The Role of Self - Purification in Avicennian Epistemology

Ibn Sina considers knowledge as the goal of wisdom and he believes that the true knowledge is not possible without self – purification and cleaning the heart of its impurities. Self – purification makes human being capable of, while having contact with active intellect, receiving knowledge from it. For him, the process of learning is the act of aquiring aptitude for the union with active intellect; that is to say, human soul before the process of learning has a deficient aptitude and after the process of learning this aptitude becomes complete; in such a way that by turning attention to intellectual object, human soul becomes unified with the active intellect and receives the intelligible from it. However, mere instruction does not bring about access to true knowledge for human being; because in true knowledge it is necessary that human being assimilates to the holy and pure intellects and this assimilation is not possible without self – purification.In addition, it is purification that makes it possible for human soul to turn its attention from bodily and sensual desires which is animal aspect of man and prevents it from perfection and as a result restrain rational faculty to govern human being. The aim of this research is that to study the role of self-purification in Avicennian epistemology and that how the soul by purifying itself receives an intution of active intellect.