposed solution involves the articulation of a grounding constraint on truth-aptness of the same sort proposed in the 20th century by Hans Herzberger and Saul Kripke, a constraint that is defended in part by an analysis of the distinction between declarative and non-declarative discourse that is reminiscent of, but different than, J.L. Austin's analysis of the distinction between declarative and performative discourse.

In this translation, Ahmed Alwishah and David Sanson introduce a text from very late post-Avicennan philosophy to the English speaking world. Not only does it introduce a new source for a vast field of academia, but it contributes to a growing period of scholarly interest. This translation will spur robust debate amongst students and scholars of the history of Islamic thought, logic, and the philosophy of language.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780197609941
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 12/22/2025
Pages: 232
Product dimensions: 6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Ahmed Alwishah is Professor of Philosophy at Pitzer College. He is the co-editor of Illuminationist Texts and Textual Studies (2017), Aristotle and the Arabic Tradition (2015), and Refinement and Commentary of Suhrawardi's Intimations (2002), among numerous articles.

David Sanson is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Illinois State University. He is the author of many journal articles and book chapters on the philosophy of time, logic, metaphysics, and the history of Islamic thought.

Table of Contents

Part I: A History of the Liar in the Islamic World
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Liar and the Definition of the Declarative
Chapter 3: The Liar as Theological Weapon
Chapter 4: Two Declaratives?
Chapter 5: The Liar as Self-Contradictory
Chapter 6: The Liar as Failed Correspondence
Chapter 7: The Liar as Failed Imitation

Part II: The Final Word in Solving the Paradox of the Irrational Root
Preamble
The Introduction: Articulation of the Paradox
The Middle: On articulating the solutions that were mentioned by [scholars] prior to and contemporary to us, and explaining what they are, and their strengths and weaknesses
On al-Taftazani (1322-1390)
On al-Katibi (d. 1276 CE)
On Samarqandi (1250-1310)
al-Tusi (1201-1274) and al-Hilli (1250-1325)
al-Dashtaki on al-Tusi and al-Hilli al-Jurjani's (1339-1414) Solution According to al-Dashtaki al-Jurjani's Reply According to Some other Reports
Ibn Kammuna's (1215-1284) Solution al-Dashtaki on Ibn Kammuna
Dawani's Critiques of Ibn Kammuna's Solution al-Dashtaki's Solution
Dawani's Critique of al-Dashtaki's Solution
Conclusion
The Solution of the Paradox
Objections From al-Dashtaki

Back Matter
References
Primary Sources in Arabic
All Other Sources
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