معرفت شناسی

This study aimed to represent and analyze the aspects of the theory of truth in Ibn Tabataba's most important work, namely Ayar al-She’r, in two epistemological and aesthetic contexts, relying on the descriptive-analytical method. In so doing, it presents a comprehensive perspective on the system of Ibn Tabataba's philosophical and literary thought. Therefore, first, in order to clarify the geography of the subject, it reconsidered the theoretical foundations of epistemology as well as theories and approaches to truth. Then, the artistic, ethical, historical, and visual aspects of truth in Ibn Tabataba's epistemological system were analyzed and explored, with attention to the distinction between the epistemology and aesthetics. The results indicated that, from an epistemological point of view, Ibn Tabataba's theory of knowledge is in alignment and convergence with the classical theory of epistemology; namely, the correspondence theory of truth. Therefore, it is justified, informative, and objective, and has the authority to judge propositions. A work of art is not only measured by the scales of epistemological truth and falsity, but also it can be judged by aesthetic criteria. Ibn Tabataba's theory of knowledge from an aesthetic point of view cannot be informative, realistic, or objective. Consequently, it also lacks the authority to judge literary propositions, which are inherently defamiliarized and logically hard to grasp.

This article examines the profound influence of mystical philosophy on the poetry of Ali Mousavi Garmaroudi, focusing on the ontological and epistemological implications present in his works. Through concepts such as fana (annihilation), light, wahdat al-wujud (unity of being), and divine love, Garmaroudi creates poetry that conveys not only linguistic beauty but also profound mystical messages. Inspired by the teachings of Islamic mystics like Ibn Arabi, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Sadra, he transforms his poetry into a medium for expressing spiritual experiences and philosophical reflections, using symbolic and metaphorical language to explore the intricate themes of human existence within the cosmos and the relationship with the Divine. Using qualitative content analysis, this article examines Garmaroudi’s poetry from ontological and epistemological perspectives to explore how mystical philosophy deepens his reflections. The findings reveal that Garmaroudi’s poetry serves as more than literary expression; it provides a space for mystical and spiritual experiences. Through ontological and epistemological nuances, his works offer a profound understanding of life’s meaning and guide readers toward philosophical and mystical reflections. This study may serve as a foundation for future research in the area of comparative poetry and mystical philosophy, as well as the analysis of philosophical symbolism in Persian literature.

In the epistemological perspective of Sohrab Sepehri, the intuitive view in interaction with art plays a fundamental role in developing the scope of knowledge and discovering the truth and angles of existence. This artist-poet has once again recreated the affairs and phenomena of existence with a deep and artistic look by passing from the inevitable and imposed constraints of the conventional reality and the usual view. He has used the capabilities and capacities of art to describe and interpret the unknown and unknowable things, convey the perceptual content and life experiences, poetic emotions and other observations in order to expand the boundaries of knowledge and discover the truth. The meaning of artistic re-creation is that the artist, in a pure transformation of understanding and attitude, by transitioning from symbolic knowledge that only shows the procedures and a limited aspect of the subject of knowledge, achieves intuitive knowledge and removes the original facts. Recreate contractual concepts and remove intermediaries. Sepehri with different approaches and methods, including: 1- visualization and experimentalization of situations, findings and perceptual content; 2- Change in the junction and horizon of vision; 3- Using the concepts and terms of different sciences; 4- Philosophical thought and perspective has gone beyond symbolic knowledge and with the artistic interpretation of his life-world, he has devoted himself to the development of the boundaries of knowledge and understanding

Decision-making plays a pivotal role in individual life, and this issue has garnered special attention from scholars. Theories in the field of decision-making are based on assumptions that stem from differences in ontological and epistemological foundations. Therefore, it is important to examine such a significant issue as decision-making by referring to Iranian-Islamic texts. The main goal of this study is to explore the contextual components of decision-making based on the thought of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi. In this research, themes, concepts and categories related to the contextual components of decision-making, based on the thought of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, are identified through the study and analysis of Rumi's Masnavi Manavi. This study is exploratory and descriptive in nature and utilizes thematic analysis as its primary analytical method. In the descriptive coding stage, after continuous comparison of the data, 312 descriptive codes were presented. In the second stage (interpretive coding), a list of 43 interpretive codes was created. In the third stage, by bringing the categories closer together to explain the concepts, 11 overarching themes were expressed. The examination of contextual components affecting decision-making based on the thought of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi can enrich the frameworks proposed in the field of decision-making.

