نشریه معارف حکمی جامعه
پیاپی 3 (بهار 1399)

The copulative existence is one of the initiatives of Sadr al-Muta'allehin, by which he has exalted his wisdom and brought about dramatic changes in his philosophical system. While expressing the value of this theory, Allameh Javadi Ameli, one of the prominent commentators of Sadrā'i wisdom, has taken effective steps in this field by dealing with the two semantic fields of the truth of the copulative existence and its ontology. With regard to semantics, by defining the copulative existence as the external truth that connects the subject and the predicate, he distinguishes it from the copula that has a mental position and flows in all simple and composite whether-nesses. With regard to the ontological aspect, he considers the copulative existence, which is a kind of existence by-itself, as existential, real, and a kind of truth with different levels of perfection and imperfection. Allameh also deals with the implications of this theory for philosophical issues in two areas of theology in the general sense of disintegration of nature and the transformation of the essential possibility into possibility in the sense of need; and theology in the specific sense, such as proving the existence of truth, transforming the realm of possibility into unity of divine actions, etc. During these discussions, while correctly explaining the copulative existence and proving it with two different interpretations of the argument of the possibility in the sense of need based on the principles of transcendental wisdom, he cleares the ambiguities of the followers of Sadrā'i wisdom and removes some flaws in this regard. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the author seeks to investigate these issues from the perspective of Allameh Javadi Amoli.

The personal unity of existence is the claim of mysticism and transcendental wisdom. In this claim, the multiplicity of existence of the universe is denied and everything rather than God is accepted as manifestations of God the Almighty. In claiming the personal unity of existence, mystics have an intuitive approach and invite the deniers to the spiritual journey. In theoretical mysticism, rational arguments are put forward to prove the personal unity of existence. In transcendental wisdom, after raising analogism in a specialized sense, Sadr al-Mutallahin has tended to the personal unity of existence and has tried to prove it. In the philosophical approach, reasons are presented to prove personal unity, the most important of which is the copulative nature of the thing caused. This argument has two premises: a. in relation to cause, the thing caused is the essence of the copulative existence b. The copulative existence cannot be interpreted nominally. The existing concept is nominal, and because of being copulative, nothing other than God has the ability to abstract the nominal concept. Therefore, the title of existence can only be applied to the Almighty God, and this means the personal unity of existence. The first premise of this argument is common among most philosophers of transcendental wisdom, and even some followers of transcendental wisdom, who deny the personal unity of existence, accept the first premise; but the second premise is incorrect, and this argument cannot prove the personal unity of existence.

The involvement of presuppositions in the process of understanding is one of the most fundamental issues in philosophical hermeneutics. According to the followers of philosophical hermeneutics and given the phenomenological and analytical view they offer about human existence, firstly, man is a creature that is thrown into history and time; and secondly, he is full of understanding and perception, an understanding influenced by assumptions that are not voluntary due to his historical nature. Therefore, relying on the theory of reference to intuitive knowledge proposed by ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, this philosophical study follows an epistemological approach and uses an analytical-descriptive method to show that in examining different types of human perceptions and distinguishing between acquired and intuitive perceptions, a number of assumptions are involved in the understanding process, but these involvements are necessarily at the discretion of man. Thus, by presenting the analysis of the process of human understanding through reference to intuitive knowledge, the claim that understanding is non-methodical and, consequently, the involuntary involvement of presuppositions and its results (multiple interpretations and relativity) were rebutted.

Practical philosophy is among the key concepts in ethics and philosophy of ethics. To Aristotle, knowing the quiddity of this concept is important because, on the one hand, he was a successor of great ancestors such as Socrates and Plato, and on the other hand, his books and works, after being translated and studied by Islamic thinkers such as Kennedy and Farabi, have been the foundation and source of Ethics, philosophical ethics and Islamic ethics. Thus, using the descriptive-analytical method, this paper investigates the nature of practical philosophy by comparing it with other intellectual virtues from Aristotle’s perspective. The results show that along with scientific cognition (the ability to present arguments), intuitive intellect, which deals with self-evident premises, constitutes theoretical philosophy on the subject of the best beings. The principles of theoretical philosophy are the principles of practical ability (technē/technique) and practical philosophy (phronesis). Practical philosophy or phronesis borrows from theoretical intellect and lends to practical intellect. In other words, it is the result of theoretical intellect and the (numerical) cause of practical intellect for moral action.

Considering epistemic rationality, David Hume considers talking about the rationality of human tendencies and emotions as meaningless. However, rationality is not limited to epistemic rationality, and if we accept value-based rationality, then human emotions and actions can also be rational or irrational. In epistemic rationality, harmony and conformity of mind and object is considered, and in value-based rationality, harmony and proportion between creatures or between creatures and God is regarded (especially, based on the divine explanation). Such harmony is of fundamental value, and therefore rationality and value are two sides of the same coin. Some Islamic teachings, which have dealt with intellect and reason, can be interpreted on the basis of this kind of rationality. And since these teachings attribute the understanding of such rationality to the heart and, on the other hand, consider the heart as the center of emotions, the heart can be considered as an epistemological-motivational force that, if healthy, understands the existential values and leads man towards them.

The interaction of theology and philosophy has long been considered by thinkers. In the meantime, some have only dealt with interaction with method, while others have gone so far as to replace philosophy with theology. It is clear that knowing the truth of this matter can pave the way for resolving many disputes and creating commonalities. Therefore, this paper seeks to examine the interaction of these two areas of knowledge. Studies have shown that the turbulent and uneven course of the development of theological discussions prevents us from having a single statement about the relationship between theology and philosophy; because this relationship has been constantly moving from weakness to strength throughout history, and it can definitely be claimed that in recent times, the border between theology and philosophy has been removed and because of numerous commonalties, they have become united in such a way that some have proposed the term "philosophical theology" in this regard. The present paper describes and analyses this historical development.