Mullā Ṣadrā’s View of the Potentials originating in Man’s Rational Immateriality: Factors and Obstacles

In Mullā Ṣadrā’s view, the soul can attain some kinds of immateriality, which can lead to the development of specific features and capabilities for human beings. The present study investigates Mullā Ṣadrā’s analysis of the quality of the soul’s attainment of different levels of rational immateriality, the influential factors in this process, the existing obstacles there, and the characteristics created through this immateriality in worldly life. Upon the rational faculty’s reaching its habitual stage, the soul arrives at the borderline of rational immateriality, and utmost immateriality is gained at the level of acquired reason. The reinforcement of practical intellect, love, and prayer are among the factors affecting man’s reaching the different levels of rational immateriality. However, there are some obstacles to this process such as yielding to whims, committing sins, imitating others, and loving the world. At its lowest level, rational immateriality creates speech in human beings and makes it possible for them to distinguish between the good and evil. Through the promotion of the level of immateriality, man can consciously try to begin their journey toward God and, at the highest level, they become qualified for the station of guardianship. Given Mullā Ṣadrā’s idea of the quality of the rational immateriality of the soul, the philosophical explanation of some of the duties of the Prophet(ṣ), such as receiving revelation and developing certainty about its legitimacy, becomes possible.