The Methodological Critique of the Role of Mysticism in Judging the Methodology of Mulla Sadra's Philosophy

One of the most important theories in relation to the methodology of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy is the distinction between collection and judgment. It is argued that, in the collection position, Mulla Sadra draws on mystical intuitions. While in the judgment position, he relies on reasoning as the real method of philosophical deliberations. The present paper demonstrates that, in contrast with the claim made by the proponents of the distinction theory, Mulla Sadra makes use of mystical intuitions along side reasoning in his position as the judge of the collected evidence. He not only confirms this point but he also considers it as the strong point of his philosophy. This paper argues that drawing on mystical intuitions in making judgments on philosophical issues suffers from serious flaws that can be presented in terms of ineffability, lack of transferability of mystical intuitions and the fact that they do not lend themselves to criticism.