Ibn Bajja on tasawwur and tasdiq : science and psychology / Miquel Forcada

Notes bibliogr.

As is well known, tas ̇ awwur and tas ̇ d ī q, conceptualization and assent, are essential notions in the epistemology of Arabo-Islamic philosophy. Conceptualization amounts to the definition of an object of knowledge, and assent to the recognition, via some kind of reasoning, that this definition is true. One of the authors who dealt with both topics in greatest depth was al-F ā r ā b ī , whose oeuvre exerted a profound influ- ence on Ibn B ā jja. This article analyzes the materials on tas ̇ awwur and tas ̇ d ī q found in Ibn B ā jja ' s notes regarding al-F ā r ā b ī ' s writings on logic and scientific method, namely the glosses to Kit ā b al-Burh ā n . The analysis shows, on the one hand, that he understood perfectly the importance of both terms in al-F ā r ā b ī ' s con- strual of Aristotle ' s scientific method; and on the other, that he used them to deal with human thought processes. Indeed, conceptualization and assent were essential notions for Ibn B ā jja, and underlie some of his best-known works