Have you ever been presented with an argument or a seemingly logical conclusion in which you felt that there was something wrong, but couldn’t quite put your finger on exactly what? Have you ever been persuaded by statements that sounded straightforward, but when you later thought about them, realized that they were based on an unsound premise? If so, you have fallen victim to a logical fallacy.
Logical fallacies are quite common and can be found in articles, advertisements, books, lectures, and even in your own arguments. The good news is that there is a way we can keep ourselves safe from falling into their trap. How? Through the systematic study of logic.
Thinking is part of being human. There is a difference, however, between thinking with and thinking without knowing the formal rules of thought. The distinction is analogous to simply knowing how to speak a language versus supplementing this innate knowledge with a formal study of grammar. Similarly, classical logic has been described by many as the grammar of the mind. Learning and internalizing this grammar sharpens our minds and makes us sensitive to mistakes in reasoning. This prevents us from being fooled by specious arguments, especially those that relate to our religion.
Learning logic is particularly important in our day and age, when visual media have caused a gradual disintegration of people’s minds, distancing them more than ever from how to think. Scholars explain that the intellect ('aql) is the basis of moral responsibility and the means by which any human being can be guided to the truth. Deprogramming our minds is thus a key to finding the straight path.
Logic is also important for Muslims in modern times when Islam is under attack from many quarters. Too many Muslims respond to such attacks emotionally, and emotional responses only make matters worse. Consequently, it is vital that we learn to be calm, think through what is being said, and respond logically and convincingly. Studying classical logic will help us do this.
This course will cover classical logic, which is markedly different from modern symbolic logic. Classical logic is "human logic" and formalizes the process of human understanding and reasoning. Modern logic is "computer logic" that truncates the subject matter of classical logic to a form that can be processed in a microprocessor, thereby invariably doing away with key discussions that cannot be reduced to the level of a machine.
All classical Islamic texts—whether in Islamic Law, theology, tafsir (Quranic exegesis), legal methodology, Arabic grammar, or any other discipline—are written in the language of classical logic (mantiq). In some of these disciplines, knowledge of classical logic will enhance one’s understanding of what the books say—especially the commentaries and supercommentaries. In other disciplines—particularly legal methodology, theology, and rhetoric (balagha)—a student will simply not understand intermediate-level texts without having a firm grounding in classical logic.
By the end of this course, you will know how to avoid making mistakes in your own reasoning as well as read another’s argument and find mistakes in its reasoning. You will also be able to appreciate the importance of logic by seeing it in use in classical Islamic text and be able to take advanced level courses in several Islamic sciences that will be offered at SunniPath, especially in theology and legal methodology.
This course is recommended for anyone who wants to formally learn how to think. Students of knowledge who want to deepen their understanding of classical Islamic texts of every discipline, and particularly those who want to study intermediate-level courses in legal methodology, theology, or rhetoric, will especially benefit. Muslim homeschoolers who want to teach their children classical logic from a Muslim perspective will also benefit from this course.
The course will be based on Imam al-Akhdari’s Al-Sullam al-Munawraq (The Ornamented Ladder), a 142-line poem studied across the Muslim world as a primer on logic. All material will be explained using hands-on case studies.