Mulla Sadra's view of the perception of the other is the product of a profound study and serious criticism of the ideas of Peripatetics and Illuminationists, particularly those of Ibn Sina and Suhrawardi. In fact, an accurate perception of his view requires great attention to these criticisms. The importance of Mulla Sadra's criticisms lies in the fact that they are not limited only to the outward and external layers of a philosophy but continue until penetrating its inward and internal layers (...) and main principles and, in case they are defective, lead to developing new fundamental principles.According to Suhrawardi, the perception of the other is a relation. Mulla Sadra rejects this idea because of its being based on some principles which are completely unacceptable to him. Some of them include the principiality of quiddity, its gradation, and the negation of the union of the knower and the known. Mulla Sadra demonstrates the opposite of these principles and, unlike Suhrawardi, based his interpretation of the perception of the other on believing in the principiality of existence, its gradation, and the union of the knower and the known. Accordingly, he views the perception of thing not as a relation but as the presence of its form before the perceiver. Here, the form has no identity in separation from the perceiver so that we could say there is a non-relational perception between the perceiver and the perceived.The writer believes that Mulla Sadra's arguments on rejecting the argument of relation lack sufficient firmness, and a final judgment of the truth of either of these theories on perception depends on the truth of their basic principles. The acceptance of Mulla Sadra's theory depends on the strength of his arguments on denying the plurality of existents. This is because without this denial one cannot reject the ideas of relation and demonstrate the idea of the union of the knower and the known. (shrink)

Those philosophers who believe that demonstrative syllogism is the method of science have to consider scientific propositions as affirmative necessary and universal predicative propositions in terms of methodology. On the other hand, in sciences propositions almost always enjoy either actuality or possibility. This contradiction can be solved through Suhrawardi's certain necessity, which reveals the importance of his theory and that of Mulla Sadra in reducing scientific propositions to affirmative universal necessary propositions. Of course, Ibn Sina's view regarding the distinction between (...) the necessity of the relation of the predicate to the subject and the necessity of judgment for solving the above dilemma is logically rejected. (shrink)

The whatness of beauty has been considered one of the intricate philosophical problems since the time of Socrates. Muslim scholars have also spoken of the "whatness, types, and principles of beauty" in some of their philosophical and theological discussions. The compilation of their theories can be a step towards the development of Islamic aestheticism. Some words such as "jamal", "value", "ornament", "goodness", "benevolence", and rarely the word "beauty" have been used in Arabic and Persian texts to refer to "sensual and (...) non-sensual", and "external and internal" kinds of beauty.Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ghazzali, and Suhrawardi have defined the concept of beauty based on perfection. While they acknowledge the existence of tangible beauty, they attribute true beauty to the Necessary Being. Farabi also qualifies voluntary acts, moral behaviors and habits which lead to ultimate happiness with true beauty and, in doing so, he considers "goodness", "beauty", and "perfection" to be synonymous with each other. Some theologians also believe that one of the meanings of beauty is "perfection in the sense of human perfection". (shrink)

Based on the ontological principles of his theory of the principiality of existence, Mulla Sadra considers motion as a gradual and multi-faceted reality. He also believes that, due to the soul's creativity, various archetypal forms, differentiae, genus, and accidental and substantial motions are specific to the reality of motion. In order to explain the paradox of the lack of subject in the trans-substantial motion, through making a clear distinction between the subject and the object, Mulla Sadra attributes evolution and gradedness (...) to the external world and ontological levels, which naturally do not lead to the non-existence of essence and non-material substance. The height of his art concerning the problem of the substantial gradedness of the human soul can be witnessed in its synthesis with the epistemological theory of the union of the intellect and the intelligible. Due to his following a perfectional and ontological approach to the category of knowledge and awareness, he maintains that the substantial gradedness and epistemological vastness of the soul function as a ladder for its ascent from limited knowledge and superficiality to absolute and pure knowledge compatible with empirical, imaginal, and rational representations. Mulla Sadra is of the view that, as long as the soul enjoys the defective aspect and the ontological dimension of the Hidden world and the world of Ideas, it attains some vague and unthinkable perceptions which, because of the real and delicate unity between the cause and effect, can be matched with particular and sensual effects. (shrink)

