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Disjunctive conditional

al-munfaṣila

المُنْفَصِلَة

A disjunctive conditional (munfaṣila) judges that two propositions are, or are not, incompatible.

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Explanation

“A number is either even or odd.”

Also written as: munfasila, either-or proposition.

In the text

وَهِيَ إِمَّا حَمْلِيَّةٌ كَقَوْلِنَا: زَيْدٌ كَاتِبٌ، وَإِمَّا شَرْطِيَّةٌ مُتَّصِلَةٌ كَقَوْلِنَا: إِنْ كَانَتِ الشَّمْسُ طَالِعَةً فَالنَّهَارُ مَوْجُودٌ، وَإِمَّا شَرْطِيَّةٌ مُنْفَصِلَةٌ كَقَوْلِنَا: الْعَدَدُ إِمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ زَوْجًا أَوْ فَرْدًا.It is either categorical, as in “Zayd is a writer”; or conditional and connective, as in “If the sun has risen, it is day”; or conditional and disjunctive, as in “A number is either even or odd.”وَالْمُنْفَصِلَةُ إِمَّا حَقِيقِيَّةٌ كَقَوْلِنَا: الْعَدَدُ إِمَّا زَوْجٌ وَإِمَّا فَرْدٌ.The disjunctive is either real, as in “A number is either even or odd.”وَهِيَ إِمَّا مَانِعَةُ الْجَمْعِ وَالْخُلُوِّ مَعًا كَمَا ذَكَرْنَا، وَإِمَّا مَانِعَةُ الْجَمْعِ فَقَطْ كَقَوْلِنَا: هَذَا الشَّيْءُ إِمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ شَجَرًا أَوْ حَجَرًا، وَإِمَّا مَانِعَةُ الْخُلُوِّ فَقَطْ كَقَوْلِنَا: زَيْدٌ إِمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ فِي الْبَحْرِ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ لَا يَغْرَقَ.It either excludes both being together and both being absent, as in the example given; or excludes only their being together, as in “This thing is either a tree or a stone”; or excludes only their both being absent, as in “Zayd is either in the sea or not drowning.”وَقَدْ تَكُونُ الْمُنْفَصِلَاتُ ذَوَاتِ أَجْزَاءٍ كَقَوْلِنَا: الْعَدَدُ إِمَّا زَائِدٌ أَوْ نَاقِصٌ أَوْ مُسَاوٍ.Disjunctives may have more than two parts, as in “A number is either abundant, deficient or perfect.”وَإِمَّا مِنَ الْمُنْفَصِلَتَيْنِ كَقَوْلِنَا: كُلُّ عَدَدٍ إِمَّا زَوْجٌ أَوْ فَرْدٌ، وَكُلُّ زَوْجٍ فَهُوَ إِمَّا زَوْجُ الزَّوْجِ أَوْ زَوْجُ الْفَرْدِ، يُنْتِجُ: كُلُّ عَدَدٍ إِمَّا فَرْدٌ أَوْ زَوْجُ الزَّوْجِ أَوْ زَوْجُ الْفَرْدِ.or of two disjunctives, as in “Every number is either even or odd, and every even number is either evenly even or oddly even”, which produces “Every number is either odd, evenly even or oddly even”;وَإِمَّا مِنْ حَمْلِيَّةٍ وَمُنْفَصِلَةٍ، كَقَوْلِنَا: كُلُّ عَدَدٍ إِمَّا زَوْجٌ أَوْ فَرْدٌ، وَكُلُّ زَوْجٍ فَهُوَ مُنْقَسِمٌ بِمُتَسَاوِيَيْنِ، يُنْتِجُ: كُلُّ عَدَدٍ إِمَّا فَرْدٌ أَوْ مُنْقَسِمٌ بِمُتَسَاوِيَيْنِ؛or of a categorical and a disjunctive, as in “Every number is either even or odd, and every even number divides into two equal parts”, which produces “Every number is either odd or divides into two equal parts”;أَوْ مِنْ مُتَّصِلَةٍ وَمُنْفَصِلَةٍ، كَقَوْلِنَا: كُلَّمَا كَانَ هَذَا إِنْسَانًا فَهُوَ حَيَوَانٌ، وَكُلُّ حَيَوَانٍ فَهُوَ إِمَّا أَبْيَضُ أَوْ أَسْوَدُ، يُنْتِجُ: كُلَّمَا كَانَ هَذَا إِنْسَانًا فَهُوَ إِمَّا أَبْيَضُ أَوْ أَسْوَدُ.or of a connective and a disjunctive, as in “Whenever this is a human, it is an animal; and every animal is either white or black”, which produces “Whenever this is a human, it is either white or black.”وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مُنْفَصِلَةً فَاسْتِثْنَاءُ عَيْنِ أَحَدِ الْجُزْءَيْنِ يُنْتِجُ نَقِيضَ التَّالِي، كَقَوْلِنَا: الْعَدَدُ إِمَّا زَوْجٌ أَوْ فَرْدٌ، لَكِنَّهُ زَوْجٌ، يُنْتِجُ: أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِفَرْدٍ، أَوْ لَكِنَّهُ فَرْدٌ، يُنْتِجُ: أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِزَوْجٍ، وَاسْتِثْنَاءُ نَقِيضِ أَحَدِهِمَا يُنْتِجُ عَيْنَ الثَّانِي.If it is disjunctive, affirming one of the two parts produces the contradictory of the other, as in “A number is either even or odd; but it is even”, which produces “It is not odd”; or “but it is odd”, which produces “It is not even.” And affirming the contradictory of one of them produces the other.

Examples

العَدَدُ إِمَّا زَوْجٌ أَوْ فَرْدٌA number is either even or odd

Related terms

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