Sadra's View on Metempsychosis with a Reconsideration of His Definition of the Soul

Metempsychosis is known as being the concern of philosophers from a long time ago. Among philosophers, Sadra, giving a general description of metempsychosis, has disproved the theory and, applying his special accuracy, has taken the cases of metempsychosis extended to other worlds also. Sadra has viewed most of those trying to explain corporeal resurrection as being led to metempsychosis. Sadra`s definition of the soul and his psychological principles in the ground of the relation of human soul and body, however, is a powerful obstacle against the theory. It should be stated that regarding such definite teachings as returning, raj’at, and reviving the dead in this world, necessity for dealing with metempsychosis would become more obvious; since, at a superficially glance, they seem as the cases of the theory. The present study, using analytical and documentary method and surveying Sadra`s view on the impossible metempsychosis, has sought to reconsider his meaning of the soul as his fundamental statement in the field. As is understood by Sadra`s transcendental teachings, his description of metempsychosis is conceptually more general than it famous and current meaning; the philosopher, disproving every sort of worldly metempsychosis in the field, has concluded impossibility of something more than public meaning of it. While impossibility of worldly metempsychosis may be counted as necessary conclusion of Sadra`s philosophical principles and his requisite ground for definition of the soul and explanation of the relation of the soul and body. The reason why lies in the fact that the reality of the soul is nothing other than its state of being related to the body. Such being the case, the soul`s object, mutu’lliq, may not change simply