Between logic and mathematics: Al-kindī's approach to the aristotelian categories

What is the function of logic in al-Kindī's corpus? What kind of relation does it have with mathematics? This article tackles these questions by examining al-Kindī's theory of categories as it was presented in his epistle On the Number of Aristotle's Books, from which we can learn about his special attitude towards Aristotle theory of categories and his interpretation, as well. Al-Kindī treats the Categories as a logical book, but in a manner different from that of the classical Aristotelian tradition. He ascribes a special status to the categories Quantity and Quality, whereas the rest of the categories are thought to be no more than different combinations of these two categories with the category Substance. The discussion will pay special attention to the function of the categories of Quantity and Quality as mediators between logic and mathematics.Quelle est la fonction de la logique dans le corpus d'al-Kindī? Quel type de relation entretient-elle avec les mathématiques? Le présent article examine ces questions en étudiant la théorie des catégories d'al-Kindī telle qu'on la trouve développée dans son épître Sur la quantité des livres d'Aristote, instructive quant à son rapport à la théorie aristotélicienne des catégories et à sa propre conception des catégories. Al-Kindī tient les Catégories pour un traité logique, mais d'une façon qui n'est pas celle de la tradition aristotélicienne classique. Il confère ainsi un statut spécial à la catégorie de la quantité et à celle de la qualité et tient toutes les autres catégories pour une simple combinaison de celles-ci avec la catégorie de la substance. On s'intéressera tout particulièrement à la fonction médiatrice de la catégorie de la quantité et de la qualité entre logique et mathématiques.Send article to KindleTo send this article to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply. Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.BETWEEN LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS: AL-KINDĪ'S APPROACH TO THE ARISTOTELIAN CATEGORIESVolume 22, Issue 1Ahmad Ighbariah DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423911000099Your Kindle email address Please provide your Kindle email.@free.kindle.com@kindle.com Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Send article to Dropbox To send this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about sending content to Dropbox. BETWEEN LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS: AL-KINDĪ'S APPROACH TO THE ARISTOTELIAN CATEGORIESVolume 22, Issue 1Ahmad Ighbariah DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423911000099Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Send article to Google Drive To send this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about sending content to Google Drive. BETWEEN LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS: AL-KINDĪ'S APPROACH TO THE ARISTOTELIAN CATEGORIESVolume 22, Issue 1Ahmad Ighbariah DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423911000099Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Export citation Request permission.