The viewpoints related to the imaginary world are based on two approaches: ontology and epistemology. The ontological approach considers the world of imagination as one of the levels of existence, which is the boundary between the world of minds and the world of matter; On the other hand, the epistemological approach considers imagination as one of the powers of human perception, which is limited to imagination. Among the mystics who have addressed this issue is Rumi, who has made indirect references to this world in his Masnavi, but unlike great scholars such as Mulla Sadra, Sheikh Ashraq, and Ibn Arabi, there is no independent chapter called the world of imagination in his works. For this reason, some think that in the Masnavi, the subject of the imaginary world is not raised as a level of existence, and the meaning of the imaginary world in the Masnavi is simply the connected imagination, imagination and mental imagination. Most of the researches that have discussed about imagination in Masnavi have examined imagination only in the field of epistemology and have considered it as one of the perceptive powers of humans, which mostly has a negative aspect and hinders the achievement of knowledge. The main goal of this research is based on the fact that the imaginary world in the Masnavi includes ontology, epistemology or both fields.

In this research, with a descriptive-analytical method, the ontology of the imaginary world as one of the levels of being and being in Molavi's thought has been proven by relying on the first book of the Masnavi.

In Rumi's opinion, imagination is not only one of the inner powers of man, but it is also accepted as a level of existence and has been conceptually discussed in many Masnavi verses.

Molavi considers the ways to reach the world of fantasy to be things such as the transformation of external attributes into internal ones, sleep and dreams, inspiration, natural death and voluntary death.

The existence of validity techniques and technical considerations in the text, especially the text written for the adolescent audience, reveals the necessity of critique and review of literature more than ever. In the meantime, the investigation of the unreliable narrator becomes more important in a teenage novel. Because the author intends to turn the adolescent from an audience to a well-informed critic by creating contradictions, uncertainties and suspension of text using invalid narrator. This study, using descriptiveanalytical method, investigates the causes and evidence that narrator was unreliable and effects of it on the epistemological aspect of the adolescent novel When mozhi lost by Hamidreza Shahabadi and using the existing contradictions and contradictions in the text to take a step forward to increase the critical reading abilities in adolescent readers. The result shows that from one hand, factors such as being children, the narrator's personal conflict with story characters, with content signs, such as the insufficient reporting, the contradiction between the story realities and the narrator's point of view and the narrator's confessions to lying leads to a reduction in the audience's trust towards the narrator. On the other hand, the story, which is more of the recognition and discovery of causes and factors of the story of the story, stands out in the epistemological dimension. And the unreliable narrator, with the contradictions who creates in the text, is a mean that challenges that cognition and knowledge and considers it relative.

Taha Hussein is an Egyptian literary figure of the twentieth century who has played an effective role in promoting the written culture of the contemporary Arab world by creating numerous works in the field of history and literature. He has been able to play the same role in the Arab philosophical tradition as founded by Descartes in the Western philosophical tradition. The purpose of this study is to analyze the method of Taha Hussein's historiography by emphasizing the introduction chapter of the book Fi Al-Adab Al-Jahili. It also seeks to enumerate the theoretical foundations of Taha Hussein's methodology and evaluate it epistemologically. In addition, it attempts to weigh its epistemology in terms of importance, validity and contemporaneity of the Verstehen tradition according to the theoretical foundations of the Max Weber method. The study criticizes the efficiencies and inefficiencies of this epistemology too.

This study describes Taha Hossein’s approach for the historiography of ignorant poetry and criticizes its efficiencies and inefficiencies with a comparative descriptive method and a conceptual analysis approach.

Contrary to Taha Hussein's approach, the historian does not avoid the value system in all the stages of a research process to apply the components of the value system, nor can the natural sciences in the postmodern reading, despite claiming objectivity, be free from value biases. This is because theories are not only the product of reflection and thinking on an object but also the result of genius, profound reflection and, in general, the interaction of the subject and the object.Neither the dogmatism of objectivists and Taha Hussein nor the relativism of subjectivists and postmodernists alone leads the historian to the destination, because both approaches believe in methodological exclusivism in history and historiography. But the third approach, which made history a continuous dialogue between the historian and the event, and the acquisition of knowledge as the result of the interaction of the mind and the object are more effective.
Truth-based propositions that convey extra-mental facts are not limited to the field of experimental science. Therefore, they cannot be included in the limited field of experimental science with a hasty and incorrect generalization and the possible fallacy of "whole-to-part definition"; they can be redefined under the propositions of mathematics, logic, philosophy, history, and so on.

