Evidences for the Generalization of Suhrawardī’s Theory of Visual Perceptions to Other Sense Perceptions and Some of Its Functions

The process of sense perception has been a subject of discussion in Islamic philosophy, and four theories have been proposed to explain the sense perception process. Before Sheikh Ishraq, mystics focused on impressions in sense perceptions, and mathematicians considered the emergence of rays in visual perception. Suhrawardī, through criticizing the theories before him regarding visual perception, emphasizes the relation of illuminational relation (al-iḍāfa al-ishrāqiyya) and the direct connection of the human soul with external agents. Although he extensively discusses the quality of visual perception, he has not explicitly addressed the quality of perception in other sense faculties. This has led some to doubt the generalization of his theory to other sense perceptions. In this paper, we attempt to provide evidence for the generalization of Suhrawardī's theory to other sense faculties. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this theory in his philosophical system, we study some of its functions within his philosophical system. In this article, we present three pieces of evidence for the generalization of his theory to other sense faculties, and among these three pieces of evidence, two are considered innovations in this paper. Finally, we will examine the functions of this theory in Suhrawardī's theological-philosophical system.