Development of Logic in Medieval Georgia: Contribution of Ioane Petritsi

Abstract

Introduction. Ioane Petritsi (1055‒1130) is considered to be the most original of those Georgian thinkers who carried out logical studies closely related to the development of logic in Syria and Byzantium. The purpose of the article is to show the contribution of Ioane Petritsi to the development of logic in medieval Georgia.
Materials and methods. The history of philosophical thought in Georgia begins no later than the 4th century, and the development of Georgian philosophy reached its most significant peaks in the 11th‒12th centuries. The emergence of logic in medieval Georgia, which occurred in the 4th century, was associated with the needs for the development of oratory, the center of which was the Colchis rhetorical school. When studying this problem, general theoretical methods of scientific
research are used, comparative analysis, historical approach, structural analysis method, etc. are in demand.
Results. Although the most influential philosophical trend among Georgian thinkers was Neoplatonism, Aristotle’s works were also popular among them. Evidence of the great attention that Ioane Petritsi paid to the theoretical heritage of Aristotle is the translation of two treatises “Topics” and “On Interpretation” into Georgian. Ioane Petritsi understood logic as a science that aims to teach people to prove and disprove. He considered the central problem of logic to be the doctrine of categorical syllogism which he considered as the only scientific form of inference. Following the basic provisions of the Aristotelian theory of categorical syllogism, Ioane Petritsi disagreed with its author regarding the nature of concepts and judgments.
Discussion and conclusion. The logical and philosophical views of Ioane Petritsi always attracted the attention of Georgian intellectuals, some of whom unconditionally accepted them, while others reacted negatively to them. However, there is no doubt that he made a great contribution to the development of logic in medieval Georgia.