Parts of Transcendent Philosophy
In Mulla Sadra’s perfect system of thought, one can
find all significant components and branches of philosophy, which, taken together,
comprise a coherent philosophical system. Ontology and the issues related to
metaphysics have the greatest share in this regard and, following them, the
majority of discussions are related to theology, psychology, eschatology,
epistemology, ethics, aesthetics,
and logic, respectively.
These components, although intermixed, are
connected to each other according logically, as is necessary for a
perfect philosophical system enjoying a high level of coherence and versatility.
In this system, ontological issues are employed as the bases for demonstrating
other issues.
Mulla Sadra’s epistemological views are presented
in a scattered manner under other issues. One can seek them under subjects such as mental
existence, psychological qualities and
accidents, the unity of the knower and the known, and the unity of the intellect
and the intelligible, and synthesize them with each other. Likewise, his ideas
about the philosophy of ethics and political philosophy have not
been presented in a focused form. Although he has two
independent books on formal logic, a great number of logical issues, whose
collection could comprise a valuable book on logic and the philosophy of logic,
can also be found among his philosophical
discussions.
Mulla Sadra attaches great importance to the
knowledge of the soul on the basis of the Islamic tradition of ‘know yourself to
know God’, and deals with the subject of the soul in almost most of his
books. Nevertheless, he devotes almost a quarter of al-Asfar al-arba‘ah to
discussions of the soul, and the end of its ontological journey towards the
Day of Resurrection, Paradise, and Hell. In addition to some issues that, for
various reasons, have been analyzed during other discussions, problems related to
eschatology and animate beings’ life after death comprise another important
part of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy, and have appeared under topics such as
psychology and eschatology.
|
 |