Ground in Avicenna’s Logic

Kit Fine articulates a notion of ground as a type of explanation by metaphysical constitution—a notion that happens to fit Avicenna’s conception of essence fairly closely. Fine sets out from ideas that are basic to the Aristotelian tradition of which Avicenna was a part. However, despite the common Aristotelian heritage, there are also points in the further development of the notion of ground where Fine and Avicenna make different, and opposed, theoretical choices. Underlying these choices are the two thinkers’ different conceptions of logic.