The Reasons of Ambiguity in Classifying the Intelligibles among Muslim Philosophers

The classification of the universals and the intelligibles is one of the main philosophical topics that plays a fundamental role in organizing other philosophical issues. The words and views of Muslim philosophers in the classification of the intelligibles have been subject to many conflicts and ambiguities. As long as the underlying factors of ambiguity are not clarified, it is not possible to achieve a proper classification of universals and general concepts. Here we can name the causes such as the lack of terminology, the ambiguity of the relationship between the primary intelligible and the secondary intelligible, the confusion of areas when classifying the intelligibles, tying the classification of concepts to philosophical theories, and the ambiguity of the relationship between existence and quiddity. By carefully examining the causes of ambiguity and their epistemological implications, it can be realized that the philosophical secondary intelligible and the logical secondary intelligible cannot be categorized in a same classification, and in the classification of the intelligibles, the way the concept refers to the referent should be the criterion of division, not the way the concept is formed and abstracted; due to its inclusiveness, existence should not be classified beside essence, but should be defined according to the ontological primacy of existence over essence. By placing the concept of existence and reality as the source of division, a new classification can be proposed that is free from the current problems and ambiguities.