Soul-Body Relation and Immortality in Mullā Sadrā and Descartes

Plato argues for the immortality of the soul. He presents his «substance dualism» in which the body is moving، material، and mortal، while the soul is unmoving، immaterial، and immortal. Aristotle states the unity of the soul and body on the basis of his «hylomorphism» in which the soul is the form of the body، so that it may not exist without the body. Descartes'' restating substance dualism to prove the soul''s immortality is an explicit objection to Aristotle’s view on human immortality and eventually leads to reduction of the soul to the mind. On the contrary، Mullā Sadrā holds that the soul enjoys unity and simplicity، really being identical with the body. He considers the soul as an entity having been created with the body. It becomes spiritual (and immortal) according to increasing its gradation of being through substantial motion. In this way، Mullā Sadrā argues for the soul''s immortality without ever referring to the soul-body dualism.