پژوهشنامه فلسفه دین (نامه حکمت)
سال هجدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 36، پاییز و زمستان 1399)

The main question in the subject of the divine action in nature is how God, as an immaterial being, relates to nature as a material being. In recent years, some have sought to address this issue by relying on the metaphysics and theology of Thomas Aquinas, and some by appealing to quantum indeterminism as the two mainstream views. A third group has addressed this issue based on emergentism theory. Emergentists have tried to solve the problem of divine action through a new theory of causality. They search for this theory of causality in the relationship between the natural objects that modern science deals with. The other characteristic of emergentism is the monistic approach, therein, while rejecting the substance dualism, does not fall into physicalism. In addition to explaining the emergentism approach, we argue in this paper that emergentism has more explanatory power than the two competing perspectives to solve the problem of divine action. The main argument in explaining its advantage over quantum's view is that emergentists do not provide a temporary answer due to its reliance on the metaphysics of science. In the face of the Thomistic view, the most crucial advantage of emergentism is a more precise interpretation of the laws of nature, which is rooted in the metaphysics of science. However, emergentism itself has been criticized, especially for the taking of panentheism theology.

The metaphysical approach, the product of abstract and conceptual thinking about God and religious beliefs, and the existential approach, based on concrete reflection about these subjects, are two different approaches in Ilm al-Kalām. My concern in this article is whether or not Islamic Kalām can receive the advantages of the existential approach in understanding, interpreting, and explaining religious beliefs. The basis of the existential Kalām in Islamic thought is the existence of many expressions and ideas in the Qur'an and Hadith that are more appropriate to deal with using the existential approach. Existential theology has been practicing since the twentieth century in western communities, but despite the capacity of Islamic tradition for this kind of Kalām, it has not been yet fulfilled in Muslim societies. This article deals with nature, characters, content, constituting and effectual parts, and method of existential Kalām, its difference from similar disciplines, the possibility and procedure of its accomplishment, and its efficiency. Concerning the data collection and the content, the article uses library research and analytical methods.

As an Existentialist, Karl Jaspers calls the nature of the human being “the existence” and believes that knowledge of the self through introspection leads a person out of himself, towards the transcendent. Jaspers maintains that in some moments in human life, the existence would be revealed as interpreted and becomes conscious of itself by going beyond the boundaries of the subject. On the other hand, Muslim philosophers say that the knowledge of the human being is possible and tied to the transcendent. As a Muslim philosopher, Jawadi Amuli addresses philosophical anthropology in a specific way. He has based his main idea about the knowledge of the human being on the notion of Fitrah. By taking different ways of the knowledge of the human being into account, he recourses to the notion of Fitrah, and by using some Quranic terms, proposes two concepts, the muhkam, and the mutashabih man. Contrary to Jaspers, who holds that existence never emerges in a single and universal form, and therefore there is no single version to know the human being, Jawadi Amoli paves the way for the genuine knowledge of the human being by drawing the idea of the muhkam man. According to Jaspers, the human being perceives “the existence” existentially by going beyond himself and in relation to the transcendent. Furthermore, Jawadi Amoli has also emphasized the relationship between self-knowledge and the knowledge of God.

Having a non-cognitivist approach to religious language, Phillips believes that in the grammar of prayer, the demonstration of a transcendent entity as its object is not of priority; The explanation of its meaningfulness within the religious form of life is of priority. Comprising prayer and incantation, he shows that although people consider both trans-physical ways for achieving goals, the importance of any prayer for a believer roots in the change it makes in her life. The magician maintains the efficacy of chants; A believer does not have the same view about prayer. Basing on these differences, Phillips concludes that prayer as an internal reality means talking to God about griefs and wishes. Prayer for believers is an attempt to find meaning and hope that saves them from the damaging factors in their life. That is why the praying person can understand God's divinity in prayer. In examining Phillips' theory about prayer, it will be revealed that his theory is circular and in opposition to Wittgensteinian language-game theory. Additionally, I will show that his dicta about the difference between prayer and incantation contrast with some of the positivistic elements of his philosophy.

One of the challenges of religious language is how to reconcile these two theses: the transcendence of the divine realm and conventional reference to that realm. This challenge raised since it seems, at first glance, that ‘if the divine realm is transcendent, i.e., completely separated from the human realm, then one, a human, cannot make a fixed reference to that realm.’ In this paper, extending Putnam’s model-theoretic argument in metaphysics, I argue that this conditional statement could be true, and thereby the transcendence of the divine realm and conventional reference to that realm would be irreconcilable unless we adjust at least one of our presuppositions. I will show just three ways for this adjustment: Internal pluralism that says that the divine realm is mind-dependent; Some versions of apophatic theology according to which one cannot assert a true utterance about the divine realm; Claiming that language is a non-human phenomenon.

