Pentagonal Model of Knowledge Sources and their Comparative Order in Sadrian and Cartesian Structure of Knowledge

Epistemology, which deals with the possibility, whatness, sources, and realm of knowledge, bases one of its most important principles on discovering Man’s sources of knowledge. Contemporary epistemologists refer to five sources of knowledge for human beings: sense perception, reason, introspection, testimony, and memory. Descartes, as a philosopher of the Western world, and Mullā Ṣadrā, as a philosopher of the world of Islam, have provided some theories regarding the problem of knowledge, particularly its sources. Their views are compatible with the pentagonal model proposed by cotemporary epistemologist in this respect. Mullā Ṣadrā and Descartes believe that knowledge acquisition begins with sense perception and ends in reason. Nevertheless, the difference is that, although reason in the Transcendent Philosophy is the last level of perception, it does not mark the end of the way, and it is intuition-based introspection that ends the acquisition of true knowledge. In the cognitive schools of Mullā Ṣadrā and Descartes, sense perception, intellect, and introspection are responsible for producing knowledge, testifying to its transfer, and functioning as social and general sources of knowledge, and memory is responsible for maintaining and safekeeping of knowledge.