The Semantics of Axioms from the Perspective of three Muslim Philosophers (Avicenna, Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra)

The explanation of the significance of axioms in the intellectual system of Muslim philosophers is one of the most essential philosophical issues which have received little attention in some aspects despite its great significance and its unique role in the epistemic system of philosophers. The lack of enough studies in this regard is so critical that the existing ambiguities in the semantics of axioms and the absence of a clear-cut distinction between axiomatic and theoretic perceptions cause an incorrect usage of theoretical and axiomatic propositions which, in turn, yield ambiguous knowledge in the epistemic system. A study of the precise meaning of the axiomatic concepts, the number of axioms and the origin of axioms are among the issues that are addressed in this study. A brief reference to the perspectives of these three philosophers reveal that, despite the differences that exist in their various propositions, their analyses concerning the logical explanation of the concept of axioms are analogous. However, Avicenna and Mulla Sadra have also provided a philosophic explanation of the concept of axioms and believed that without axioms, no reasoning and explanation is possible. Considering this fact and based on a philosophic point of view, axioms are neither verifiable nor deniable. Such a belief is not evident in Suhrawardi’s writings. Avicenna and Mulla Sadra’s views with regard to the number of axioms are the same but Suhrawardi has decreased them to three types and has explicitly restricted the range of axioms. Moreover, the origin of the axioms has been called the active intellect by Avicenna, intuition by Suhrawardi, and sense-perception by Mulla Sadra.