The concern to grant meaning to life is rooted in two basic aspects of man's existence: awareness and free will. When questioning the meaning of life, the word meaning refers to three concepts: purpose of life, value of life, and the function of life. The word "life" refers to human life as distinct from animal life. The meaning of life has been expressed based on various theories and approaches from among which the two groups of naturalist and God-oriented theories are (...) considered to be the most important ones. Islamic philosophers, particularly Mulla Sadra, explain the meaning of life following a God-oriented approach. In this approach, God is the basis and the necessary condition of life's meaningfullness. Accordingly and based on the principle of the trans-substantial motion in Mulla Sadra, the human soul can attain the meaning and perfection of life. In his philosophy, God is the only origin of meaning and, unlike some naturalists, he believes that no natural condition and incident can contradict this source and origin of meaning. The purpose of this paper is to provide an answer to the question of the meaning of life and introducing God as the only basis and source of meaning in Mulla Sadra's philosophy. (shrink)

According to revelation and philosophy, the human soul develops in the world of afterlife until the Day of Resurrection. This paper intends to provide an answer to the following question: Given the immateriality of the intermediate world, how could the soul develop in this world, while development is a kind of motion and naturally demands potency and matter? Accordingly, the responses given in the Transcendent Philosophy have been examined and criticized, and it has been concluded that the only agreeable response (...) is the one given by Imam Khomeini. Here, the authors have also referred to two new responses. (shrink)

One of the philosophical principles concerning causality is the famous principle of the "one", which is closely related to the principle of the commensurability of the cause and effect with the emanation of plurality from unity.Many philosophers, such as Ibn Sina, consider this principle to be evident; however, they have tried to enrich it with some explanatory notes. Ibn Sina has demonstrated the principle of the "one" through the method of self-contradiction. His stipulation is based on a rational restriction so (...) that accepting the contradictory alternative of the principle returns to combination and multiplicity in the essence of the cause, which is by itself in contradiction to the subject of the principle stating that the cause is one and simple.In contrast, Muslim theologians, particularly Fakhr al-Din Razi, have opposed this principle and criticized philosophers' arguments. In response to his objections, Tusi generally states that negating the object to the object and attributing something to another and accepting it demands two sides and cannot be realized only with one side. However, the emanation of a thing, which is the subject of the principle of the one, is realized only with the presence of one side, i.e. the cause. Mulla Sadra agrees with Tusi's argument except regarding two points. Nevertheless, 'Allamah Tabataba'i accepts Tusi's words when judging these two points. (shrink)

The theory of gradation is one of the few problems that has attracted the attention of all philosophical schools and Muslim logicians, mutakallimun, and gnostics. It is indeed because of this careful attention of Muslim thinkers that this theory has gradually flourished and attained relative and acceptable perfection in its process of development. This theory has greatly influenced logical and philosophical semantics, as well as the epistemology and cosmology of Muslim philosophers and gnostics. The theory of gradation has been propounded (...) in response to the following question: Is the reality of being one or many? The answer to this question, in a way, reveals one's philosophical and cosmological propensity. Generally speaking, there are three main responses to this question:1. The reality of being is "one", and there is unity in the world .2. The reality of being is "multiple"; therefore, there is multiplicity in the world .3. The reality of being is both one and many .The most important debate and its outcome in this regard have emerged in the cosmology of Sadrian gnostics and philosophers. Here, gnostics believe in the theory of "gradation in the loci of the manifestations of being". However, Sadrian philosophers advocate the theory of "gradation in the levels of being". In this paper, while explaining the historical development of the problem of gradation, the writer has discussed the views of Muslim gnostics, mutakallimun, philosophers, and logicians in this regard. (shrink)

