A Study of the Logic of Mulla Sadra s Four-Fold Journeys and their Implications for a New and Comprehensive Pattern for Explaining the Stages of Intellectual Thought

The four-fold gnostic journeys provide a well-known model for explaining the stages of tawhidi (monotheistic) wayfaring. However, a study of the logic of such journeys and an investigation of the reasons for dividing mystic wayfaring into these four-fold stages reveals that this model enjoys a desirable capacity for clarifying the stages of thinking in theoretical wayfaring. In this paper, in order to provide an extensive explanation of the model of four-fold journeys for thought, the writers initially explore their logic through referring to the background of the four-fold gnostic journeys. After clarifying the essence of these journeys, they demonstrate that the stages of desirable thinking in the process of solving any scientific problem could consist of the same stages as the four gnostic journeys. Following a detailed explanation of this similarity, the four journeys of thought in Sadrian philosophy and in relation to the problem of anthropology are briefly explored. Finally, the writers examine some of the general principles of the model of the four-fold journeys in the realm of thinking and elaborate on the educational advantages of using this particular model.