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  1 - Suhrawardi’s Background in Advocating Mentally-Positedness of Existence
  Mahmoud  Hedayatafza Zeynab  Bostani
  Suhrawardi explicitly confirmed the “mentally-positedness of existence” in his most important works. He had correctly concluded the “external occurrence of existence to quiddity” from the works of Farabi and Ibn Sina and, while criticizing some of Ibn Sina’s words, had More

  Suhrawardi explicitly confirmed the “mentally-positedness of existence” in his most important works. He had correctly concluded the “external occurrence of existence to quiddity” from the works of Farabi and Ibn Sina and, while criticizing some of Ibn Sina’s words, had adduced several arguments for his own view. However, some contemporary scholars, when analyzing his standpoints, have ignored his background regarding the mentally-positedness of existence and introduced him as the first person who advocated this view. In the present paper, after a brief account of Farabi’s and Ibn Sina’s arguments concerning the relationship between existence and quiddity in possible things, the authors have analyzed Suhrawardi’s critical approach to this issue and then referred to three different sources for his belief in the mentally-positedness of existence. His hidden sources in this regard consist of some of the words of Bahmanyar and Omar Khayyam which he has quoted without citing the names of these two scholars in order to support his own arguments for the mentally-positedness of existence. His obvious source is a text written by Ibn Sahlan Sawi in al-Mashari’ wa’l-mutarihat. Since the philosophy section of Hakim Sawi’s book is not available, one cannot correctly judge the quality and quantity of the influence of above-mentioned thinkers on Suhrawardi. Nevertheless, available evidence demonstrates the certainty of his frequent adaptations of Bahmanyar’s works on the rejection of the “external objectivity of existence”. Manuscript profile
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  2 - A Study of the Fundamental Principles and Elements of Comparative Philosophy in Izutsu’s Philosophy
  Hamidreza Eskandari Ghasem  Purhassan
  Due to the dominance of the theory of analogy and Henry Corbin’s phenomenological approach, comparative philosophy has not yet been properly explored. In Iran, no reference has ever been made to Toshihiko Izutsu and his meta-historical theory, and no study has ever been More

  Due to the dominance of the theory of analogy and Henry Corbin’s phenomenological approach, comparative philosophy has not yet been properly explored. In Iran, no reference has ever been made to Toshihiko Izutsu and his meta-historical theory, and no study has ever been conducted in this regard. Izutsu’s meta-historical view is a fundamental departure from Paul Masson-Oursel’s approach and even historicism. However, it is considered to be an innovative view which demands more accurate deliberation. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to explore the elements and fundamental principles of comparative philosophy in Izutsu’s thoughts. In doing so, the authors have examined the importance and place of Izutsu in comparative philosophy, the nature of comparative philosophy, the necessity and possibility of comparative philosophy, and Europe-centeredness in Izutsu’s philosophy. They aim to clarify how one can discover the necessity and possibility of comparative philosophy based on his principles and, at the same time, remain immune against the criticisms advanced against other comparative philosophical approaches. Manuscript profile
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  3 - Happiness and Contemplation of Beauty in Plato’s Symposium
  Hamidreza  Mahboobi Arani
  Diotima’s speech in Plato’s Symposium is one of the most important parts of his works. The present paper exclusively examines the last of Diotima’s speech, where Plato uses some words and phrases focusing on the relationship between happiness and contemplation of beauty More

  Diotima’s speech in Plato’s Symposium is one of the most important parts of his works. The present paper exclusively examines the last of Diotima’s speech, where Plato uses some words and phrases focusing on the relationship between happiness and contemplation of beauty. Diotima claims that, only when a philosopher or lover (here, in love with Sophia) reaches the peak of his love and begins his contemplation of beauty, he could attain knowledge, happiness, and true eternity, but the question is, “How could this claim be interpreted?” The purpose of the author in this paper is to attract the attention of readers to the interpretive point that Plato’s understanding of the meaning of contemplation of beauty should be perceived in the context of an ethical and political program and in relation to the practical life of a citizen rather than within a purely abstract and theoretical inferential framework. The first part of this paper explains the intended problem through an investigation of different sections of Diotima’s speech. In the second part, with particular attention to Alcibiades’ speech, the author demonstrates that, in order to learn about Plato’s understanding of this problem, one must pay particular attention to the various dimensions of this speech. Finally, he concludes the paper by presenting an interpretation of Diotima’s last words based on a general reading of Symposium and, specifically, Alcibiades’ character and words. Manuscript profile
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  4 - Philoponus and the Development of his Philosophical Thoughts
  Farhad Assadi    
  Philoponus, the neo-Platonic Alexandrian philosopher of later periods, had become so knowledgeable in most sciences of his period that some gave him the nickname of all-knower (‘allamah). However, this was not the only distinctive feature of this thinker of Alexandrian More

  Philoponus, the neo-Platonic Alexandrian philosopher of later periods, had become so knowledgeable in most sciences of his period that some gave him the nickname of all-knower (‘allamah). However, this was not the only distinctive feature of this thinker of Alexandrian school. His philosophical thoughts underwent such massive fluctuations that some have praised his courage in criticizing and rejecting the views of his predecessors at the level of a hero and considered him as the forerunner of critical thinking, while some others have introduced him as a coward and greedy thinker who, for fear of his life and love of material things, yielded to the coercions of the Christian-Roman government and gave up his own philosophical achievements. The present paper aims to unveil the secret character of this philosopher with reference to the invaluable works of contemporary researchers and take a step, however small, in providing a profound and correct understanding of the development of philosophical thought in the history of philosophy. One of the cases that the writers highlight in this paper is the quality of the interactions between the Alexandrian school and the powerful Christian government. During this period, the context was provided for the growth and development of a number of philosophers and commentators, such as Philoponus, who disseminated Aristotelian philosophy. However, the most important achievement of this paper is probably an investigation of Philoponus’ critical approach to the views of Aristotle and his predecessors as well as a comparative study of his most important philosophical views during two periods of his academic activities. Here, the authors focus on some of his opposing and sometimes contradictory views which created great debates in their own time and exercised particular impact on the development of philosophical thought, including Islamic philosophy, in different societies. Manuscript profile
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  5 - Foreword
  Hossein  Kalbasi Ashtari
  Islamic Philosophy, Arabic Philosophy, Orientalism

