Mullā sadrā's Solution to the Problem of Subject-Object Dualism

The problem of the relation between subject and object, and the criterion for truth, has been discussed in different philosophical schools. Plato explained realism on the basis of the world of ideas, the pre-existence of soul, and knowledge as remembering. Aristotle sought the unification of subject and object in “immaterial forms”. In the world of Islamic philosophy, a belief in the separation between existence and quiddity led to an emphasis on quiddity and the problem become more pressing. Ibn Sina solved the problem by putting the burden of guarantying the truth of knowledge on the shoulders of God and the Active Intellect.The authors of is article try to show that Mulla Sadra has dealt with this issue is a different and more efficient way. He unifies subject and object of knowledge by a series of principles such as: principality of existence, gradation in the essence of existence, mental forms’ issuing subsistence to the soul, and intensifying movement of the soul. On the basis of these principles, he unites subject and object in the unitary objective reality of existence.