Quarterly of the History of Philosophy

Volume 5

A Critique of the Famous Classification of Baghdad and Khorasan Schools of Sufism and Gnosis

Qudratullah Khayyatian, Seyyed Hamid Delawar

 There is a famous classification concerning the history of Islamic Sufism and gnosis in Iran and Iraq entitled "the Schools of Khorasan and Baghdad". This classification is commonly used and referred to in the books on the history of Sufism and gnosis. Through a study of the important and valid sources of Sufism and gnosis as well as the sources that the writers of the history of Sufism have dealt with, the writers have tried to find an answer to the question of whether this classification has an essentially acceptable basis or whether it is open to criticism. They have criticized the geographic and/or sober and intoxicated bases of the above classification. Finally, they conclude that it requires a fundamental revision and reconstruction.

 Key Terms

history of Sufism                                       School of Baghdad

School of Khorasan                                   spiritual sobriety

mystical intoxication

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Hegelian Dialectic: A Synthesis of Kantian and Platonic Dialectics

Hassan Fathi, Sediqah Musazadeh

The history of dialectic is as long as the history of philosophy itself. This term has been used by several philosophers, each having a different meaning of it in mind. In this paper, after providing a brief explanation concerning the meaning of this term among philosophers, its meaning for Plato, Kant, and Hegel is discussed in detail.

For Plato, dialectic has a perfectional meaning and is viewed as a method for attaining the unchanging essence of existents. Kant equates it with polemics or logic, that is, a study of the way that wisdom follows in order to attain the knowledge of things by essence and beyond-the-senses truths. Hegelian dialectic is always employed in order to bring the opposites together at a higher level. In fact, he believes that the main task of philosophy is to tread on this path.

In the present paper, the writers, while examining and comparing the dialectical theories of these three philosophers, have demonstrated that Hegelian dialectic can be considered as a synthesis of those of Plato and Kant.

Key Terms

Plato                                                          Kant

Hegel                                                         dialectic

Synthesis                                                   philosophical method of dialectic

thesis                                                         conformity of the mind and external world                    

anti-thesis

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Roots and Bases of the Ethical-Gnostic School of Shi'ism in the Works and Ideas of the First Majlisi

Ali Karbasizadeh Isfahani

 The Majlisi clan (father, son, daughters, son-in-laws, and grand-children) played a determining role in the growth of religious sciences and the formation of the Shi'ite teachings in the Safawid era and onwards. Mulla Muhammed Taqi Majlisi, known as the First Majlisi, was the founder of this clan. He was a knowledgeable scholar and a prominent jurisprudent, and his name and the name of his famous son, 'Allamah Mulla Muhammed Baqir Majlisi, are ever-lasting in the history of Shi'ism's scientific life. In fact, Islamic and Shi'ite philosophy owes a great debt to these two great thinkers. Much has been said and written about the life, works, and thoughts of these two reputable jurisprudents and their dynasty. However, this paper is devoted to the supreme character of the First Majlisi, particularly to his gnostic and ethical ideas and their influence on the Shi'ite scholars succeeding him.

Mulla Muhammed Taqi Majlisi was one of the well-known jurisprudents and muhaddiths of the world of Shi'ism in the 11^th century. He was well-versed in various fields such as jurisprudence, hadith, interpretation, theology, ethics, and gnosis, wrote some invaluable books in these fields, and trained a number of skillful and outstanding students. In addition to being a brilliant star in the world of knowledge and science, he was a perfect model for the farers of the path of truth. He had drunk from the heavenly spring of Alawi sciences, had lived with the teachings of the People of the Household, and had made their love and friendship the light of his way. In this way, he finally turned into a pioneer in the field of knowledge and practice. The First Majlisi had his own particular school and method in ethics and gnosis and succeeded in leaving an eternal impact on the pious scholars after himself. The roots and underlying principles of the ethical-gnostic school founded by the famous philosopher and jurisprudent Aqa Muhammed Bidabadi can be seen in the works, ideas, and words of the First Majlisi. 

Key Terms

gnosis                                                        Sunnah

Sufism                                                       intuition

the Book

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The Role of the Theory of the Spheres in the Philosophical Ideas of Muslim Thinkers  

 Mansur Imanpur

 One of the admitted premises that has played a significant role in some of the discussions of Muslim philosophers and the formation of some of their ideas is the theory of the spheres with Earth as its center. This theory has significantly affected some of the important theories of Muslim philosophers so that some of them, such as Farabi and Ibn Sina, in order to interpret the quality of the emanation of spheres and their souls, brought faith in the inclusion of the three-fold directions in each of the intellects higher than the tenth intellect. Accordingly, they interpreted the quality of the emanation of a lower intellect and spherical body and the soul. Given the number of the spheres and the Earth located at their center, they also limited the number of vertical intellects to 10. Suhrawardi also believed in the unlimited multiplicity of vertical intellects considering the same spheres and the stars existing in some of them.

