The Purpose Theory as the Evidence of Psychological Egoism in the Mulla Sadra's Philosophy

There are several versions of psychological egoism, and each emphasizes some specific issue. This issue, in the Ayn’s version, is the reflection of the subject’s benefit to him. In Pojman's version, it is the reflection of the subject’s satisfaction to him. In Richards's remark, selfishness, and in Holmes's statement, motivation and self-love have been emphasized. All the aforementioned elements are present in the Mulla Sadra’s philosophy; as, in his explanation of the purpose theory, he speaks of self-love and the reflection of all purposes to the subject. The main question is: is, in the Mulla Sadra’s philosophy, the reflection of all purposes to the subject and self-love in favor of psychological egoism? The findings are: considering concepts such as purpose (in its general meaning), motivation (in its particular sense), selfishness and virtue, one can say the Sadra’s Philosophy is not in favor of the theory of psychological egoism.