The Relationship between the Graded Unity of Existence and the Theory of Perfect Man in Mutahhari

Different philosophical and gnostic schools have each presented some theories regarding the perfect Man relying on their own specific worldviews. Believing in a worldview based on the “individual unity of existence”, gnostics maintain that it is only the Truth which exists, and what is other than the Truth is only among the modes and manifestations of the Truth. In the view of this group, the perfect Man is a human being who has attained supreme glory. Such a person is indeed the locus of the manifestation of essential and nominal perfections of the Truth rather than having a different existence from the Truth. In his critique of gnostics’ theory of perfect Man, Mutahhari, based on the theory of the graded unity of existence, believes that the perfect Man is a human being who, while actualizing all goals and values to the level of moderation in oneself, has a single goal in mind which is the same proximity to God. According to the gradedness of existence, multiple goals and a single goal are the same but are different in their levels. In multiple goals, the intentions and the ultimate levels of divine proximity are also different. In other words, in the view of Mutahhari, as the graded unity of existence dominates the truth of being, a human being who has attained the graded goal is the same perfect Man. In this paper, the writer explains that none of Mutahhari’s criticisms of gnostics’ views are justified, and explicit references in the related texts demonstrate the falsity of his objections. Therefore, gnostics provide a more complete explanation of the perfect Man, and the existence of this human being is consistent with the individual unity of existence.