Third:
The creed of the idol-worshippers is older than their philosophy, and the communities that adopted that creed are far more numerous than those that ever embraced their philosophy. In the same way, the altered religion of the Jews is earlier than Aristotle’s philosophy, while the altered religion of the Christians is only slightly later than Aristotle’s age; for Aristotle preceded Christ by roughly three hundred years, living in the time of Alexander son of Philip, from whose reign the Roman era—used by both Jews and Christians—is dated.
Fourth:
Even if, for argument’s sake, we concede their claim, these sciences are said to be purely rational, free of any blind following of a particular authority, and acquired solely through intellect. Consequently, they may not be authenticated by transmitted reports, nor discussed except by unadulterated reason. Hence, when plain reason establishes the falsehood of any element within them, that verdict cannot be rejected; their own advocates never claimed that these sciences were received from someone whose word must be believed, but rather that they stem from pure reason itself. Therefore, judgment in such matters must be referred back to the dictates of clear, unequivocal reason.
Section
Analogical inference yields only conjecture in the view of the logicians, unlike induction
They argue, on the basis of their own principles, that induction (istiqrāʾ) is inferior to the syllogism—namely, the inclusive universal syllogism—while analogical inference (qiyās al-tamthīl) is still lower than induction. Thus, they say, analogical inference can produce no more than probable opinion, and the subject to which the ruling is applied may be a particular instance; induction, by contrast, can yield certainty, and the conclusion it reaches pertains only to universals.
They explain that induction consists in passing judgment on a universal by what has been verified of its particulars. If verification extends to every particular, the induction is complete—such as the judgment that every moving thing is corporeal, because corporeality is affirmed of every particular moving entity, whether animal, inanimate matter, or plant.