An Inquiry into the Objectives of Self-Cultivation in Sadra's Philosophical Psychology

Recognizing human soul and its nature in psychology in genral and in philosophical psychology in particular can be an appropriate source to indicate the objectives of education. Furthermore one can come to a thorough understanding of the nature of soul and define the objectives of soul cultivation by resting on Sadra`s philosophical psychology. The current study aims at analyzing the objectives of soul-cultivation on the basis of ultimate and intermediate perfection of Mulla Sadra`s theoretical reason and functional reason. The author uses a descriptive- analytic method to explain the philosophical propositions and realize educational implications. The findings show that considering soul`s ultimate perfection, the ultimate aim of soul cultivation is nearness to God. However based on the intermediate perfection of soul, the intermediate aims of soul cultivation are the perfection of theoretical reason and the perfection of functional reason. Each of these two intermediate aims is realized within its own context, which is,in the theoretical reason, reaching the habitual reason, actual reason and acquired reason and in the practical reason, reaching the effulgence reason, disembarkation, divesting and annihilation.