The World of Imagination from Mulla Sadra's Viewpoint

One of the important subjects in Mulla Sadra's philosophy is the world of imagination. This subject has been a problematic one in Islamic philosophy. Some famous Muslim philosophers, including Ibn Sina, have denied the existence of such a world. Suhrawardi tried to prove its existence by rational arguments as well as his mystical unveiling. But he could not reject the objections against his attitude. Mulla Sadra, influenced by Suhrawardi, could establish a firm foundation for the existence of the imaginal World in his philosophy. Indeed he is the first philosopher who could represent an orderly philosophical discussion concerning the Imaginal World. He has given several arguments proving the existence of both contiguous and discontiguous imaginal worlds. In this paper, first we will explain the Imaginal World from Mulla Sadra's viewpoint and mention some subjects which can be explained only by the existence of the world of descendent Imagination. Then we will discuss the relation between the world of ascendant imagination and immateriality of the faculty of imagination which is one of the Mulla Sadra's important innovations. By proving the immateriality of this faculty, he could solve many problems concerning bodily resurrection and could prove the existence of isthmus worlds in the ascendant arch.