An Analysis of the “Transcendence of Wisdom” based on Sadrian Self-Knowledge and Methodology

Mullā Ṣadrā’s school of philosophy is known as the Transcendent Wisdom. Mullā Ṣadrā prefers the term “wisdom” to “philosophy” and chooses “transcendence, which, in his view, enjoys a dynamic status, as the general direction of his philosophical structure. This point connects us to a system of factors which deal with the quality, direction, and nature of transcendence in this school. The present paper aims to clarify the process of creating this transcendence, as one of the several factors which contribute to the superiority of Sadrian wisdom, through investigating its psychological and methodological elements in two fields of the Origin and eschatology. Based on a Sadrian approach, if one seeks wisdom, they must become creative for themselves and in themselves and change their role from a spectator to a player in the realm of existence. Mullā Ṣadrā’s different view of the truth of the soul and expanding its perceptive levels are intertwined with methodology. This is because in his philosophy the knowledge of the soul is considered a method used in theology and eschatology. In his methodology, Mullā Ṣadrā begins with the recreation of concepts and, following a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach, finds the correct method to be a combination of the intellect, transmission, and intuition. T’awīl (esoteric exegesis) and the use of a supreme language are among the other factors which are related to Mullā Ṣadrā’s specific methodology.