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Individuation of Material Substances in Avicenna's Philosophy

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Individuation of Material Substances in Avicenna's Philosophy István Lánczky Individuation of Material Substances in Avicenna’s Philosophy Prof. Miklós Maróth (supervisor) Pázmány Péter Catholic University Doctoral School for Linguistics (Head of the Doctoral School: Prof. Balázs Surányi) Program “Classical Philology” (Head of the Program: Prof. Miklós Maróth) 2019 Lánczky István Az anyagi szubsztanciák individuációja Avicenna filozófiájában Prof. Maróth Miklós (témavezet ő) Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem Nyelvészeti Doktori Iskola (Vezet ője: Prof. Surányi Balázs) Klasszika-filológia m űhely (Vezet ője: Prof. Maróth Miklós) 2019 2 Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 7 1.1.1 Theoretical approach ....................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Secondary literature ............................................................................................................... 12 1.2.1 Transliteration ............................................................................................................... 15 2 The Greek tradition ....................................................................................................................... 16 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 16 2.1.1 Terminological outlook ................................................................................................. 16 2.2 Individuals in the logical approach: the second imposition .................................................. 17 2.2.1 Individual as the sixth predicate .................................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Description .................................................................................................................... 24 2.2.3 “Bundle of properties” ................................................................................................... 25 2.3 The metaphysical approach ................................................................................................... 28 2.3.1 Material reading of individuation .................................................................................. 29 2.3.2 Form as the principle of individuation .......................................................................... 35 2.3.3 Individuals in the Neoplatonica Arabica ....................................................................... 39 2.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 40 3 Avicenna ........................................................................................................................................ 41 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 41 3.1.1 Avicenna – his life and works ....................................................................................... 41 3.1.2 Works and spurious works in Avicenna ........................................................................ 41 3.1.3 The problem of individuals in the Islamicate world: Christian theology ...................... 42 3.1.4 Avicenna and the kal ām ................................................................................................ 44 3.1.5 Arabic philosophy ......................................................................................................... 53 3.1.6 Different terms denoting individuals and individuation in Avicenna............................ 53 3.1.6.1 Terms denoting individuals ....................................................................................... 54 3.1.6.2 Terms denoting individuation .................................................................................... 55 3.1.7 Different kinds of individuals in Avicenna’s universe .................................................. 57 3.1.8 Individuation in context ................................................................................................. 59 3.2 Logic ...................................................................................................................................... 60 3.2.1 Avicenna’s mental concepts .......................................................................................... 60 3.2.2 The status of the quinque voces – genus as an accident ................................................ 62 3.2.3 Avicenna’s logical genus ............................................................................................... 63 3.2.4 Arabic philosophers on individuals ............................................................................... 65 3.2.5 Ya ḥyā Ibn ʽAd ī and the Baghdad school ....................................................................... 67 3.2.6 Individuality .................................................................................................................. 74 3 3.2.7 Existence and indication of an individual concept ........................................................ 77 3.2.8 Indication ....................................................................................................................... 80 3.2.9 The place, where indication to an individual concept is possible .................................. 81 3.2.10 The individuum vaguum – al-shakh ṣ al-muntashar ...................................................... 84 3.2.11 Definitions and descriptions .......................................................................................... 88 3.2.12 The origin of the concept individuality ......................................................................... 92 3.2.13 A specific context: God’s knowledge of particulars...................................................... 95 3.2.14 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 99 3.3 Physics ................................................................................................................................. 100 3.3.1 Place and location ........................................................................................................ 100 3.3.2 Motion and positional motion ..................................................................................... 102 3.3.3 Avicenna’s Cosmos ..................................................................................................... 106 3.4 Metaphysics ......................................................................................................................... 109 3.4.1 Metaphysics, as a science ............................................................................................ 109 3.4.2 Avicenna’s moderate realism ...................................................................................... 110 3.4.2.1 The quiddity in the concrete particulars .................................................................. 112 3.4.2.2 Avicenna’s accidental individuation ....................................................................... 116 3.4.2.2.1 The role of accidents ......................................................................................... 117 3.4.2.2.2 Avicenna’s hesitation regarding the role accidents play in individuation ......... 124 3.4.2.2.3 Substance – accident dichotomy........................................................................ 129 3.4.2.3 Summary ................................................................................................................. 132 3.4.3 Existence and individuation ........................................................................................ 134 3.4.3.1 Does existence distinguish individuals from each other? ........................................ 135 3.4.3.2 Does existence individuate mental existents? ......................................................... 138 3.4.3.3 Existence, unity, and individuation ......................................................................... 140 3.4.3.4 Unity ........................................................................................................................ 143 3.4.3.4.1 Predecessors ...................................................................................................... 144 3.4.3.4.2 Avicenna on unity .............................................................................................. 146 3.4.3.5 Particularized existence: ʽayn – ta ʽayyun ................................................................ 150 3.4.3.6 Causality .................................................................................................................. 153 3.4.3.7 Particularization ....................................................................................................... 155 3.4.3.7.1 Particulars cause the particularity ...................................................................... 157 3.4.3.7.2 Positional motion and the particularization argument in the Kit āb al-Ta ʽlīqāt . 157 3.4.3.7.3 The role of preparatory causes........................................................................... 161 3.4.3.8 Summary ................................................................................................................
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