Mullā Ṣadrā and the Role of Perfection-Seeking in the Rise of an Optimal Civilizational System

Perfection-seeking is one of the important features and principles in the development of an optimal civilizational system. Relying on the human truth, which consists of appearance and innermost, Mullā Ṣadrā aims to portray a social system based on Man’s ontological potentials. The reason is that human beings, due to their primordial nature, are in pursuit of civil life, and their worldly and otherworldly goals can only be achieved in the context of a civilizational system. The purpose of the present study is to present a plan in relation to the development and reinforcement of a civilizational system relying on three principles that originate in Sadrian philosophy. The first deals with the origin of perfection-seeking and its effect on social life. The second is related to the issue of property and law, which pave the context for the rise of a civilizational system. The third principle pertains to the identification and suggestion of philosophical strategies for resolving civilizational crises. The purpose of examining these principles is to pay attention to human capabilities and potentials and discover how a perfection-seeking human develops the ability to attain supreme goals. The findings of this study indicate that the Transcendent philosophy, on the one hand, seeks to introduce a plan and program for optimizing the civilizational system through paying attention to Man’s ontological levels and potentials of a civilizational system. On the other hand, it can provide a desirable model for the flourishing of civilizational life through organizing Man’s achievements in nature in the light of science, power, and creativity.