A Classification of the Efficient Cause in Sadra's Philosophy and an Investigation of his Innovation about the Agent by Subjection

Causation and efficient causation have always been subject to reflection in the Islamic Philosophy. Before Mulla Sadra, Muslim philosophers classified the efficient causation in various terms. The classification was gradually developed by Sadra; he classified efficient causation in innovative ways. The thesis of Agent by Subjection (fā'il bi al-taskhīr) was one such innovation. The thesis has been subject to ambiguity, different interpretations, misunderstandings, and serious objections. In this paper, I present two way to understand the Sadraean jargon of Agent by Subjection and seek to reject misunderstandings and wrong interpretations. I will show that Agent by Subjection is a Sadraean innovation that makes sense as part of his philosophical system, and his classification of subjection into different varieties, such as the natural, psychological and accidental ones, demonstrates that he managed to introduce new types of agency.