Verstehen is a school of thought in which the agent of the mind, the presuppositions, the philosophical foundations of ontology, anthropology, and values ​​play major roles, whether or not the historian is aware of such data when historiographing. The purpose of this method is not only to reconstruct an event but also to reach the thought behind it, and it is obvious that the realization of this work will be possible only by rethinking this thought in the mind of the historian. Verstehen is the way in which we understand the inner meanings of phenomena along with a kind of sense of empathy and spiritual closeness to the social and historical actor. There is no doubt that this approach is very different from what is common in the natural experimental sciences because observation and experimentation can be effective by providing general rules to recognize inanimate objects. If a sociologist or a historian does not understand social and historical behavior and its hidden meanings, no other analysis or explanation can be very effective.
Objectivity, which is an important topic in historical epistemology, means that historical events must have features and components acceptable to all historians so as to pass what happened on to others, regardless of their values ​​and beliefs and assumptions in general.
The most important discussion that Max Weber has dealt with in the field of historical research is the study of the position of the historian's value system and his beliefs and its impact on the historiographical process. When a researcher enters the research process, his values ​​inevitably fall in the field of research and any understanding or perception achieved between human beings, consciously or unconsciously, is influenced by the theoretical philosophical foundations as well as the value system of the researcher. Weber considers value neutrality to be necessary only at the stage of possible collection or gathering. He distinguishes between the gathering authority, which is concerned with the choice of a subject for research, and the arbitral authority, which makes the distinction.
Taha Hussein, who was concerned with the gap between tradition and modernity, sought to transform the educational system of his time by innovating a method of literary historiography. He also tried to establish Egyptian modernity by reviving traditional literature.While criticizing the traditional method, he emphasized the objectivity and methodization of research and writing the history of literature. In order to confront the two traditional and modern paradigms, he intended to create a homogeneous combination in historiography and to choose a middle method that was a combination of the Azhari tradition and modern methodology. To this end, he criticized the method of literary historiography and the old and new approaches to teaching at his time, which lacked critical accuracy. He preferred Descartes's skeptical method and his philosophical reflections, but he turns to the foundations of his method. In general, the theoretical components of Taha Hussein's literary historiography can be itemized as follows:
a) Doubtfulness of a method as a basic rule for believing historical propositions
b) The complete emptiness of the researcher's mind of any presuppositions, patriotic tendencies, and religious beliefs as well as being generally devoid of any credibility and value propositions
c) Making a distinction between the intellect and the heart and freeing the intellect from the bondage of all the three inner realms of man, namely emotions, feelings and excitements.
d) Lack of adherence to anything but theoretical and practical commitment to the correct scientific method of research.

The result of this research indicates that, in addition to being an epistemological category, historiography has a historical function. Therefore, it is not devaluated and cannot be devoid of the presuppositions, philosophical foundations and the culture of the researcher of history in general, nor is such an approach desirable in historiography.

Mohammad Nassir-a-din Makki Hosseini in his book Bahr al-Maani (The Sea of Meanings) pays considerable attention to epistemological issues. The purpose of the present article is to explain his the epistemological views and to examine the influence of Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani's Tamhīdāt on his ideas. This study has been done by using descriptive-analytical method and based on library resources. The findings show that Mohammad Makki not only in content, but also in words and phrases, has been influenced by the epistemological views of Ayn al-Quzat. Both mystics have distinguished between inward knowledge and outward knowledge, and have considered outward knowledge as the divine knowledge that mystics receive it due to their degree of unshakable faith in God. According to both of them, man can attain divine knowledge through self-knowledge and the knowing of the prophet Muhammad; but knowing the divine essence is not possible and one can only know about divine names, attributes and acts. They speak of the existence of an obstacle (hejab) in knowing God and believe that this obstacle will not be completely removed; and for some reasons such as content, human limitations and religious limitations, the inability of the audience to understand the concepts and the issue of confidentiality, the divine teachings are inexpressible. These topics are covered in more detail in Bahr al-Maani than in Tamhīdāt.

