Abstract
Aristotelian natural philosophy encountered a theoretical impasse in explaining the motion of projected bodies (discontinuous compulsory motion) due to the principle of contact between mover and moved. Islamic philosophers rejected an explanation that attributed a carrier role to air on the grounds of inconsistency. This article argues that Ibn Sīnā’s theory of violent inclination (al-mayl al-qaṣrī), developed to overcome this crisis, constitutes a radical intervention into the ontology of motion. The study analyses how Ibn Sīnā differentiates his concept of mayl from the theory advanced by Yaḥyā al-Naḥwī (John Philoponus, d. 570). Whereas Philoponus construed the internal force as a transient power that exhausts itself, Ibn Sīnā redefined mayl as a permanent quality (kayfiyya) conjoined to the body and preserved by it. By arguing that motion would continue indefinitely in a void in the absence of external resistance, Ibn Sīnā demonstrates that inclination is intrinsically enduring. Consequently, he transforms motion from a temporary process dependent upon an external force into a qualitative state of being sustained by the body itself.
Keywords
Islamic Philosophy Aristotle John Philoponus Ibn Sīnā Forced Motion Impetus TheoryShare
Details
- Authors: Nur Muhammed Şahin, Bağımsız Araştırmacı
- DOI: dx.doi.org/10.65643/Nazariyat.12.1.M0313en
- Page: 57-90
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