The word hijab and its synonyms have been frequently used in some Qur'anic verses and traditions transmitted by Islamic leaders and, before them, in several important gnostic texts.In this paper, based on a study of verses, traditions, and gnostic sources, it has been tried to explain the usages of the word hijab and its synonyms and gnostics' intention of it. Here, the writer has also explored the relationship between Qur'anic hijab and gnostic hijab.Given the background of the discussion, the writer (...) has examined and criticized the meanings of some of the related terms, such as "union" and "proximity" in order to see if the concept of "gnostic union" is in conformity with "proximity" as used in the holy Qur'an.It is finally concluded that gnostics have used some Qur'anic terms, such as hijab, turned them into gnostic terms, and used them in the sense intended by themselves. Moreover, it is argued that there is an absolute general and particular relationship between Qur'anic hijab and gnostic hijab, and not all the uses of this word in the Qur'an are intended in its gnostic sense. Given the fact that, according to gnostics, not all the hijabs between the servant and the Truth can be removed, the writer also concludes that the union intended by gnostics is in unity with and related to the concept of "proximity" in the Qur'an. (shrink)

The Commensurability of existence with knowledge is one of the teachings of the Transcendent Philosophy the logical consequence of which is that each existent enjoys a kind of sensation and perception, whether it is an inanimate body or vegetative being. This view can be considered a philosophical outcome of the principiality of existence, gradation of existence, and simplicity of existence; however, it seems that this theory is in clear opposition to the principle of the immateriality of knowledge and perception acknowledged (...) by Mulla Sadra. As a result, one might ask if believing in a kind of perception in bodies indicates the material nature of perception. Otherwise, how does a purely material existent possess knowledge and perception? In this paper, the writers have tried to provide a philosophical analysis of the principle of the immateriality of knowledge and the principle of the commensurability of existence with knowledge and explored their consistency with each other. (shrink)

The word "existence" has two nominal and infinitival meanings. Nominal existence refers to the reality and essence of things, while infinitival existence refers to abstract and mental existence. Each of the denotations of existence has its own features; for example, for nominal existence, we can refer to the exclusion of non-existence, confirmation of strength and weakness, acceptance of intensity and simplicity, and recognition through intuition. On the other hand, for infinitival existence, we can refer to such characteristics as the capacity (...) for coming together with non-existence in different directions, being general and universal, and not being applied to essence. Since in its affirmative sense, infinitival existence is a universal concept and, as is commonly said, an intelligible matter, here the writers have discussed its place among the three-fold intelligibles. At the end of this paper, they have also examined some of the functions and philosophical outcomes of the distinction between nominal existence and infinitival existence. (shrink)

A great number of Mulla Sadra's innovations in the Transcendent Philosophy, such as the "principiality of existence", "gradation of existence", "oneness of being", "principle of causality", "the trans-substantial motion", "createdness and eternity of the world", and "corporeal and spiritual resurrection" have the taste of gnostic unveilings. A study of each of these important problems clearly reveals the influence of Ibn Arabi's gnostic unveilings on Mulla Sadra's philosophical thoughts. In several places of Mulla Sadra's works, reference has been made to Ibn (...) Arabi's words as proof.The most important change in Mulla Sadra's philosophical thoughts was his rejection of the theory of the principiality of quiddity and demonstrating the principiality of existence. This turn of thought and his interest in the principiality of existence were based on several factors a great part of which returned to the various aspects of gnosis and ideas of great gnostics such as Ibn Arabi.Regarding the problem of the oneness of being and non-existential nature of possible things, Mulla Sadra's philosophical and dhawqi ideas are very close to Ibn Arabi's unveilings.It is important to know that the demonstration of grades and levels for multiple existents in instructional settings where we have considered them to be multiple is truly and essentially no different from what we will discuss concerning the demonstration of the unity of being and existents, as is confirmed by the great gnostics and favorites of God advocating unveiling and intuition.Regarding the problem of mental existence we should say that Mulla Sadra believes in it and, in order to demonstrate it, resorts to Ibn Arabi's words. With respect to the problem of the trans-substantial motion, initially, he provides some arguments against his opponents and then refers to Qur'anic verses. Later, he quotes from Aristotle and, finally, refers to Ibn Arabi to prove his point.The above cases are examples of Ibn Arabi's influence on Mulla Sadra's philosophical-gnostic thought, as examined in this paper. (shrink)

