The Subject of Prote Philosophia according to Aristotle and Allamah Tabatabai

Among various issues and courses of philosophy, ontology his its own phace, since some philosophers deny such an issue outright while others consider it the most significant or rather the only question of philosophy. Referring to the background of discussions on existence in ancient Greece, the author deals with Aristotle,s view on the classification of various branches of science and certain arguments against it. For instance, according to this classification, the two branches of general notions (Umur Ammah) and metaphysics are considered as a single branch of knowledge. If so, they require a single subject. Seeking this single subject, in consideration to the diversity of Aristotle,s remarks in this regard, has largely divided philosophers. The present article refers particularly to philosophers, views before Ibn Sina, the latter,s solution and the views of the philosophers influenced by him. They held that general notions and metaphysics in its particular sense colleciively form prote philosophia or metaphysics in its general sense, and disussing God,s existence is one of the issues of prote philosophia, not its subject. Examining certain arguments against Ibn Sina,s view, the author gives a detailed account of Allamah Tabatabai,s comments on the subject of Prote Philosophia and an analysis of its various dimensions. Summing up the materials, he refers to certain points including the necessity of the separation of the principle of metaphysics from the works on metaphysics, necessary considerations on the definition of metaphysics, and explanation of its subjects as well as its issues.