Ever since Brian McHale emphasized the modern epistemological and ontological element in the separation of the modern novel from the postmodern novel, the subject of the dominant element has been considered in most postmodern research. McHale believed that in modern novels the dominant element is epistemological issues. Postmodern novels, on the other hand, pay more attention to ontological issues. Epistemology is a part of philosophical knowledge that has gained special importance during the last three centuries and its subject is the study of the issue of cognition and its characteristics. McHale believed that modern novels address questions in both content and structure that revolve around the issue of cognition. Questions such as how is cognition achieved? Where is the scope of awareness? What is the structure of knowledge? The novel "The Great Magician's Conversation with the Queen of the Colorful Islands" tells the story of a day in the life of a teenager named Rahi who becomes a guest of a family that has lost its child. In this work, the author has made the subject of cognition the subject of narration both in content and structure. The present study has used a descriptive-analytical method to study the dominant epistemological element in this novel. The results show that in this work, Khanian has examined the characteristics, conditions and scope of cognition by using approaches such as the function of linguistic signs in the matter of consciousness, the issue of intentionality and the subject of dynamics in consciousness.

Epistemology of different phenomena, i. e. the human’s endeavor to achieve an ideological/philosophical insight about their nature, can be his conduct in making decisions how to realize them. Since this is also true for bringing justice about the world, this research was carried out to investigate the epistemological basics of Alavi/Shiite justice in Nahj-al-balāqa, a reference book compiled from the lectures and letters of Ali, the first Imam of Shi’as. Applying Topic-based Discourse Analysis Model as our methodology, we arrived at two different categories of conclusions. As a result of theoretical analysis, ‘the consistent selection of our mental, verbal, and practical behaviors based on right’ was concluded to be a definition of the nature of justice, while meanings of ‘right’ are to be from ‘correctness of doing’ to ‘religious assignments’. So, the extentions of the term ‘right’ were divided into these three categories: a) religious instructions/rights, b) private personal rights, and c) exchange and service rights. Meanwhile, 7 topoi, or addresses to rational schemes, were also identified as a result of linguistic analysis.

This paper studies the landscapes in Ian McEwan’s Solar and examines the narrator’s epistemological lens in his description of the landscapes. The research draws upon David Harvey’s definition of built environment, which contributes to the generation of a more practical definition of landscape, and argues that the narrator and the focalizer’s realistic descriptions of the landscapes have their origin in their scientistic mindset and firm reductionist belief in (neo)liberalism. With regard to such descriptions, the paper focuses on how, since the late twentieth century, the earth, as the cradle of nature and location of countries with definite political borders, is transformed into a landscape of a (blue) planet without any political or spatial borders on it. Using Harvey’s Marxist critiques of capitalism and neoliberalism, this study also analyzes the narrator and focalizer’s belief in science as a savior and the single avenue towards understanding the world. It is concluded that the ecological stance in the story is grounded in the very epistemology from which the man-made climate change arises.

From its very beginnings, man has always been a curious and inquisitive creature looking for goals to reach him, but what a destination is, where it is, and who it is has been an important issue that makes people more curious and purposeful. He believes that the structure of human beliefs is shaped by his moral characteristics and that the moral contaminants of human knowledge are distorted. The purpose of this research is to investigate the implications of ethical education from the point of view of Rumichr('39')s epistemology.The present research is a fundamental research and data acquisition tool.The findings of the research show that the methods, steps and principles of moral education from the point of view of Rumi are as follows: self-hypnosis, self-imbibition, blessing, cultivation, and avoidance of imitation. The stages describe repentance, patience, patience, faith, submission and submission, poverty and mortality, and principles including perfection, cultivation, counseling, avoidance of obedience, avoidance of unconsidered generalization and individual differences in human beings.

Mystical epistemology is in intuitive knowledge that deals with the heart and there is no sense and intellect in it. From the point of view of mystics, this cognition is not obtained through the external senses or argumentative processes, but it is a knowledge resulting from discovery and intuition, as a result of which the inner universe can be understood. The aim of the present study is to examine mystical epistemology from the perspective of Sheikh Shahabuddin Omar Sahrurdi, a mystic of the seventh century AH, which has been conducted by descriptive-analytical method. According to Sahrurdi, one of the types of knowledge, which includes sensory, intellectual, innate and heart knowledge, the place of knowledge is the heart, and with the heart knowledge, true cognition can be achieved. Like other mystics, while confirming the sense and intellect in acquiring knowledge, he does not consider these two to be sufficient to achieve the knowledge of God and gives originality to the knowledge of heart. In the path of knowledge, which is gradual, man goes through different stages and does not enter the next stage until he passes a stage.