The relationship between the created to the eternal, and the changing to the fixed is also one of the problems that Islamic philosophers (particularly, the Peripatetic and Illuminationist philosophers) tried to interpret and justify by resorting to the circular movement of the spheres. The philosophers advocating the Transcendent Philosophy solved the above problem based on the trans-substantial motion; however, they never completely denied the impact of the circular movement of the spheres on the sublunary world.

Islamic philosophers also benefitted from the theory of the spheres in the interpretation of dreams. They believed that the spheres and spherical souls were the tablets and sources of particular perceptions and maintained that the knowledge of dreams and hidden affairs was the product of the connection of human souls to spherical souls. Moreover, some of these philosophers (for example, Suhrawardi) believed that the problem of recollection and reminding forgotten affairs is possible through the same connection with the source of particular sciences, that is, spherical souls.

The corporeal resurrection of some of the human souls is one of the problems that some Muslim philosophers have tried to interpret by reference to spherical bodies. They believe that ignorant souls imagine their worldly ideas and affairs by connecting with spherical bodies and, in this way, feel imaginative pain or pleasure.

The purpose of the present paper is to interpret and analyze the above problems and to examine and criticize the approaches of Muslim philosophers in this regard. 

Key Terms

spheres                                                       corporeal resurrection

Ptolemaic geometry                                   vertical intellects

dream                                                        relationship between the created and the eternal

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Subject of Philosophy and its Distinction from other Sciences in Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra

'Aala Turani, Seyyed Narges 'Umranian

 Science qua science must enjoy coherence of problems, and this by itself originates in a unifying element. Most philosophers called this unifying element the subject of science and considered it as the criterion for distinguishing different sciences from each other. The main purpose of the present research is to examine the views of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra on determining the subject of philosophy and distinguishing it from other sciences. As we read in logic, the subject of each science is what discusses its essential accidents. In other words, the predicates of the problems of a science are among its essential accidents. Hence, there is a tight relationship between the subject of each science and its problems. According to Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra, the subject of philosophy, as the definition goes, is "existent qua existent", and its problems are also among the essential accidents of existence. However, not only is there no proof to demonstrate this point, but also, as research shows, some of the issues existing in the works of these two philosophers are not logically among the problems of this discipline, for example, the issues of the soul, resurrection, prophethood, and leadership. The application of all logical principles to everything that is known as a philosophical problem is highly challenging. This is because, at the level of definition, philosophical problems must be among the essential accidents of "existent qua existent"; however, this is problematic at the level of realization, and it seems that this point has not been observed in some philosophical problems. Therefore, there is a gap between the definition and realization of philosophy, and some efforts are required to fill it. For example, if we wish to demonstrate our ideas philosophically, we can examine them in a separate discipline or in the fields of second-order knowledge. Thus it seems rational to define various fields of philosophy and their branches and, through considering different subjects and observing the principle of essential accidents, to gain the knowledge of particular and general philosophies. 

Key Terms

level of realization                                     existent qua existent

essential accidents                                     second order philosophies           

level of definition                                      the criteria for the distinction of sciences

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On the Relationship between Islamic Philosophy and Islam: Conformity or Consistency?

Mas'ud Umid

This paper studies the conformity and consistency between Islam and Islamic philosophy through clarifying the existing views in Islamic philosophy in the past and present. Here, the writer initially introduces the two important and key approaches of conformity and consistency. Then, after explaining the theoretical and practical problems of the school of conformity, he votes for the consistency approach. He also deals with the religious or non-religious nature and features of Islamic philosophy. 

Key Terms

relationship between Islamic Philosophy and Islam

conformity                                                                 consistency

religious philosophy                                                   justification of consistency

*  *  *

Theory of Analogy in the Middle Ages with Reference to A.J. Ashworth's Views

Mustafa Hosseini Golkar

 The theory of analogy, the greatest defender of which is said to be Thomas Aquinas, has a noteworthy background in the history of philosophy, particularly in the Middle Ages. A. J. Ashworth is one of the most prominent contemporary commentators of this field. In the present research, based on his interpretations, the writer has dealt with the main topics of this theory which have often remained unnoticed in most theological-philosophical works on analogy.

He finally concludes that the history of this theory goes back to a time long before Thomas Aquinas, and most of its interpretations are unclear and in conformity with Thomas' main outlook. Accordingly, it is necessary to review the common interpretations of the theory of analogy. 

Key Terms

theory of analogy                                      Middle Ages

Thomas Aquinas                                        A. J. Ashworth

graded affair