Laws of Nature as Strategies for Man's Happiness
The world and nature have been created relying on certain divine rules and principles. Based on the Divine Will and pre-ordination, there is a mutual relationship and interaction not only between all the components of the world of being but also between them and the whole world of creation. As a member of this world, Man can both affect it and be affected by it. This process has been predestined based on the main law and principle of this world, that is, the commensurability of "being" and "good". Where there is good, there is being (and vice versa), and where there is no good, there is evil or non-being (and vice versa). The only way of attaining true happiness for Man is living in harmony with the system of nature and its governing rules. The divine tradition or the laws of nature are such that any deviation from them will lead to evil, misery, loss, calamity, disease, etc. The world (macro-anthropo) reacts to the good and bad deeds of human beings (micro-anthropo). Sin, which means any disobedience to the Divine orders or transgression from the laws of creation and nature, results in human misery and cruelty and will be followed by Divine punishment and torture. This is the point at which God's glorious names and attributes are manifested.
Key Terms: Divine Law, being, law of nature, good, prime system, divine names and attributes, happiness, beautiful and glorious attributes, divine pre-ordination
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A Critical Study of Haeri Yazdi's View of the Sadrian Semantic Function of "Possibility" in Explaining the Sinan Argument of the Righteous
The argument of the righteous (Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn) demonstrates the essence of the Necessary Being without resorting to an intermediary. This title was chosen for the first time by Ibn Sīnā in order to provide a new interpretation of an argument that Fārābī had previously adduced. The argument of the righteous is one of the best and most concise philosophical and rational arguments on demonstrating the existence of God. This argument reasons from "being" to the "Necessary Being" so that none of God's acts, such as motion or origination, functions as the middle term. Haeri Yazdi has tried to respond to the problems of this argument by explaining the meaning of possibility in the Peripatetic and Transcendent Schools of philosophy. Given his accurate analysis of the meaning of possibility, he believes that it can be used as a basis for proving the existence of the Necessary Being; therefore, it is not necessary to resort to the impossibility of infinite regression. Following an analytic comparative method and based on Mullā Ṣadrā's valid criteria for the truth of the argument of the righteous, the present paper analyzes and examines Haeri Yazdi's interpretation and shows that his view is not immune to criticism.
Key Terms: argument of the righteous , Ibn Sīnā, possibility, Mullā Ṣadrā, demonstrating God's existence, Haeri Yazdim Necessary Being, beingm
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A Critical Study of the Differences Between Elemental and Ideal Bodies in Mullā Ṣadrā
One of the classifications of the reality of the body in philosophical sources and works divides it into Ideal and elemental types. There is no conflict among contemporary philosophers regarding the essence of this division itself; however, they have referred to some differences between elemental and Ideal bodies, some of which are based on the principles related to the discussion of material and immaterial entities. Philosophers have provided different definitions for the material and immaterial. One of the important problems in the discussion of the differences between elemental and Ideal bodies is the problem of the existence of potency. Nevertheless, some other differences between them have been mentioned that cannot be completely based on the discussion of material and immaterial entities. Mullā Ṣadrā has extensively dealt with this philosophical problem in his works and referred to 15 differences between these two realities. The study of these differences can provide a better understanding of the reality of elemental and Ideal bodies. The present study indicates that some of these differences are correct; some are incorrect, and some others demand further explanation.
Key Terms: elemental body, Ideal body, material and immaterial, potency and act, Mullā Ṣadrā
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Realism of Cyberspace: A Philosophical Analysis of Virtual Reality with an Emphasis on the Principles of the Transcendent Philosophy
From an ontological point of view, cyberspace should be considered a domain of original and effective reality which, given its vast growth, has exercised great influence on different aspects of modern human life. A study of the ontological dimensions of this realm of reality is important for different reasons. Undoubtedly, toady a significant part of human life is affected by the various manifestations of cyberspace. Moreover, this phenomenon has influenced multiple angles of human thought and behavior and introduced a new lifestyle for contemporary human beings and later generations. The present study, while investigating the virtual world from an ontological point of view and providing a metaphysical analysis of this realm, tries to rationally demonstrate that cyberspace is a real entity enjoying objectivity and truth relying on its effects on human nature and destiny. Later, based on the logical principle of "By their fruit you will recognize them", the author first explains and emphasizes the objective effects and concomitants of cyberspace, and then discloses some angles of this secret and complicated reality based on Sadrian principles. The realism of cyberspace can suggest the idea that virtual reality is similar to a kind of existence in Islamic philosophy called the "world of Ideas" or the "world of quantitative forms". This is because, irrespective of the differences between these two phenomena, virtual reality is also based on numbers and quantitative forms. Moreover, similar to the world of ideas, there is no trace of matter in this realm of being (cyberspace), whereas the effects and concomitants of matter can be witnessed there. The smallest philosophical outcome of exploring virtual reality is that, by revealing a realm of being including both immaterial and subtle forms, it prepares contemporary Man to perceive and experience "abstract truths" and accept holy, immaterial, and intangible affairs.
