The Descension of Being in the Worlds of Existence: Emphasis on the Views of Mulla Sadra

Reduction of Souls as Theorized by Mulla Sadra The human articulate soul is one of the most mysterious phenomena of the world of existence in that it has attracted the attention of several scholars and Muslim philosophers. Muslim philosophers have endeavored to unfold the secrets of its existence and nature. One of the main concerns of the present study is an analytical appraisal of the issue whether the articulate soul had belonged to the body prior to its creation, and in what manner(s) it got attached to the natural world state of the body. Plato, Aristotle, Avecinna (Ibn Sina), and Suhrawardi gave various answers to this query; however, Mulla Sadra’s answer proves remarkable in this context. In his scheme, it is expressed in the descending (reducing) chain of being that starts from the Transcendental Being from the world of the abstracts (intellects), to that of the ideas, down to that of the nature. According to him, the human articulate soul has several existential levels. In the world of the abstracts (intellects), they exist as abstract and collective phenomena, hence devoid of multiplicity. When an appropriate body is ready, the soul reduces I its level of abstractness and comes down to the level of ideas that has certain characteristics of the material world. This reduction and decrease in abstractness continues until it reaches the world of nature and gets incarnated in the body. In the meantime, the abstract (intellectual) existence of the soul in the world of the ideas continue. Despite the novelty of Mulla Sadra’s scheme and interpretation, it is not devoid of any problem, e.g., granted that accepting an abstract, communal phenomenon which lies outside the arena of conflict here, its acceptance might imply pre-existence of souls, a principle that he rejects.