Avicenna and Tabatabai on Pleasure and Suffering

Human nature is inherently inclined towards seeking stable pleasures and alleviating pain and suffering. Many of our desires are rooted in these fundamental drives. In this study, we aim to elucidate and compare the perspectives of Islamic philosophers, particularly Avicenna and Allameh Tabatabai, about the pleasure and pain. We will begin by outlining their respective views on pleasure and suffering and subsequently identify both their commonalities and differences on these subjects. Taking a descriptive-comparative approach to their philosophies, we find that both philosophers regard pleasure and suffering as forms of perception, forming a crucial basis for their categorizations. However, they differ in their interpretations, with Avicenna considering pleasure and suffering as psychological qualities that are incidental to the soul, while Allameh Tabatabai views them as inherent aspects of the soul itself, or existential properties. Furthermore, distinctions emerge in their classifications, manifestations, and the ways of opposition between pleasure and pain.