Key Terms:
Cyberspace,
technology, virtual reality, world of Ideas, Transcendent Philosophy
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A Study of Ḥakīm Khājūī's Objections to the Gnostic Theory of Oneness of Being
Mahmud Seydi
Mohammad Javad Pashaei
As the basis of theoretical gnosis, oneness of being has provoked several debates among thinkers in the history of Islamic philosophy. Mullā Ismā'īl Khājūī, one of the thinkers and Mutikallimun of the Safavid period and post-Sadrian era, has criticized this theory and challenged it from different aspects. Khājūī rejects this theory based on the ontological differences between the Necessary Being and possible beings, absence of absoluteness in the Necessary Being, the lack of a rational argument for demonstrating the oneness of being, and the inefficiency of the arguments of some gnostics and mystics on proving this oneness. However, the present study postulates that Khājūī's criticisms originate in confusing the different meanings of certain key terms in philosophical sciences and kalām with those in theoretical gnosis. Nevertheless, it seems that in certain cases, such as gnostics' failure in adducing a rational argument for demonstrating the oneness of being, his criticism is justified.
Key Terms: theoretical gnosis, unity of being, Necessary Being, rational reasoning, Fallacy, Ḥakīm Khājūī
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Listener (Locus of Manifestation) and Source (Emanator) Intellects in Jawadi Amuli (with an Emphasis on Misbah Yazdi's Views)
The discussion of intellectual perception and the quality of intellection holds an important place in epistemology. Islamic philosophers have followed various approaches to explaining the mechanism of intellection. Mullā Ṣadrā has also used different expressions for clarifying the process of general perception. He views the intellect sometimes as a locus of manifestation or epiphany (listener) and sometimes as an emanator (source) of intellectual forms. Accordingly, each of the researchers and commentators of Sadrian philosophy has tried to justify the differences between the words he has used in some way. As a neo-Sadrian philosopher, Jawadi Amuli posits some discussions in his works that can introduce a new view of the process of rational perception. Following a descriptive-analytic method, the present study demonstrates that, Jawadi Amuli has directly referred to two types of rational perception and the necessity to separate them from each other. In one of them, the intellect is a listener, and the general perception is the result of conscious rational intuition and passivity of the soul. Here, perception is limited to a special group. In the other one, the intellect functions as a source, and the general perception is the outcome of mental and soulish activities. All people are capable of this kind of intellectual perception.
Key Terms: general perception, Idea, intellectual perception, Javadi Amuli, Sadrian philosophy, Misbah Yazdi, intellect
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Immutable Archetypes and their Place in Divine Apriori Knowledge in the Eyes of Ibn 'Arabī and Mullā Ṣadrā
The notion of immutable archetypes is one of the most important pillars of Ibn 'Arabī's ontology, and its acceptance greatly influences one's view of the problem of God's knowledge. In fact, God's knowledge prior to the creation of existents is an important challenge that various epistemological, kalāmi, philosophical, and gnostic systems have tried to analyze and explain each in its own way. The Mu'tazilites and Ibn 'Arabī have tried to solve this problem by accepting the existence of pre-eternal archetypes. However, some thinkers, such as Mullā Ṣadrā, have disagreed with Ibn 'Arabī's view. Mullā Ṣadrā has harshly criticized the structure of immutable archetypes in his works. Nevertheless, through a more detailed investigation and based on a comparative approach, it can be concluded that Mullā Ṣadrā has tried to solve the problems that are in contrast to his philosophical principles through presenting a new view of the problem of archetypes and providing a new interpretation of Ibn 'Arabī's standpoint. This study aims to demonstrate that Mullā Ṣadrā agrees with Ibn 'Arabī's view of immutable archetypes but differentiates between his view and the idea of the subsistence of non-existents, which is favored by the Mu'tazilites. He also believes that the first view is in conformity with his own unveilings and intuitions.
Key Terms: immutable archetypes, God's knowledge, pre-eternal self-subsistentsm, Ibn 'Arabī, Mullā Ṣadrā
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An Evaluation of the Common Interpretations of Fact Itself and its Whatness Based on Mullā Ṣadrā's Final View
Seyedeh Zahra Mousavi Baygi
Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi Baygi
One of the discussions that has attracted great attention in scientific-philosophical societies is epistemology and its related problems such as the problem of the "criterion for the truth of propositions". Muslim thinkers believe that the criterion corresponds with nafs al-amr (fact itself); however, they have provided different views and interpretations of this concept. The required data for the study were collected through the library method. After describing and analyzing them, while evaluating three famous views regarding the truth of fact itself, reporting the related criticisms, and emphasizing the incomprehensiveness of these views, the researchers try to demonstrate that fact itself means "God's essential differentiated knowledge". Their standpoint is in conformity with gnostic and Sadrian philosophical principles.
Key Terms: fact-itself, knowledge of the active intellect, limit of essence, general affirmation, essential knowledge, Mullā Ṣadrā