intellect

Open Access Article

1 - Hakim Sabziwari’s View of the Correlation Argument on Demonstrating the Union of the Intellect and the Intelligible
Mohammad Hadi Tavakkoli Hussein Ali Shidanshid

Like Mulla Sadra, Hakim Sabziwari is an advocate of the theory of the union of the intellect and the intelligible. However, unlike him, Sabziwari has spoken differently and adopted different positions regarding the correlation argument, which is Mulla Sadra’s most impor More

Like Mulla Sadra, Hakim Sabziwari is an advocate of the theory of the union of the intellect and the intelligible. However, unlike him, Sabziwari has spoken differently and adopted different positions regarding the correlation argument, which is Mulla Sadra’s most important argument for demonstrating the above theory. Sabziwari has sometimes called it imperfect and referred to its defects and, at other times, he has viewed it as a perfect argument and defended it. This paper analyzes and examines his different statements about the correlation argument. In conclusion, the writers maintain that Hakim Sabziwari’s interpretation of Mulla Sadra’s argument is a specific one which is, in some cases, inconsistent with Mulla Sadra’s words. They also question his reasons for rejecting this argument; however, they declare that Sabziwari’s various positions with respect to the correlation argument could be considered to be, more or less, consistent with each other. Manuscript profile

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2 - Man’s Freedom and Divine Servitude in the Transcendent Philosophy
Mehdi Najafi Afra

Similar to other Islamic philosophers, Mulla Sadra views Man in the middle of the origin and the return. Accordingly, he speaks about the quality of their origination and return towards the Origin of all origins. Given his own particular philosophical principles, such a More

Similar to other Islamic philosophers, Mulla Sadra views Man in the middle of the origin and the return. Accordingly, he speaks about the quality of their origination and return towards the Origin of all origins. Given his own particular philosophical principles, such as the principiality, gradation, simplicity, and the trans-substantial motion of existence, he studies Man on the path of being and maintains that, as wayfarers of the path of existence, they travel from existence in existence, with existence, and towards existence. In this approach, human freedom, as a soulis habitus and moral virtue, has an ontological meaning that can be perceived in the light of theoretical and practical types of wisdom. According to Mulla Sadra, this level of existence can be attained by those human beings who, firstly, manage to develop a correct knowledge of existence and their own ontological truth from the viewpoint of theoretical wisdom and prepare their souls for receiving and observing true teachings from the supreme origins. Secondly, from the view point of practical wisdom, through having their rational faculty dominate their faculties of appetite and anger, they need to establish a balance in satisfying the demands of these faculties. A divine philosopher is the same true believer who has succeeded in attaining the end of theoretical wisdom, that is, the light and end of practical wisdom or the same open-mindedness. Freedom, which means liberation from all limitations, becomes manifest in its supreme meaning, that is, the same divine servitude that equals desiring and paying attention to the Absolute in a way that the wayfarer is freed from the ties of what is other than the Truth and is mortalized in the Truth. Manuscript profile

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3 - A Critique of a Critical Report on Mulla Sadra’s al-Hashr al-‘ashya’ Treatise
Maqsud Mohammadi

Corporeal resurrection is one of the necessary principles of Islam, and all Muslims, based on the explicit text of Qur’anic verses, believe in the Day of Resurrection. Accordingly, Islamic philosophers have tried to demonstrate this religious principle by means of philo More

Corporeal resurrection is one of the necessary principles of Islam, and all Muslims, based on the explicit text of Qur’anic verses, believe in the Day of Resurrection. Accordingly, Islamic philosophers have tried to demonstrate this religious principle by means of philosophical reasons. Some of them, such as Ibn Sina, have expressed their failure in demonstrating the corporeality of resurrection. However, Mulla Sadra has accomplished this task drawing on the principles of the Transcendent Philosophy, such as the principiality of existence, the trans-substantial motion, and the immateriality of imagination. He has explained his theory of corporeal resurrection not only in his various books but also in an independent treatise entitled al-Hashr al-‘ashya’, which is specifically on this theme. The esteemed corrector of this treatise has questioned some of Mulla Sadra’s statements, which the writer of this paper finds unfounded. Here, he has critically examined these conflicts. Manuscript profile

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4 - Simple Human Intellect in Mulla Sadra
Furugh al-Sadat Rahimpoor Maryam Fakhr al-Dini

In this paper, through examining the meanings of the “simple intellect” in Mulla Sadra’s view, the writers have tried to clarify its specific meaning in relation to the human soul. He maintains that unity and simplicity are among the characteristics of the simple human More

