An analysis of the nature of human practical faculty

Gaining knowledge of the different existential aspects of human being counts among some the most important issues in psychology (‘ilm al-nafs) and anthropology. In this respect, philosophers in philosophical psychology or knowledge of the self have discussed the different degrees of soul and its faculties, whereas ancient philosophers used to deal with such issues in discussions over natural sciences and recent scholars have placed their thoughts on this topic in the framework of theology. In these contexts, there are different discussions in relation to the faculties of human soul, including theoretical and practical reason or theoretical and practical faculty. Discussions regarding the significance of theoretical reason and its degrees are abundant; however, there is no consensus over practical faculty and we encounter different views in that regard. Since practical reason along with theoretical reason has a great role in the perfection of man, in this paper we have tried to examine the different dimensions of this human faculty. Four viewpoints have been proposed in this regard: some have considered that as the faculty for recognition, while others have regarded that as the source of understanding and activities; there are also those who have rejected such a faculty, and finally those who considered it as the source of human motions, will and non-cognitive affairs. According to the last view, which is also supported in the present paper, human beings possess both cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions, with the latter being the source of our non-cognitive faculties.