The Art of Debate and Disputation

This course is an introduction to the general rules and etiquettes of debate and argumentation (ādāb al-baḥth wa-l-munāẓara) within the Islamic tradition. It is based on the short treatise on this topic written by one of the foremost Ottoman scholars of the 16th century CE Aḥmad b. Khalīl Taşköprüzāde (d. 968/1561) and was recently translated into English with extensive notes by Safaruk Chowdhury. This course is based on the translation of that book called A Treatise on Disputation and Argument: Risālat al-Ādāb Fī ʿIlm al-Baḥth wa-l-Munāẓara (London: Dar al-Nicosia, 2020).

This course will contextualise the importance of debate and argumentation and cover the Islamic primary sources for it. The course will also cover what the discipline of debate and argumentation is and the procedure and system of rules governing its application. It will also include topics such as techniques of debates, basic syllogistic logic, how to construct logical arguments, different types of fallacies and the spiritual dangers of excessive debating.

The course is ideal for anyone wishing to understand not only how debate and argumentation was taught and learned within the Islamic tradition, but how to conduct and construct arguments for themselves. Prior knowledge of logic, philosophy or argumentation theory is not a requirement as all course sessions contain simple explanations without any difficult technical issues.