In this paper, through examining the meanings of the “simple intellect” in Mulla Sadra’s view, the writers have tried to clarify its specific meaning in relation to the human soul. He maintains that unity and simplicity are among the characteristics of the simple human intellect, and that the general acquisition of intelligible forms by the simple intellect is a particular attribute which distinguishes it from other levels of perception. The simple human intellect is a name coined for the level of acquired intellect in order to, firstly, explain the specific features of this level, that is, simplicity and unity, and secondly, to emphasize the ontological harmony of the acquired intellect with the “Active Intellect”, which is the origin of the emanation of intelligible forms and is in unity with the acquired reason. Mulla Sadra also uses the term “the simple intellect” to clarify the process of the descent of revelation and considers the descent of the Qu’ran to be the product of the union of the simple intellect of the human soul with the Active Intellect or the “Holy Spirit”. It is through this union that the “Divine Pen” or the same Active Intellect portrays intelligible forms on the tablet of the prophet’s rational soul. Manuscript profile

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5 - A Study of the Effect of Mulla Sadra’s View of the Soul on his View of Revelation
Furugh al-Sadat Rahimpoor Majid Yaryan

Mulla Sadra based his Transcendent Philosophy and psychology on some principles which, before him, had not received much attention as fundamental principles of a school of philosophy. The trans-substantial motion of the soul from matter to kingdom, gradation of existenc More

Mulla Sadra based his Transcendent Philosophy and psychology on some principles which, before him, had not received much attention as fundamental principles of a school of philosophy. The trans-substantial motion of the soul from matter to kingdom, gradation of existence and the gradedness of the soul, the place of the world of imagination and the union of the soul with the Active Intellect are among these basic principles in Sadrian psychology. In this article, the writers explore the place of Mulla Sadra’s psychological principles in the knowledge of revelation and explanation of this process, as well as their impact on this field. From among the consequences of these principles we can refer to the kalami nature of revelation, its being impersonal and error-free, its being parallel with the intellect, and its continuity. Manuscript profile

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6 - A Comparative Critical Study of the Origination of the Soul in Mulla Sadra and Ibn Sina
Davood Mohamadiany

In the field of psychology in Islamic philosophy, there are two theories on the origination of the soul. Ibn Sina posed the theory of the spiritual origination of the soul and Mulla Sadra propounded the theory of the corporeal origination of the soul. However, contrary More

In the field of psychology in Islamic philosophy, there are two theories on the origination of the soul. Ibn Sina posed the theory of the spiritual origination of the soul and Mulla Sadra propounded the theory of the corporeal origination of the soul. However, contrary to Mulla Sadra’s idea, by the immateriality of the soul at the time of origination, Ibn Sina never meant complete immateriality at the level of practical intellect. Accordingly, it appears that Mulla Sadra’s objections to Ibn Sina are not justified and can be responded to. Likewise, by the corporeality of the soul at the time of origination, Mulla Sadra does not mean that the soul is a body or a type of corporeal thing. Rather, he means that, at the moment of origination, the soul is at the level of potential intellect, at the highest level of corporeality, and at the lowest level of immateriality. There are also some other pieces of evidence that bring the ideas of these two philosophers closer to each other. This paper intends to compare their views regarding the origination of the soul. Manuscript profile

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7 - A Study of Qunawi’s Philosophical Gnosis
Gholamreza Hosseinpour

Sadr al-Din Qunawi’s Miftah al-ghayb, as the first book on theoretical gnosis, provided the basis for theoretical or philosophical gnosis. This is because Ibn Arabi, who is known as the father of Islamic theoretical gnosis, did not have enough time for doing so, thus it More

Sadr al-Din Qunawi’s Miftah al-ghayb, as the first book on theoretical gnosis, provided the basis for theoretical or philosophical gnosis. This is because Ibn Arabi, who is known as the father of Islamic theoretical gnosis, did not have enough time for doing so, thus it was Qunawi who accomplished this task. Alongside the Peripatetic and Illuminationist schools of philosophy, Qunawi founded a school that can be called philosophical gnosis. In spite of his pessimistic view of theoretical intellect, Qunawi acknowledged that unveiling and gnostic taste agree with the theoretical intellect at all stages because they find no contradiction in the proofs of this kind of intellect. Nevertheless, he believes that the perception of such proofs is beyond the capabilities of human imagination. Qunawi tried to reconcile gnostics’ principles of unveiling and philosophical theories. In developing many of his views, he benefitted from Ibn Sina’s al-Isharat and, particularly, Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi’s commentary on this book. As a result, one can equate the philosophical language used by Qunawi with that used in the Peripatetic philosophy, particularly with the language employed in Ibn Sina’s al-Isharat, which plays a significant role in granting a philosophical nature to Qunawi’s gnosis. Manuscript profile

