Kelâmın Zihinsel İçeriği: Aristoteles ve İslâm Düşüncesi Bağlamında Karşılaştırmalı Bir İnceleme
The Mental Content of Speech: A Comparative Study in the Context of Aristotle and Islamic Thought

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: This study explores the conceptual relationship between pathêma, which is defined as the mental content in Aristotelian semantics, and nafsī kalām which is defined as the essential nature of speech in the Ashʿarite theological tradition. The objective of this study to compare these concept of of nafsī kalām with pathêma in order to elucidate the similarities and differences in the in the respective conceptions of mental content proposed by the two traditions within the lafẓ (word) - maʿnā (meaning) distinction and through this engagement, toto offer new avenues for interpretation abd further research. The present study therefore seeks to shed light on the concept of nafsī kalām from a number of different perspectives. In the absence of consensus among Aristotelian commentators concerning pathêma, major interpretations are outlined summary and one interpretive line is adopted as the basis for analysis. The terms nous and logos, are excluded from the study due to their complexity. The primary issue can be articulated as follows: “What is the nature of the similarities and differences between nafsī kalām and pathêma?” Method: The present study adopts a qualitative comparative conceptual analysis, examining both concepts through their underlying assumptions and the intellectual problems that gave rise to them. This methodological approach facilitates a systematic comparison between Aristotelian and Ashʿarite thought in linguistic, ontological, and cognitive dimensions. Findings: The analysis demonstrates a partial yet significant overlap between the two traditions. Pathêma and nafsī kalām both refer to the abstract, mental content underlying speech. This notion suggests the existence of meaning independent of expression, thereby confirming the lafẓ-maʿnā distinction in both systems. However, pathêma diverges from nafsī kalām due to its specific ontological and psychological assumptions regarding cognition and the relation between the soul and the body. Conclusion: The present study occupies a significant gap in the extant literature by systematically comparing Aristotelian pathêma and Ashʿarite nafsī kalām at the intersection of Arabic linguistics, theology, and philosophy. The present study proposes a conceptual framework for reexamining the expression-meaning distinction through the dichotomy of “mental content” and “externalized discourse.” The originality of the worj lies in he unification of two hitherto unexamined concepts thereby providing novel insights into the field of Aristotelian semantics and Islamic meaning theory. Moreover, by elucidating the conceptual nuances of these phenomena, the study establishes a theoretical foundation for future interdisciplinary research, thereby opening pathways toward empirical linguistic inquiry into the mental dimension of nafsī kalām and questions about its ontological position within the jawhar-ʿaraḍ scheme and its relation to the problem of universals.

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