Study of the Linguistic Causes of Muslim Theologians' Tendency towards Aristotelian Logic

Undoubtedly, one of the features of traditional Islamic theology, especially after Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, is the application of Aristotelian logic by theologians. This topic has called the attentions of researchers in the field of the history of theology to study application of Aristotelian logic in Islamic theology. However, the etiology of this trend has not been taken into account since it has concentrated only on historical factors. The present study examines the causes of theologians' tendency towards Aristotelian logic from a linguistic point of view, in order to clarify the mental presuppositions of theologians for applying Aristotelian logic. Presuppositions about the breadth and narrowness of meaning, the quality of truth and certainty, the ability and capacity of language, the validity or lack of legitimacy, as well as the originality of clarity or ambiguity, which all can be considered the most decisive presuppositions in all theological topics and issues. The traditional linguistics model has been introduced to the thought of Muslim theologians during the translation movement and the presence of Greek philosophy. Adhering to the principles of the traditional linguistics model and welcoming its presuppositions regarding meaning, certainty and language, the theologians had no choice but to apply Aristotelian logic since there is a wide-ranging harmony between the components of the traditional linguistics model and the principles of Aristotelian logic. Therefore, the most important reason for the stabilization of Aristotelian logic in traditional Islamic words should be sought in the linguistic model of theologians.