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8 - Different Types of Intellect in Mulla Hadi Sabziwari’s View
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Nik Seyyed Hashem Golestani Fathali Akbari

There are several different interpretations of the intellect, and a number of different duties, types, and levels have been attributed to it in conformity with each interpretation. Among them, reference can be made to fitri intellect, theoretical intellect, practical in More

There are several different interpretations of the intellect, and a number of different duties, types, and levels have been attributed to it in conformity with each interpretation. Among them, reference can be made to fitri intellect, theoretical intellect, practical intellect, universal intellect, active intellect, basis for obligation, etc. In the same vein, gnostics and sufis have even referred to obligation and escape from the intellect. In this paper, following an analytic-descriptive method and based on a new ontological and epistemological division, the writers have tried to examine the different types of the intellect from the viewpoint of Mulla Hadi Sabziwari. In the ontology of the intellect, this concept is considered as a level of existence or an existent which is discussed in the framework of universal intellects, particular intellects, and the ten-fold intellects. Moreover, the relationships and differences between them are explained therein. From an epistemological approach, the intellect is viewed as Man’s faculty of perception. The writers also explore the natural intellect, empirical intellect, theoretical intellect, and practical intellect and their levels, the simple intellect, and the differentiated intellect alongside the epistemology of the intellect. The findings of this study indicate that, when explaining the different types of the intellect, we sometimes deal with the human intellect (levels of the rational souls, particular intellect, or livelihood intellect) and sometimes with non-human intellects (universal separate intellects) and, since the ascended and descended intellects are two levels of the same species, they connect with each other in the arches of ascent and descent. The findings also reveal that the intellect which gnostics usually reproach is the imperfect particular intellect, which is under the influence of fanciful thoughts, and it is the habitual and natural intellect which is the criterion for obligation. Manuscript profile

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9 - Ontological Place of the Guardian and Imam in the Transcendent Philosophy of Hakim Zunuzi
Abdolreza Safari

Through a study of the concept of the Guardian and Imam in the view of Hakim Zunuzi, the present paper is intended to demonstrate that it is possible to prove the necessity mode of the existence of the intellect based on some of the principles of the theoretical school More

Through a study of the concept of the Guardian and Imam in the view of Hakim Zunuzi, the present paper is intended to demonstrate that it is possible to prove the necessity mode of the existence of the intellect based on some of the principles of the theoretical school of Transcendent Philosophy, including the principles of the One, inferior possibility and, particularly, nobler possibility. Since the “guardian” enjoys the highest level of actual intellect and the faculty of stimulation, he can be matched with the level of the First Intellect as the second truth and the most perfect and closest of the substances of the realm of dominion to Almighty Truth. This level is, thus, true for the “guardian”. Moreover, unlike separate intellects, the kind of intellect which is known as “correspondent intellect” and “archetype” in the transcendent Illuminationist philosophy and as a supreme example of mustakfi existent attends to the training and administration of its inferiors because it enjoys an aspect of the divinity of Almighty Truth. An example of this kind of intellect can be observed in the human administrative lights and supreme souls, such as favorites of God and theologian philosophers. Through a study of the features and examples of this kind of intellect, the author concludes that, based on the philosophical analysis of some traditions, one can prepare the context for the matching of such features to favorites of God and, in Zunuzi’s words, introduce the white pillar of the divine Celestial Throne and universal intellect as the representative of this level. Finally, given the belief that the intellect is the noblest and the most favorite of all divine substances and the closest of them to God, it can be considered to be the spirit. Therefore, the guardian is the spirit and the rational soul who is open to the orders, rewards, and punishments of Almighty Truth. Manuscript profile

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10 - Editor's Note
Seyyed Mohammad Khamenei

Political Intellect Islamic Revolution Political Insight

Political Intellect Islamic Revolution Political Insight Manuscript profile

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11 - Problem of Gender in Mullā Ṣadrā’s Epistemological Approach
Mahnaz Mozafari far Alireza Hassanpour Maijd Ziaei Ghahnavieh

The problem of gender has not been explicitly discussed in Islamic philosophy, in general, and in Transcendent Philosophy, in particular. However, through examining the principles of Islamic Philosophy and the work of philosophers, one can learn about their views and di More