Mulla Sadra has criticized many of the groups who posed theological problems before him in his works. In doing so, he harshly attacks the anti-philosophy superficial pseudo-scholars and advances severe objections against the followers of discursive wisdom who have received their knowledge in ways other than through prophethood and guardianship. He also opposes that group of the people of unveiling who are content with their dhawqi findings and have no demonstrative arguments supporting their words, goes against the people of theology, (...) who believe in some corrupt and heretic ideas advocating the method of disputation, and emphasizes that the religious beliefs of laymen and the people of imitation are shaky.With reference to the necessity of knowledge and the purity of heart in receiving teachings and true sciences, as well as the vital importance of gnostic taste, reasoning, and revealed teachings, Mulla Sadra establishes his theological system. While resorting to reasoning and wisdom, Sadrian theology also benefits from intuitive knowledge, Qur'anic teachings, and traditions of the Infallibles. There is a harmony among rational arguments, gnostic taste, and revealed teachings in transcendent theology. In fact, without resorting to the common kalami methods of that time, Mulla Sadra explains many Islamic realities. (shrink)

Afdaluddin Kashani stepped into the domain of philosophical thought in Iran at a time when, following the harsh attack of Ghazzali and Fakhr al-Din Razi, philosophy was suffering from such lassitude and stagnancy that it needed revival and reconstruction. He saw the remedy in excluding the problematic discussions of metaphysics in particular sense from the field of philosophy and introducing self-knowledge as the basis of philosophical work. Comparing to the works of philosophers before him, what can be considered as the (...) distinctive feature of Baba Afdal's works in terms of content is dealing with philosophy from a perspective different from that of the common philosophical works of his time and before him. A study of the prevalent philosophical atmosphere of the early 5th century and all the 6th century reveals that what mostly provoked the opposition of religious people against philosophy could be found in the domain of theology. Accordingly, Baba Afdal had rightly understood that, after the destructive attacks of Ghazzali against the apparently solid and powerful foundation of Peripatetic philosophy, the continuity of philosophical thought following the method of early philosophers neither was possible nor had the necessary attraction and appeal for absorbing any audience. He correctly understood the significance of creating a fundamental change in philosophical approaches and tried to accomplish this important task in order to remove the causes of the conflicts between religious-minded people and philosophers from the field of philosophy. Moreover, he did so in order to open a new horizon before the eyes of philosophers and followed a clever method without making much ado in this regard. In fact, he tried to revive philosophy based on a Socratic method and free it from the problematic, fruitless, and soulless domain of metaphysics in particular sense and guide it into the lively and efficient realm of self-knowledge. (shrink)

Suhrawardi's epistemological encounter with Man enjoys some distinctive features. He transferred the discussion of Man from the field of physics to theology. He considers Man as a noble being whose most significant part of knowledge pertains to the truth. The function of the soul's perception is of particular significance to Suhrawardi. In his view, proximity to the Dominion shows the perfection of the soul, and what hinders it is a mind deeply concerned with sense perceptions. He also considers the soul (...) the most supreme of all faculties and the criterion for human perfection. He interprets the body as mass and suggests that mental and physical faculties affect Man's perfection. In his view, the levels of human perfection start with the world of matter and end with the hidden world. When discussing primordial nature , Suhrawardi deals with its relationship with logic and considers the intellect as the cornerstone of Man's knowledge and sees intellectual perfection in attaining the knowledge of oneness. He also maintains that hidden meanings are imprinted on the soul and vanish very fast. The three terms of heart, intellect, and thought bear a direct relationship to his anthropology. For Suhrawardi, philosophy is intertwined with Man's destiny, and his royal radiance is of the same meaning with gnostics' ray of light. (shrink)