The central concern of this article is understanding the relationship between philosophy and religion in Boethius' anthropology. For reaching this end, we have analyzed his ideas about issues, such as creation, the nature of and evidence for human free will, and the ultimate goal of man -in Theological Treatises as representative of Boethius' theological views and in the Consolation of Philosophy as representative of Boethius' philosophy. Boethius, in both works, accepted dualism, human free will, and the intellect as the evidence for human free will. Concerning the creation of 'man' and the placement of the soul in the body, in the Theological Treatises, he accepts the Bible report, but in the Consolation of Philosophy, he finds the Platonic reading more convincing; However, here, he attributes the incarnation of the soul to the divine act too. In the Consolation of Philosophy, he believes in the consistency of human free will and divine knowledge by presenting them thoroughly and analyzing issues such as ways of acquiring knowledge, remaining a knowledge even after the ceasing of its object, the distinction between pure necessity and conditional necessity, and between sempiternity and eternity, and the proof for God's sempiternity. He proves that although all future events are necessary from the divine perspective, some are necessary per se, and some through free will. In sum, Boethius' portrayal of 'man' in the Consolation of Philosophy does not distort what he has said about 'man' in Theological Treatises.

The rationality of religion and its different aspects is a significant subject addressed by Kant in his works. Many scholars have paid more attention to the study of Kant's opinion on the rationality of creeds and morality and neglected his opinion on the ritual aspect of religion. Considering morality as the core of religion, Kant admits religious rites as a prelude to reaching a rational-ethical religion. Calling the view that 'one can obtain divine mercy by performing rituals', superstition, he says that there is no duty to God in a rational religion. Performing duties is not the proper way for showing humility and obedience to God, but having purity as the background of all behaviors can serve that. Kant approves religious rituals if they are the bedrock for cultivating the spirit of morality and performing duties by a person. Therefore, Kant is not an absolute opponent and an absolute advocate of religious rituals

The purpose of this paper is to study Heidegger's encounter with the metaphysical tradition, to clarify issues such as: how his intellectual life changed this encounter; How much Christian theology influenced his ideas about metaphysics; Accordingly how the project of "Ontological Destruction of Metaphysical History" in the early Heidegger and the approach of "overcoming metaphysics" in the late Heidegger took place; And what the reasons for his transition from "the destruction of metaphysics" to "overcoming metaphysics" were. This study shows that the critique of metaphysics, from Heidegger's point of view, is a crucial step for opening the way to the truth of existence. The reason is that the Onto-Theological nature of metaphysics laid the groundwork for the historical deviation of philosophy and its departure from the original thought. According to him, the hiddenness of existence, the homelessness and grief of humans, and technological nihilism in the contemporary era are the consequences of this deviation. In his critique of metaphysics, Heidegger's belongs to the Christian theological tradition helped him to interpret his philosophical formulation in coherence with the Scriptures. In this way, he tried to move towards a completely non-metaphysical thought, crossing the limiting boundaries of conventional philosophies.

Although all Muslim philosophers have considered origination (Ibda'), it has received specific attention in Ismaili theology. Famous Ismaili personalities and groups such as al-Nasafi, Abu Hatam al-Razi, al-Sijistani, Ikhwan Al-Safa, al-Kermani, and Nasir Khusraw have paid considerable attention to its interpretation. This study, which is limited to Ismaili views in the Fatimid period, provides the reader with the following findings Ismaili theologians disagree on the components of its definition, on differentiation (Tafsil) and undifferentiation (Ijmal) of these components and on what beings belong to the divine origination; It seems that Ismaili theologians equate origination (Ibda') with invention (Ikhtira'), but they are not clear on its relation to other concepts such as creation (Khalq), command (Amr), emanation (Inbi'ath), will (Iradah), composition (Tarkib), and making (Sun'). Referring to Ismaili theologians' books and treatises, this study has described and analyzed these issues.

David Basinger is among philosophers who defend religious exclusivism. He tries in his various writings to provide a new explanation for supporting this approach. Although he is supposedly a religious exclusivist, his different attitude towards religious diversity and his acceptance of some of the principles of religious pluralism have put his explanation under critics. This research tries to explain Basinger’s theory, criticize its foundations, and examine whether it is a successful approach to defend religious exclusivism. The study shows that some of the bases accepted by him are inclined to religious pluralism, including lacking objective criteria for comparative evaluation of religions, substitution the explanatory role of religious propositions for the description of reality, and considering the followers of religions equal in accessing the sources of knowledge.

،hrough historical investigations of western thought history, later Heidegger describes modern philosophy as the continuity, not separation, of Greek metaphysical tradition. He interprets Cartesian subjectivism as the consequence of Greek onto-theology, especially Plato and Aristotle's thoughts. The development of the intellectual subject's self-consciousness, as the logical and necessary expansion of Greek rationality (the metaphysics), led Descartes to interpret Being as representedness for the knowing subject. Consequently, representedness has been indebted to the human subject as the ground of beings. That means he can take possession of God's position that previously in metaphysics and philosophical theology had belonged to Him. But the human's new position leads to a deterioration in his credibility as the foundation of beings and brings doubts concomitant with his existence and meaningfulness.

Confronting the problem of evil, Suhrawardi seeks to use philosophical concepts and explanations to show that God and all His creatures are good, that the world is the best possible one, and that dualistic cosmology is false. He believes in the privation theory of evil, saying that evil is nothing but imperfections in the effects which do not require a separate cause. According to him, the proximity or distance of a being from God determines the extent of its imperfection. If God seeks to prevent the realization of imperfection, He needs to cease to create any creature that will require the loss of superior goods and virtues. Having a critical look at his theory, we will find that he presupposes the existence of God, reduces any evil to metaphysical evil, and assumes, unconsciously, comprehensive knowledge of the divine act, which makes his theory unsuccessful.