نشریه خردنامه صدرا
پیاپی 114 (زمستان 1402)

Perfection-seeking is one of the important features and principles in the development of an optimal civilizational system. Relying on the human truth, which consists of appearance and innermost, Mullā Ṣadrā aims to portray a social system based on Man’s ontological potentials. The reason is that human beings, due to their primordial nature, are in pursuit of civil life, and their worldly and otherworldly goals can only be achieved in the context of a civilizational system. The purpose of the present study is to present a plan in relation to the development and reinforcement of a civilizational system relying on three principles that originate in Sadrian philosophy. The first deals with the origin of perfection-seeking and its effect on social life. The second is related to the issue of property and law, which pave the context for the rise of a civilizational system. The third principle pertains to the identification and suggestion of philosophical strategies for resolving civilizational crises. The purpose of examining these principles is to pay attention to human capabilities and potentials and discover how a perfection-seeking human develops the ability to attain supreme goals. The findings of this study indicate that the Transcendent philosophy, on the one hand, seeks to introduce a plan and program for optimizing the civilizational system through paying attention to Man’s ontological levels and potentials of a civilizational system. On the other hand, it can provide a desirable model for the flourishing of civilizational life through organizing Man’s achievements in nature in the light of science, power, and creativity.

Mullā Ṣadrā considered the soul corporeal at the stage of origination and spiritual at the stage of survival. In his view, corporal matter gradually moves through the levels of perfection in the light of its trans-substantial motion until it reaches the level of immateriality. This was considered a revolutionary theory in the history of Islamic philosophy. Given the significance of this problem, Mullā Ṣadrā’s commentators have paid particular attention to explaining the soul’s corporeal origination in Mullā Ṣadrā’s view; however, they have not always been unanimous in their ideas in this regard. Generally speaking, when explaining the meaning and nature of the corporeal origination of the soul, the commentators of Mullā Ṣadrā’s works can be divided into three groups: some of them believe that the word corporeal in this theory refers to the natural body; some others have interpreted it as something that bears a strong relation to the body, and the third group provides a general meaning for this word including both the natural body and immaterial existent. The main purpose of this study is to analyze and explain the views of these three groups and, thus, clarify the real meaning of the corporeal origination of the soul based on an analytic-descriptive method.

Ibn Arabi is one of the gnostics who has paid particular attention to Man’s corporeal resurrection and its quality in his works. When demonstrating corporeal resurrection, he mainly relies on unveiling and intuition rather than rational demonstration. However, the authors of this paper believe that Man’s posthumous corporeal dimension in purgatory and the hereafter can also be proved based on Ibn ‘Arabī’s gnostic principles. Apart from the quality of corporeal resurrection, the question is whether corporeal resurrection itself can be demonstrated relying on such principles or not. This study, which was carried out following the method of content analysis, aimed to provide a convenient response to this question and, thus, concluded that corporeal resurrection is demonstrable based on some of Ibn ‘Arabī’s principles such as Man’s distinction and determination in the process of ascent, the relationship between the macro-anthropo and micro-anthoropo, the theory of contrasting names, nobility of sensory faculties, creation of Man in God’s face, gnostic knowledge of the soul, Man’s level of comprehensiveness and moderation, and repetition in epiphany and renewal of likes. The authors also conclude that the idea that Man is originally an incorporeal existent and finally returns to his incorporeal birthplace is absurd. They argue that the human face must possess a body; hence, even if Shari’a has not spoken of corporeal resurrection, it can be proved based on gnostic principles.

Islamic philosophy is mainly identified by its use of demonstration and method. However, a study of philosophical texts in Islamic tradition indicates that the intuitive method holds an important place in this field. This method employs gnostic intuition and unveiling in order to attain certain knowledge. The intuitive method was used in all the three major schools of Islamic philosophy; nevertheless, it was employed systematically and in an organized fashion for the first time in the Transcendent Philosophy. While emphasizing the use of rational method, Mullā Ṣadrā has also benefitted from the intuitive method to a large extent. The functions of this method are employed in two contexts: discovery and justification. In the context of discovery, Muslim philosophers have utilized the intuitive method to explain new philosophical problems and present a correct picture of some philosophical issues. In the context of justification, they have used it to discover middle terms, unveil fallacies, reconstruct demonstration, amend conclusions, and demonstrate rational arguments.