In Mulla Sadra's view, cognizance of Man is a difficult task because Man does not have a known level of existence so that a fixed quiddity is abstracted from him. Given this problem, one might ask what Mulla Sadra's explanation of Man is, and which approach one should follow in order to explain it so that it will be consistent with his initial claim.Sadrian philosophy agrees with defining Man as "a rational animal"; however, the explanation of Man in this school (...) does not originally depend on presenting a "logical definition". Rather, it depends on the same truth that has caused the difficulty inherent in knowing Man. Mulla Sadra's explanation of Man is based on his very ontological change and evolution. That is why we can consider Man's most important feature in the Transcendent Philosophy to be his ontological transcendence and traversing various levels. Accordingly, Sadrian ontology is based on the principiality of existence and, therefore, in order to narrate it, we must choose Man's existential features as the beginning and central point around which the details of other issues are explained. The present paper intends to accomplish this task and, following a specific approach, considers "existential poverty" and the potential for "transcendence and perfection" as the most important pillars of Sadrian anthropology. Moreover, the writer explains elements such as activity, creativity, free will, training, and responsibility based on the above two concepts. (shrink)

One of the important discussions in predicative logic which is very close to the discussions in the logic of propositions is the problem of logical relations between propositions. This problem was often referred to under the title "contradiction and conversion" or "the principles of proposition" in early logical books, and today it is studied under the title "representative reasoning". These relations were gradually indentified in the course of the history of logic and assumed particular names. However, the correctness of some (...) of them has been questioned by a group of logicians.In this paper, by reference to the number of logical relations and two ways of classifying them, the writer investigates whether logicians have referred to all possible logical relations, and whether all the existing ones have been identified based on rational reasoning or through induction. Finally, he tries to demonstrate how many definite relations exist between propositions consisting of two definite terms , and which of them is more fundamental. (shrink)

The discussions of the philosophy of ethics, ethics, ethical attributes and, following it, the soul and spirit in Mulla Sadra's works are quite extensive. In fact, he has dealt with such topics in his various books and treatises in detail. He believes that the criterion for ethics is the free intellect , and human beings will be rewarded or punished in proportion to their conduct and behavior in this world. Good moral behavior in this world will indeed be compensated with (...) good other-worldly rewards, and unpleasant behavior therein will be followed by unbearable punishment in the other world. In other words, any kind of behavior and conduct dominating Man's soul in this world will be revived in the same form on the resurrection day. Therefore, Mulla Sadra believes that self-knowledge as the receptacle of philosophy is always a way towards God and a means of attaining the knowledge of God and His attributes, which is the best of all types of knowledge in the world. That is why some of the arguments on God's existence are based on the problem of the soul. Self-knowledge is essential to the discussion of resurrection and the belief in its independence. Since some of the problems of the soul are among the ethical axioms , almost all Islamic philosophers are unanimous that ethics is related to the perfection of the soul, and that ethical discussions are based on the principle of soul's being prone to perfection and its being influenced by ethical acts. They also believe that without ethics, we will not be able to provide adequate rational and philosophical explanations for ethical good or bad.Nevertheless, in order to become aware of the quality of the perfection of the soul through ethical acts, one must know about the perfection of the soul, consider it as his purpose in life, and adopt certain ethical behaviors in order to achieve this purpose. Therefore, in Mulla Sadra's view, ethics and practical wisdom is, in fact, a kind of self-knowledge. (shrink)

Based on a rational classification, philosophers have divided philosophy into two theoretical and practical types. Some believe that theoretical philosophy is superior to the other one, but some others doubt this idea on the grounds that theoretical philosophy is nothing but a reaction to external objects due to a soulish quality. Or, perhaps, it is the separation of Aristotle's theoretical philosophy from the fundamental principles of practical philosophy which has affected the above idea and led to this incorrect conclusion. Nevertheless, (...) in Islamic philosophy, like in the Illuminationist school of ancient Iran, philosophy is always brought to the fore after the training of Man's innermost. In this approach, the existence of a moral guide and teacher is necessary in order to attain human perfections. Unfortunately, after Aristotle, the role of teachers was ignored in practical philosophy and ethics so that those trained in Peripatetic philosophy turned into its unripe fruit and this by itself paved the ground for the revival of Illuminationist philosophy. In the lifeless Peripatetic ethics, knowledge lacked a holy aspect and was nothing but a middle term.In Mulla Sadra's philosophy, theoretical and practical philosophies have a bilateral relationship. Based on the principle of the return of all existents to their true essence and through resorting to the principle of the trans-substantial motion, he considers Man and society to be in a state of becoming directed towards perfection. While for Peripatetics virtue was a mundane phenomenon, in Sadrian philosophy happiness is both mundane and spiritual and is concomitant with an increase in the standard of being and ontological level. In this school, the faculties of appetite, anger, etc. ultimately turn into some luminous faculties that, in the course of a wayfarer's journey, render ascetic practice into a pleasure which is the same as having self-control in order to gain freedom from the prison of appetite and passion. According to Mulla Sadra, in order to reach this level, in addition to free will, one requires the element of divine effusion, which is the same holy spirit of Illuminationist ethics. (shrink)

