Arguments Against the Actual Infinity in Nature: A Study Focusing on Ibn Sīnā and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī
Ibn Sīnā argued that bodies ordered by nature or position cannot be infinite and developed several arguments to support this claim, the principal ones being the collimation argument (burhān al-muwāzāt), the ladder argument (burhān al-sullamī), and the mapping argument (burhān al-taṭbīq). This study...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Arabic |
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Istanbul University Press
2025-04-01
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| Series: | İslam Tetkikleri Dergisi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/EA597F92C0E24DE7B236570415CCF5FB |
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| Summary: | Ibn Sīnā argued that bodies ordered by nature or position cannot be infinite and developed several arguments to support this claim, the principal ones being the collimation argument (burhān al-muwāzāt), the ladder argument (burhān al-sullamī), and the mapping argument (burhān al-taṭbīq). This study examines Ibn Sīnā's arguments and evaluates them in light of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s critiques. Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī considered the collimation argument, which relies on the impossibility of an infinite line intersecting a circular motion, insufficient. Similarly, he criticized the ladder argument, which attempts to demonstrate that infinite additions cannot coexist within a single dimension, by questioning the premise of uniform increments. However, he found the mapping argument were coherent and supported its validity as a strong argument against actual infinity. Furthermore, al-Rāzī argued that the mapping argument demonstrates not only the impossibility of infinite physical entities but also the impossibility of infinite voids. This study provides a comparative analysis of Ibn Sīnā and al-Rāzī’s perspectives, exploring their contributions to the discussion of actual infinity and its implications in philosophy. |
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| ISSN: | 2717-6967 |