A significant problem in Islamic philosophy is investigating the various dimensions and aspects of immateriality in the view of philosophers. One of the most important problems in the discussion of immateriality is the acceptance or rejection of Ideal immateriality, which has been one of the major concerns of Islamic philosophers in the course of history. Among them, Peripatetic philosophers accepted the world of intellects and rational immateriality by denying the Ideal world and Ideal immateriality and considered the faculty of imagination to be material. However, Suhrawardī and Mullā Ṣadrā tried to demonstrate the Ideal world based on their own philosophical principles. Suhrawardī believed in the disjunctive Ideal world, while Mullā Ṣadrā believed in the connected Ideal world and the immateriality of the faculty of imagination in addition to the disconnected Ideal world. The present study aims to examine the effects of Ideal immateriality in Islamic philosophy and its role in resolving philosophical intricate problems. Here, the authors have investigated eleven effects of Ideal immateriality in different philosophical fields including the resurrection of incomplete and average souls; lack of the need to study the spheres and accepting reincarnation in the discussion of resurrection; demonstration of corporeal resurrection; a correct and rational interpretation of vanity of sin, immateriality of animals’ souls and their resurrection; subsistence of particular perceptions after death; the link between the world of intellects and the material world; an accurate interpretation of the Holy Prophet’s dreams, unveilings, and ascent; a correct interpretation of the state of death, purgatory, and the hereafter; the interpretation of jinn in Illuminationist philosophy, and the subsistence of issuing forms for the soul.

Mullā Ṣadrā maintains that the distinction of practice from other acts pertains to its “intentional” nature. In his view, “intention” includes the free will accompanied with the second level of consciousness acting based on the purpose of practice. Therefore, not each voluntary act is called “practice”; rather, practice is a voluntary act that emerges along with the second level consciousness based on the purpose of act. The results of this study, which was conducted following a descriptive-analytic method and through the analysis of conceptual concomitants of practice, indicate that Mullā Ṣadrā’s definition is not mutually exclusive. This is because, based on the example of “self-conscious” robot, one can assume an agent that enjoys free will and consciousness but its act is not intentional. Therefore, to complete the definition of practice, in addition to free will and consciousness, one needs a third element or the same “choice”. Mullā Ṣadrā does not officially recognize “choice” as the third element of practice and reduces it to the same consciousness and the free will. Nevertheless, the present study demonstrates that he is wrong, and “choice” in the sense of “the freedom to use the free will” must be added to the definition of practice. This study mainly aims to examine the quiddative structure of “practice” in the Transcendent Philosophy and distinguish “practice” from other similar affairs.

Mullā Ṣadrā places the “truth” in idealism alongside “truths” in realism in his Transcendent Philosophy. For him, truths are the same truth that reveals itself at different levels. In the view of gnostics, the four-fold spiritual journeys are a way for gnostic transcendence that the wayfarer traverses at different stages. This journey begins from fiṭrah (primordial nature), which has different levels with nature as its lowest level. Therefore, this journey or, in a sense, this process of learning begins with nature and becomes complete through a hierarchy of stages. The level of learning includes the level of theory and practice at the same time. Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophical methodology is based on revelation, rational demonstration, and intuition in the sense that all elements must perceive and confirm the reality and truth of a finding. Relying on the Transcendent Philosophy, the present study follows a demonstrative method in order to define essentialist education and explain its origin and purposes. In doing so, it benefits from a meta-analytic method to introduce the levels of essentialist learning, which is based on human fiṭrah. The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual model for education and learning whose philosophical foundations are not necessarily limited to one specific philosophical school.