6 - Propositions and Propositional Inference

Summary

The doctrines of the proposition familiar to medieval Jewish intellectuals were those of the Aristotelians (or the “Neoaristotelians,” because the doctrines contained Stoic and Neoplatonic elements), as transmitted and transformed during late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, in the Greek, Arabic, and, later, Latin traditions. The doctrines were so fundamental to the study of philosophy that elements of them are contained in some of the earliest philosophical writing among the Jews, even among thinkers who themselves did not write works in logic, or who are not considered by historians of philosophers as “Aristotelian.” Although traces of Aristotelian logical doctrines can be found in most of the literary genres of medieval Jewish culture, such as biblical exegesis, sermons, legal codes and commentaries, didactic poetry, and kabbalistic works, not to mention scientific, medical, and philosophical writings, the clearest and most thorough expositions appear in Jewish commentaries on logic proper. For this reason we shall focus in this chapter on sources devoted to logic, with an occasional foray into other works that are relevant to our topic, such as encyclopedias or philosophical writings that discuss logical doctrines.

A few words about these sources must be said. Although there is evidence that many literate Jews of Arabic-speaking countries studied logic as part of their education, and although specific Jews are named in contemporary Arab historical accounts as having been proficient in logic, or as having written logical works, we have extant in Arabic only one text devoted to logic written by a Jew, and that is the Treatise on the Art of Logic attributed to Maimonides.