This article investigates and compares the views of Descartes and Rumi regarding the duality of the soul and the body and their interaction from the perspective of ontology and epistemology. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that Rumi is a dualist from an epistemological point of view and a monist from an ontological one, whereas Descartes is both epistemologically and ontologically a dualist. Descartes believes in the existence of two substances, namely the soul (the essence of the thinker) and the body (the material essence); and above them he believes in God. In his opinion, the soul and body are not only conceptually distinct in the mind (epistemology), but also in the external world (ontology). In his method of philosophical theorization, which should possess internal consistency, clarity, and distinctiveness, Descartes fails to provide a convincing justification on the interaction between the soul and the body and their substantial union — which is the historic problem of dualism. In contrast, Rumi’s method — which is faithful, religious and an expression of his inner and mystical experiences and whose goal is to achieve wonder, not clarity — has no problem in the explication of his opinions.

Text interpretation depends on different text production elements such as language, rhetoric, literary structure, theme, and genre, and varies from text to text, and every text requires a unique interpretation method. Interpretive or non-interpretive simplicity or complexity, and consequently significance of a text is determined based on different factors and features, such that when approaching a text, a verdict cannot be easily passed on the simplicity or complexity of the text. The interpretive position of a text takes shape and gains significance where the interpretive complications of the text manifest. By considering the text production elements, the type of such interpretive complications and their place of occurrence will determine the degrees of explicitness and implicitness, or simplicity and complexity of the text. At times, the interpretive complications of a text occur due to its structural ambiguity. Familiarity with different iltifāt (Apostrophe) aspects and positions of a text and discovering the aesthetic role and function of each type of apostrophe is an important method in interpreting and understanding a text. Masnavi Manavi is a text whose most significant interpretive complication belongs to its apostrophe aspects, such that through understanding these apostrophic positions and explaining their semio-semantic function in the structure of a text, a reasonable interpretation of the text can be arrived at. The present research focuses on discovering different types of apostrophe in Masnavi and explaining the roles and functions of this rhetoric technique in the process of interpreting the text.

Apostrophe and its definition have been the subject of much discussion in traditional and modern books on rhetoric. In traditional rhetorical texts, the semantic and conceptual domain of apostrophe is quite limited, encompassing only the change in the mode of address and shift of topic. Such a conceptual domain is also reflected in many of the more recent books on rhetoric. However, in some of the new studies, the semantic domain of apostrophe has been expanded to include any type of change occurring in the normal course of speech and resulting in deviation from the norm in language, defamiliarization, foregrounding, deconstruction, and coherence. Such a new perspective on apostrophe can be observed, with a slight fundamental difference, in the western rhetoric as well and considered as a type of literary semiotics. Research conducted by westerners in this area have been more extensive and have adopted various approaches to apostrophe, including the traditional approach to apostrophe, the cognitive approach, apostrophe in narrative theory, apostrophe in pragmatics, and apostrophe from a poststructuralist perspective. The poststructuralist approach to apostrophe was pioneered by Jonathan Culler. From a semiotic perspective, he regards apostrophe as a deflection and breaking of the message. The focus of the present research is on Masnavi Manavi. The literary technique of apostrophe in Masnavi, in addition to its aesthetic function, has semantic and semiotic functions as well. Masnavi’s structure has been patterned on the expressive structure of the Quran. Considering the semiotics of types, Masnavi can be considered a type of spoken poetry or address, since the signs and codes of speech and address in the text are more frequent and prominent than the signs of the written text. One of the codes peculiar to speech or address in Masnavi is the literary technique of apostrophe and its high frequency and variety. Following the Quranic style and method in expressing irfanic (mystic/of true knowledge) secrets and epistemic concepts, Molavi (Rumi) has utilized a scattered yet semantic order, and through using different and varied movements manifesting in the form of semantic associations, narrations, allegories, and change in the points of view, has created an interwoven network of meanings in the entirety of the work. Apostrophic aspects in Masnavi are so abundant and varied that a proper understanding of the text cannot be achieved without discovering their semio-sematic position. Therefore, the most important function of apostrophe in Masnavi is its interpretive and epistemological function which conforms to the irfanic worldview of Molana (Rumi) and his epistemological method which is based on dialectics and evolutionary movement.

