Tûsî ve Kâtibî’nin Teselsül Münâzarasının Tahlili
An Analysis of the Debate Between al-Tūsī and al-Kātibī on Infinite Regress

Summary/Abstract: This study presents an analysis of the written debate between Najm al-Dīn al-Kātibī and Nasīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī on the possibility/impossibility of infinite regress. This debate addressed three of the most famous arguments put forward by Islamic philosophers, regarding the impossibility of infinite regress in the classical period. These arguments are known as burhān al-arshi, burhān al-tatbīq, and burhān al-tazayuf in the classical Islamic thought. Al-Kātibī wrote a letter to his teacher al-Ṭūsī to raise his objections against these arguments. In this letter, he first presented the arguments about the impossibility of infinite regress and then voiced his objections against them. However, al-Ṭūsī offered quite satisfactory and convincing answers to al-Kātibī's objections. Convinced by his teacher’s explanations, al-Kātibī accepted the validity of these arguments, which were offered in the classical period regarding the impossibility of infinite regress, and expressed this acceptance by writing a final letter of confession. The debate ended with the last letter that al-Ṭūsī wrote, in response to this confession, to express his gratitude and appreciation.

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