The problem of gender has not been explicitly discussed in Islamic philosophy, in general, and in Transcendent Philosophy, in particular. However, through examining the principles of Islamic Philosophy and the work of philosophers, one can learn about their views and different interpretations of this problem. This paper is intended to reveal the relationship between the intellect and gender based on Sadrian philosophy and explain whether men and women share the same or different levels of intellectual perception. According to Mullā Ṣadrā, the most fundamental characteristic of human beings is rationality, particularly theoretical intellect, and men and women are the same in terms of their faculty of intellection. In other words, there is essentially and naturally no difference between them regarding their intellect. Mullā Ṣadrā stipulates that reaching the level of intellection – putting the intellect into practice – is an acquisitional affair, and the difference observed between men and women and even among men or women themselves in the process of knowledge acquisition is accidental and the outcome of contextual factors. Mullā Ṣadrā has demonstrated this problem in the classification of the intellect and the stages of intellection – from intellectus materialis (material intelligence) to intellectus acquisitus (acquired reason). Manuscript profile

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12 - An Evaluation of the Common Interpretations of Fact Itself and its Whatness Based on Mullā Ṣadrā’s Final View
Seyedeh Zahra Mousavi Baygi Seyd Mohammad Musavi

20.1001.1.15600874.1400.27.1.2.8

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 naf More

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. Manuscript profile

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13 - Listener (Locus of Manifestation) and Source (Emanator) Intellects in Jawadi Amuli (with an Emphasis on Misbah Yazdi’s Views)
Rohollah Adineh Roghayeh Mosavi

20.1001.1.15600874.1400.27.1.4.0

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 cla More

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. Manuscript profile

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14 - Goodness of Justice: An Intellectual or Rational Theorem?
Mohammad Imami حسین فرزانه

20.1001.1.15600874.1401.28.1.2.5

“Justice is good” and “cruelty is bad” are two of the most frequently used principles and propositions in various disciplines. Mutikallimun consider these two propositions to be rational, primary necessary, evident, certain, and needless of reasoning. However, some phil More

“Justice is good” and “cruelty is bad” are two of the most frequently used principles and propositions in various disciplines. Mutikallimun consider these two propositions to be rational, primary necessary, evident, certain, and needless of reasoning. However, some philosophers deny their evidence and certainty and consider them as generally accepted propositions that bear no truth except for conforming to thinkers’ views. Certainty in relation to these two propositions means believing in the correctness of their use in arguments and production of scientific results, and indemonstrability refers to their dialectical application. Some believe that the indemonstrability in the interpretation of such propositions would undermine the basis of moral propositions. The question here is why there is so much controversy about these two apparently evident propositions. The findings of this descriptive-analytic study reveal that the solution must be found in distinguishing between “intellectual goodness” and “rational goodness”. When these two propositions are considered as individual intellectual propositions, they are hypothetical and genetic judgments; however, at a rational social level, they are evident and, of course, mentally posited and, unlike the general view of logicians, they must be viewed as certain propositions (not as generally accepted ones). In addition, some statements such as “They have no basis but popularity”, which are used by some philosophers and logicians about the two propositions, are not used to deny their reality. Rather, they are intended to deny the evidence and necessity of these two propositions in intellectual analyses. Thus, no damage is done to their support for moral propositions. Manuscript profile

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15 - Explaining Horizontal Pluralities in the Vertical Worlds of Existence Based on Sadrian Philosophy
Ali Sedaghat Hasan Fathzadeh

20.1001.1.15600874.1402.28.4.7.0

Based on the principle of the gradation of existence in Sadrian philosophy, the world of being enjoys a vertical system that extends from the highest point to the lowest levels, and each existent possesses a specific degree of existential intensity and weakness. The acc More

Based on the principle of the gradation of existence in Sadrian philosophy, the world of being enjoys a vertical system that extends from the highest point to the lowest levels, and each existent possesses a specific degree of existential intensity and weakness. The acceptance of this principle in Sadrian philosophy alongside one’s observations in our surrounding world of horizontal existents with no cause-effect relation, such as a stone and a tree, gave rise to an important question in the post-Sadrian period: How can these two truths come together in one place? The responses to these questions during the last 400 years have resulted in some disagreements among commentators of Mullā Ṣadrā’s works. In this study, the authors aim to demonstrate that the acceptance of the vertical and graded system of existence is not in conflict with accepting horizontal pluralities, and what is accepted in Sadrian graded existence is a differential system among all existence and not merely a cause-effect system. The key to the understanding of horizontal pluralities in Sadrian philosophy must be found in the discussion of archetypes and their additions. In presenting his own system of emanations, Mullā Ṣadrā has been greatly influenced by Suhrawardī’s philosophy and defended the quality of the emanation of archetypes at different occasions. Archetypes are the same horizontal intellects the acceptance of which is equal to resolving the problem of horizontal pluralities in all vertical worlds of existence. Manuscript profile

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