The present research has a descriptive–analytic method and takes an interpretive approach; i.e. it takes a critical perspective, based on the literary and aesthetic technique of apostrophe which is more commonly discussed in the rhetoric, on revisiting the conceptual domain of apostrophe, and instead of following the traditional approach in which apostrophe was considered as merely a rhetorical device thus rendering a reductionist definition of apostrophe, we have adopted a broader definition of apostrophe here where apostrophe includes any type of change and deviation from norms in the normal course of speech. Moreover, in our method, we have given consideration to the semantic and semiotic function of apostrophe in the interpretation of literary texts, particularly Masnavi Manavi.

The literary technique of apostrophe in Masnavi is different from other texts and has various types and functions. In our new approach to apostrophe, this literary technique incorporates the syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes of the text, some of the most important of which are as follows: linguistic apostrophe, aesthetic apostrophe, symbolic apostrophe, cognitive apostrophe, interpretive apostrophe, intertextual apostrophe, narrative apostrophe, ontological apostrophe, discoursal apostrophe, contextual apostrophe, among others. Illustration of any of these apostrophic aspects, aesthetic analysis of the frequency and role of any of these types, and analysis of their interpretive function in Masnavi is a topic worthy of a separate, extensive research of its own since apostrophic aspects and intratextual movements and changes in different texts vary considering the literary genre, artistic goal of the text, cultural and social geography of the era of production of the work of art, dominant discourses of the era, among other factors, and every text requires a separate, particular interpretive basis. One of the main functions of apostrophe in Masnavi is its interpretive apostrophe. In contrast to Hindi style of ghazal (~sonnet) in which the function of apostrophe influenced by the ontological discourse dominating the art in the era (Molla Sadra’s integrated and ontological philosophy) is mainly ontological rather than epistemological, and ‘equation style’ (oslūbe moādeleh), ‘thematization’ (mazmūnpardāzi) and ‘verse-centeredness’ (beytmehvari) as its dominant elements clearly reflect such a mentality, Molana’s purpose in simultaneously expressing the various aspects of one or several phenomena using the technique of apostrophe is mostly epistemological rather than semantical or ontological. Another difference of the apostrophic aspect in Masnavi and Hindi style of ghazal lies in the type of movement in the two forms. In Masnavi, we mostly observe movement from the exterior (appearance) to the interior (core/reality) which sometimes does not stop in one realm of meaning but rather penetrates the cores of a phenomenon; however, in Hindi style of ghazal, we mostly observe movement from the interior (core/reality) to the exterior (appearance), or the subjective to the objective. In fact, the structure of ‘equation style’ is based on such a logic.

One of the difficulties in interpreting a text is the lack of an understanding of its semio-semantic positions and structural features, and unfamiliarity with an interpretive method appropriate to the text. In other words, the first step in interpreting a text is understanding its interpretive complications. Considering its interpretive position, Masnavi Manavi can be regarded as an instance of a complicated text. Such a complexity which results in difficulty in interpreting Masnavi stems from its structural features. The main structural feature of Masnavi, which is considered its most prominent interpretive complication, is its apostrophic aspect. The difficulty in interpreting this irfanic (~mystic) text lies in the apostrophes and different movements that are employed in various ways in the text. Disregarding such movements will hinder an accurate, thorough understanding by the reader. The most important function of the literary technique of apostrophe in Masnavi, in addition to the aesthetic function, is the semio-semantic function of apostrophe in the text. Apostrophe in Masnavi forms a kind of structural paradox which serves to both complicate the understanding of the text and to pave the way for its interpretation. This literary technique in Masnavi has surpassed being a device serving to embellish the speech to become an epistemological element portraying the main characteristic of Molavi’s system of thought. This means that apostrophe in Masnavi serves as a sign of signifying the dialectic and ontological principles of Molavi’s thought. The most prominent type of apostrophe in the text is the interpretive apostrophe which occurs through the process of interpretation and has an epistemological function.

Research in language testing should ideally move in tandem with philosophical paradigms of science. Some scholars maintain that research in language testing has been slow to catch up with paradigmatic changes in epistemology of knowledge. The current study addresses the philosophical underpinnings of research in language testing in Iran. To this aim, all language testing papers published online in Iranian domestic journals were gathered and studied. Paper titles, the abstracts, methods, and the theoretical frameworks of the studies were content analyzed. Results indicated that positivist and realist ontological assumptions underlie two thirds of the papers. Moreover, one third of papers were conducted within the constructivist philosophy. In need of special mention is that the majority of papers within the constructivist school were about dynamic assessment. Finally, the pragmatic philosophy seems to be somehow absent in language testing research in Iran. The depicted situation is further discussed in light of current theories of measurement and validity.