Abstract

The idea of the living world has a long history. In the process of development of philosophy, a great number of philosophers, as well as gnostics, considered the entire world of being a living existent and called it the 'macroanthropo'.In their view, the mass of the whole world comprises the body of the 'macroanthropo' and 'the universal body', and that different bodies comprise its parts. This 'universal body' has a 'universal soul' that controls the various natures of bodies and makes them move.However, Mulla Sadra clarifies and demonstrates the theory of the living world on the bases of his own philosophical principles and grants it a specific place in his philosophical system. According to his philosophy, the material world is a living system. At the same time, it is a single collection whose parts are all related to each other through a connecting network. This connecting network, which is called the 'universal soul', is the administrator and governor of the parts. It grants form to matter and meaning to the life of the living system. It also protects this system and guarantees its survival. Moreover, all parts of this material world, even inanimate bodies, possess a kind of life and awareness proportionate to their ontological breadth that can be referred to as the source of the power of love for pure perfection. This power permeates in the essence of all parts and pillars of the world.