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        1 - A Response to an Old Problem about Mulla Sadra’s Encounter with Suhrawardi’s Arguments on Denying the Pre-Existence of the Soul
        Ali  Shirvani Mojtaba  Afsharpour
        There are some disagreements among philosophers on the pre-existence of the soul, that is, the existence of the soul before joining the body, whether it is originated or pre-eternal. Mulla Sadra maintains that the soul – the soul qua soul – originates in the trans-subst More
        There are some disagreements among philosophers on the pre-existence of the soul, that is, the existence of the soul before joining the body, whether it is originated or pre-eternal. Mulla Sadra maintains that the soul – the soul qua soul – originates in the trans-substantial motion of the body (corporeal origination) through particular individuation. However, he agrees with its pre-existence and considers it to be a rational one. When discussing this issue, he investigates, criticizes, and rejects Suhrawardi’s arguments on denying pre-existence. The commentators of Mulla Sadra’s words have always asked the question of why he did not agree with Suhrawardi’s arguments on denying the soul’s pre-existence based on his own particular individuation so that they would appear unanimous with respect to this problem. At least, this is what one could understand from Suhrawardi’s words and arguments. Accordingly, some of the early and contemporary commentators criticized him and believed that his objections to Suhrawardi’s words were unfounded. In this paper, while briefly referring to the fundamental principles of Suhrawardi’s arguments and Mulla Sadra’s related criticisms, the writers explain the main reason why Mulla Sadra refused to accept Suhrawardi’s view about the pre-existence of the soul. Manuscript profile
      • Open Access Article

        2 - Necessary Conditions for the Realization of the Union of the Intellect, the Intelligent, and the Intelligible in the Transcendent Philosophy
        Mohammad Mehdi  Gorjian Mojtaba  Afsharpour
        The principle of the union of the intellect, the intelligible, and the intelligent is one of the most important principles of the Transcendent Philosophy. It was a philosophical problem long before the history of Islamic philosophy, but Muslim philosophers have adopted More
        The principle of the union of the intellect, the intelligible, and the intelligent is one of the most important principles of the Transcendent Philosophy. It was a philosophical problem long before the history of Islamic philosophy, but Muslim philosophers have adopted different approaches in dealing with it. Mulla Sadra, in addition to accepting this principle, made great efforts in order to demonstrate it and, in doing so, benefitted from the divine blessing. Moreover, owing to the fundamental principles of his own system of philosophy, he founded a new approach for explaining this principle at two levels which brought in its wake several important results. The acceptance of the idea that the rational soul wishes to become identical with its own intelligible at the time of absolute intellection initially seems to be impossible, and the human mind hesitates to accept any convincing proof in this regard without some necessary preparation and introductory explanations. That is why the writers have not examined the related proofs and arguments concerning this principle. Rather, they have presented eleven necessary premises before demonstrating it. In doing so, in each section, they have explained the intention of the Sadrian philosophers who believe in the union of the intelligent and the intelligible. After analyzing these premises and necessary conditions, the mind is ready for accepting an argument that can prove the related claim. Manuscript profile
      • Open Access Article

        3 - Human Soul: A Supreme Example of God in the Transcendent Philosophy
        Mojtaba  Afsharpour Mohammad Mehdi  Gorjian Mohsen Qomi
        One of the aspects that has been referred to in the Transcendent Philosophy for attaining the knowledge of God through the knowledge of the soul is that the human soul is a supreme example of God. This means that God has created the human soul similar to Himself in term More
        One of the aspects that has been referred to in the Transcendent Philosophy for attaining the knowledge of God through the knowledge of the soul is that the human soul is a supreme example of God. This means that God has created the human soul similar to Himself in terms of essence, attributes, and acts so that the knowledge of the soul could function as a means of attaining the knowledge of God in these three realms. However, it is noteworthy that God Almighty is pure from a like. Therefore, an example is different from a like. A careful study of Mullā Ṣadrā’s works reveals that he followed this theory seriously and tried his best to grant it a demonstrative nature. However, he never introduced it in a coherent and well-defined manner in a book or a chapter but dealt with its different dimensions in different chapters and works in relation to other discussions. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce this theory and the related interpretations in a coherent form. After some preliminary explanations regarding the Sadrian supreme example theory, this paper examines and analyzes the most important dimensions of the soul as an example of God and the related analyses in order to identify the most significant aspects of this feature of the human soul. Manuscript profile