from matter—namely, intellect, soul, matter, and form, which are neither bodies nor accidents—have no reality in the external world; they are conceived only in minds, not in external particulars. Likewise, the “one” they posit as an attribute of the Necessary Existent, and the “one” from which they hold species to be composed, exist only in minds, not in external particulars.
The “rational inference” they employ as proof must contain a universal proposition. Inference is of two kinds: “syllogistic reasoning” and “analogical reasoning.” People disagree about what the term “inference” denotes. Some hold that it applies literally to analogical reasoning and figuratively to syllogistic reasoning, as stated by Abū Hāmid, Abū Muhammad al-Maqdisī, and others. Others hold the reverse, as stated by Ibn Hazm and others who reject analogical reasoning. Still others hold that the term encompasses both; this is the view of the majority.
The term “rational inference” includes both kinds. Some, however, have supposed that “analogical reasoning” does not yield certainty and cannot be used in rational matters. This was the position of Abū al-Ma‘ālī, Abū Hāmid, al-Rāzī, Abū Muhammad, al-Āmidī, and other adherents of logic. The majority, by contrast, regard the two forms of inference as equivalent, and this is correct: both ultimately amount to the same thing, differing only in the arrangement of