According to Kant, in order to gain experience, as a necessary and universal knowledge of entities and nature, we need several philosophical and, sometimes, logical concepts which, based on Hume's analyses, are not rooted in experience. This problem prompted Kant to consider the origin of these concepts in the mind and explain their ontological nature as content-free forms and patterns which grant knowledge only if they acquire their content from pure and empirical intuitions. This approach has initially resulted in limiting (...) Man's knowledge to the realm of experience. Besides, in the acquisition of this knowledge, the activity of the mind leads to a kind of idealism and denying the realistic aspects of knowledge. The present paper, after clarifying the epistemological scope of philosophical concepts in Kant's philosophy and analyzing the resulting philosophical consequences, intends to demonstrate the falsity of this standpoint based on the analyses of the Transcendent Philosophy from the whatness and quality of the acquisition of knowledge, in general, and philosophical concepts , in particular. (shrink)

In Mulla Sadra's school of philosophy, guardianship has mainly a Qur'anic and gnostic taste and flavor. In his view, guardianship, which is the inner being of prophethood, is of two general and particular types. General guardianship, according to the Qur'an, involves all believers. Particular guardianship means the annihilation of the loving wayfarer in the essence and attribute of Almighty Truth. This guardian, who is a perfect Man, gnostic, and God's caliph on Earth, enjoys genetic guardianship, which is of different degrees (...) and levels. According to traditions and based on philosophical arguments, absolute guardianship before creation, is an intermediary in creation, accompanies the created, is a guide and proof for them, and continues through divine subsistence after the created. Therefore, unlike prophethood, guardianship is not disconnected, and that is why its primary purpose is other than leading people. This is because the ultimate end of a supreme existent is not the benefit of an inferior existent but at some levels of guardianship people will benefit from the guardian. However, the outer being of a prophet is Shari'ah, and his purpose is to guide God's servants. This guardianship comes to the Infallible Imam after the end of prophethood, and at the time of the absence of the Imam , a religious jurist who is most similar to a prophet in terms of his knowledge of Shari'ah will undertake this duty. Such a duty also includes political guardianship because it is responsible for organizing and regulating people's affairs. (shrink)

One of the most important problems of human beings today is the feeling of meaninglessness and fear of absurdity. This paper aims to reveal that, first, Man enjoys a series of inner and epistemological perceptions and is capable of understanding philosophy through the faculty of imagination. Second, it intends to demonstrate that human ontological values are of a beyond-matter nature. Therefore, a human being who has a meaning-seeking and philosophy and knowledge-thirsty essence and follows some values beyond the level of (...) the world of the senses, nature, and matter will never feel absurd and will never suffer from the lack of identity.In this paper, while explaining the components of existence and its quality from the philosophical viewpoints of theist philosophers such as Tillich and Mulla Sadra, the writer deals with the philosophical structures of these two philosophers and the similarities and differences between them. He also takes it into consideration that in the philosophical systems of these two thinkers, meaning accompanies existence, so secularism and meaninglessness appear when meaning is separated from existence. The writer also takes divine and ontological principles into account when analyzing meaningfulness in the philosophical structures of these two philosophers and, at the end, provides some suggestions for further research. (shrink)