  Islamic Philosophy, Arabic Philosophy, Orientalism Manuscript profile
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  6 - Plato’s Mathematical Ontology in Islamic and Western Interpretations
  Mohammad Saket Nalkiashari Ali Naqi  Baqershahi
  Mathematics has always been considered to be among certain sciences; however, the objects of mathematical knowledge have continually occupied the minds of mathematicians and philosophers of mathematics. The theory stating that the objects of mathematics consist of a num More

  Mathematics has always been considered to be among certain sciences; however, the objects of mathematical knowledge have continually occupied the minds of mathematicians and philosophers of mathematics. The theory stating that the objects of mathematics consist of a number of certain immaterial and separate affairs which are independent of the world of the human mind and thought has been attributed to Plato, and several realist philosophers who, in spite of all their differences, have been called neo-Platonists. Commentators of Plato have failed in providing any clear and consistent interpretation, whether in terms of ontology or semantics, of his philosophy of mathematics, which has resulted in some misunderstandings in this regard and some ambiguity in his whole philosophy. When completing his PhD dissertation at the University of Bristol, Paul Pritchard presented an interpretation of Plato’s ontology, according to which the objects of mathematics are the same sensible things. Here, the allegory of the divided line has been interpreted differently, and the existing ambiguities have been removed. In this paper, the authors have examined this interpretation and compared it with other interpretations of Plato’s ontology of mathematics. They also refer to its effects on Plato’s philosophy of mathematics in general and reveal that, unlike its traditional interpretation, his philosophy of mathematics does not conflict with Benacerraf’s identification problem. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that, based on Mulla Sadra’s arguments, the theory of Ideas is a completely consistent theory in terms of ontology and, thus, Plato’s philosophy of mathematics is a consistent body of philosophy. Manuscript profile
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  7 - Hakim Sabziwari’s Impact on the School of Tehran: Continuity of the Qajar Philosophical School of Isfahan
  Mohammad Javad  Sami Saeed  Rahimian
  The present study examines the quality of the realization of Islamic schools of philosophy in the Iranian cultural field between eighth and thirteenth centuries (AH). Initially, the authors discuss the development of such schools from the “Philosophical School of Shiraz More

  The present study examines the quality of the realization of Islamic schools of philosophy in the Iranian cultural field between eighth and thirteenth centuries (AH). Initially, the authors discuss the development of such schools from the “Philosophical School of Shiraz (represented by Qutb al-Din Shirazi and Sadr al-Din Dashtaki) to the “School of Safavid Isfahan (represented by Mir Damad and Mulla Sadra) and from there to the School of Qajar Isfahan (represented by Mulla Ali Nuri and Mulla Isma’il Khwajavi), and finally to the “School of Tehran” (represented by Mulla Ali Mudarris Zunuzi, Mulla Mohammad Reza Ghomshei, and Hakim Jilwah). Then they deal with the key role of Hakim Sabziwari in the development of the third school in the School of Tehran. Clearly, because of the chosen period, there is no place for focusing on the schools preceding the philosophical school of Shiraz, such as “School of Maragheh” (represented by Khawaja Nasir al-Din Tusi) or the schools succeeding the School of Tehran, such as the “Neo-Sadrian School” (represented by ‘Allamah Tabataba’i). In line with the purpose of the study, the authors have tried to refer to the specific features of the four target schools, the social conditions dominating the society, and the reasons behind people’s referring to the distinguished philosophers and scholars of each school. Following a library method of research and a comparative design, this study demonstrates that the rulers’ coercion and cruelty and the scholars’ attempts at granting legitimacy to their acts and following them were the main causes of the creation of certain pseudo-parties and centers around spiritual authorities in the garb of philosophers and Sufis. Manuscript profile
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  8 - A Comparative Study of Utopia in Islamic Thinkers: A Case Study of the Views of Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi and Ibn Sina
  Mahdi  Torkashvand Ali  Khajeh Naieni
  The negation of painful worldly affairs and trying to depict a purely good world in the mind of a human being who has experienced a descent from heaven to the earth has a long history. This thought has resulted in the development of the idea of Utopia by Western and Eas More

  The negation of painful worldly affairs and trying to depict a purely good world in the mind of a human being who has experienced a descent from heaven to the earth has a long history. This thought has resulted in the development of the idea of Utopia by Western and Eastern thinkers. Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi and Ibn Sina are among the scholars who have theorized in this regard and elaborated on the various dimensions of their own Utopia. The present study was conducted using a descriptive design and examining the existing documents regarding Ibn Sina and Tusi’s views of Utopia. The results of the study indicate that the differences between their descriptions of Utopia pertain to their theoretical approach, their views of the kind of leadership and attributes of the head of Utopia, Ibn Sina’s hierarchical and class-oriented view, and an accurate view of the components of Utopia in Ibn Sina’s philosophy in comparison to Tusi, while they both agree with each other with respect to their worldviews, the conditions they set for attaining the leadership of Utopia, and compromising view of the existing status. Evidently, given the Islamic worldview of both thinkers, the findings of this study could be a useful first step for portraying an Islamic city. Manuscript profile