A Study on the Notion of “I” and Consciousness from the Transcendent Theosophy and Neurosciences’ Viewpoints

One of the most important philosophical discussions is on the notion of “I” and consciousness. Mulla Sadra, like other Islamic philosophers, attributes the notion of “I” and consciousness to the soul, but contrary to earlier philosophers, he tries to present a monist explanation for the body mind relationship to solve the problems arising for the earlier philosophers because of their dualist explanation for the body mind relationship. For him, human being is a moving substance, who transcends from a wicker mode of being named “body” to a stronger mode of being called “abstract soul”. While according to neurosciences, consciousness is attributed to the brain, and “I” comes out of consciousness. But neuroscientists have not yet presented a complete explanation of the consciousness. Hence they justify their theory by using the idea that brain damages are the cause of certain changes in consciousness or of losing it. But, since the Transcendent Theosophy does not deny the role of the brain in the process of consciousness, it does not consider their reason sufficient to justify their theory. According to the Transcendent Theosophy, though the interactions of the brain is preparing the ground for the consciousness, it cannot be merely reduced to the matter (brain); consciousness or “I” is an immaterial issue which unifies various perceptions, and is able to analyze and compare them, while in neurosciences, there is no explanation for such an issue.