The Status of ‘Attribution’ in the Discussion of Principality of Existence and Quiddity

One of the basic issues in philosophy is the principality of existence or quiddity. It has been regarded as a breakthrough in the philosophy. The proponents of Mulla Sadra (Sadraids) believe in principality of existence and conventionality of quiddity. Mulla Sadra was the first philosopher who put this issue at the top of the discussions on ontology, making it the foundation for resolving other issues. To prove their claim, his proponents have adduced some reasons, the most important of which is based on the axis of ‘attribution’. That is, with a reliance on attribution, they have offered arguments that denote the principality of existence and conventionality of quiddity. In this regard, some of the effects they claim for the belief in principality of existence and conventionality of quiddity are related to ‘attribution’. In the present article, we study both the arguments presented and the effects related to the attribution. For the author, there are serious critics regarding both parts of the discussion.