Theory of Temporality of the Soul: An Evaluation of the Foundations and Arguments

So far, at least seven theories regarding the temporality/eternity of the soul have been proposed. Most of Muslim philosophers, however, agree that soul is temporal, and its existence does not precede the creation of body. Ibn Sina and his followers consider soul to be spiritual in both its origination and its continuation, while the followers of Hikmat Muta‘āliyah (Transcendent Philosophy) deem it physical in origination, but spiritual in continuation. Ibn Sina, especially in Shifa, offers at least two arguments for the theory of the origination of soul along with body. Mullā Ṣadrā, on the other hand, criticizes three arguments put forward for the eternity of soul, and cites ten proofs for the temporality of soul, accepting some of them and rejecting some others. Since many religious narratives appear to side with the precedence of soul over body, the authors in this article scrutinize philosophers’ arguments for the origination of soul along with, or after, body in order to remove the apparent disagreement between the two.