ماهنامه معرفت
سال سی‌ام شماره 9 (پیاپی 288، آذر 1400)

This article is a description of the characteristics of real Shiites in the words of Amir al-Mu'minin. One of these qualities is certainty, which is of four kinds: having shrewdness, accessing wisdom, learning from others, and using the ways of the predecessors. Certainty is the cognitive factor of preserving one's faith, because faith is strengthened by the four factors of patience, certainty, justice and jihad. In narrations, certainty is a kind of knowledge with practical effects. Certainty comes either from one's personal experiences or from hearing the stories of the past. In order to gain certainty, it is necessary to have intelligence, insight, understanding, deep and correct interpretation and analysis of facts. It is also essential to learn from the experiences of others. One of the characteristics of true Shiites is gaining certainty, which is an important factor in maintaining one's faith.

According to process theologians, God’s dynamism is truly an aspect of perfection; i.e. unlike traditional theologians, they consider dynamism to be an attribute of perfection. On the other hand, according to Islamic theology, God is immutable and there is basically no change in Him. The main purpose of this article is to explain the dynamism of God in the process theology and to study it critically based on the principles of Islamic theology. In this library-based article conducted through the explanatory-analytical method, we discuss the views of process theologians and critically examine them. The research results show that in process theology, God is considered to be like the other beings, and dynamism regarded a perfection for him. However, this view faces serious criticism.

"Return" and "reincarnation" are controversial topics in Shiite philosophy and theology. Some believe that because reincarnation is invalid, return should be rejected and invalidated as well because of its similarity to reincarnation. Using rational arguments in his works, especially "Asfar Arba'a", Sadr al-Muta'allehin has rejected reincarnation; however, he has not said anything about the rational proof of the return, which he defends, and has just mentioned some narrations in this regard. But the main question is: how has Sadr al-Muta'allehin combined these two topics when, apparently, the annulment of reincarnation requires the annulment of the return? Using the descriptive-analytical method and with the aim of answering the doubts of those who consider the views of this great philosopher contradictory, the research confirms the hypothesis that these two categories are compatible with each other and rejecting one does not necessarily mean invalidating the other. Therefore, we try to prove return by using his rational arguments in rejecting reincarnation, such as refusing the coming back of non-existent to itself, refusing the return of the actual being to the potential being, and the sameness.

Art and technology are concepts that Heidegger has addressed in separate articles (The Beginning of Artwork and The Question of Technology). This article seeks to examine the relationship between these two concepts in Heidegger's idea. He believes that art is a kind of emergence and manifestation of the truth. In discussing technology, he introduces technique, and then examines the concept of "tekhneh" in ancient Greece, where art and technology are rooted. This article clarifies Heidegger's method of analysis, i.e. hermeneutic phenomenology, and his analysis of truth, the relationship of each of the concepts of art and technology with it in ancient and contemporary Greece, and the relationship between art and technology in the light of truth. The research methods used in this paper are basic(pure) and content analysis. The purpose of this study is to examine the current position of art in the contemporary technology era.

According to Sadr al-Muta'allehin, the soul of man is an abstract ideal being that is corporeal and has stages and levels of analogicity and unity at the same time as multiplicity. One of the levels of this being is the ideal body. Using the descriptive-analytical method, the present paper seeks to introduce the characteristics of the ideal body and how it relates to the elemental body and soul according to Sadr al-Muta'allehin. This research coherently and systematically presents all that Sadr al-Muta'allehin has stated about the ideal body in his works. According to Sadr al-Muta'allehin, the ideal body is invisible, immortal, and attached to the soul; it iconically indicates the properties and essences of the soul. The ideal body is united with the soul and the main body in the sense that the soul firstly and foremostly manages and governs the ideal body, and will be with man in the worldly life, purgatory (Barzakh) and the hereafter.

According to Sadr al-Muta'allehin, in the arc of ascent, man begins his essential movement from being inanimate, and after some stages, reaches speech and holy life. Being a soul begins when the fetus reaches the initial abstraction and voluntary sensation and movement, and manages the body while being abstracted from material. Using the library-based and descriptive-analytical method, this paper deals with the issue that no matter how much the soul progresses in abstraction, science and practice, it does not abandon managing the body. Hence, even after physical death, it has a purgatory and an otherworldly body; and the quality of the otherworldly life is in proportion to the perceptions, intentions and properties man has acquired in this world. Scientifically, if man remains in the stage of sensory and imaginary perceptions, he will be in the world of apparition; But if he also achieves rational perceptions, he will also enjoy the world of intellect, and in practice, he will have divine, evil, beastly or concupiscent forms.

Having attracted the attention of thinkers for a long time, the theory of the sameness of mind and brain is one of the oldest and most important issues in the philosophy of mind. In simple terms, this theory holds that the mental states and phenomena of a person at a given time are the same as the states and processes of his brain at the same time. In this research, some of the most important principles of this theory have been discussed. Using the descriptive-critical method, this paper directs many criticisms to this theory in terms of both Western and Islamic views. Considering these criticisms, especially in the field of Islamic thought, an attempt is made to prove the abstraction of the soul and the negation of its physicality. By proving the abstraction of the soul, it seems that one cannot believe in the sameness of mind and brain, and the indefensibility of this theory is proved.

The theory of functionalism, one of the topics in the philosophy of mind, considers the mind as a function that converts input into output. According to this theory, by accepting the multiple realization of mental states, mental states can also be found in non-humans. Functionalism is important because it is based on the negation of the abstraction of the soul. On the other hand, Ibn Sina’s psychology has proved both the soul and its abstraction. The argument of man suspended in air (floating man) is among the proofs for the soul. Besides, for proving the abstraction of the soul, he has provided arguments that indicate the negation of bodily characteristics and the physicality of the soul. The functional view has requirements that have been criticized and evaluated based on Ibn Sina’s wisdom. According to the functional theory of the mind, the distinction of people is materialistic, while Ibn Sina’s wisdom considers the abstract soul as the correct criterion. Therefore, according to Ibn Sina’s wisdom, the functional theory of the mind has many fundamental problems that make defending it impossible. Using the analytical-descriptive method, this research seeks to examine the computer theory of the mind and some of its requirements from the perspective of Ibn Sina’s wisdom.

The meaning of life is an important topic in the contemporary world. "What does human life mean?" is a question that has occupied the minds of many thinkers. Considering human life to be absurd, some have offer solutions to get rid of this absurdity and some others have forced humans to accept this bitter fact. In contrast, many consider human life to be meaningful. Both groups have wide differences in their criteria of meaningfulness and absurdity. The present descriptive-analytical paper seeks to find the true criteria for meaningfulness. Based on the research results, human beings have been born with innate talents and needs, and if they do not flourish those talents and do not respond positively to those needs, they will feel insufficient and empty; Therefore, relationship with God Almighty, the only absolute perfection, will lead to the flourishing of the innate tendency to absolute perfection and the meaning of human life. In contrast, getting far from God will lead to absurdity.