The Nature of Presentation (Ḥikāyat) from Ayatullah Meṣbāḥ's Point of View

Most Muslim philosophers believe it self-evident that mental images actually present their referents. Ayatullah Mesbah has a different idea in this regard, and thinks that presentation is, in most of its stages (both in concepts and propositions) potential, and it only becomes actual in “true judgments”. In this article, the author tries to analyze and explain this view. According to Ayatullah Mesbah, in order to find out how mental images present their referents, one has to study the use of “presentation”, so that one is able to analyze those instances of presentation we find in ourselves through knowledge by presence. In this way, one can identify conditions necessary for mental images to present something. Then through qualifying universal concepts by such conditions, one is able to define “presentation”. Consequently, “presentation is a psychological reality, pointing to a natural transference of mind from a presenter to what is presented because of complete resemblance between the two.” Complete resemblance can be stratified, and hence presentation may be classified into purely possible, non-propositionally apprehensive, propositional apprehensive, judgmental, and true presentation.