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  1 - A Study of Ibn Sina’s Encounter with Early Philosophers’ Views of the Whatness of Pleasure
  Hoorieh Shojaee Baghini Einollah  Khademi Amirhosein Mansori Noori
  The whatness of pleasure is a topic which demands a thorough and accurate investigation. The study of this topic was also of particular importance in the view of Ibn Sina. A part of this investigation concerns his mode of encounter with the related views of his predeces More

  The whatness of pleasure is a topic which demands a thorough and accurate investigation. The study of this topic was also of particular importance in the view of Ibn Sina. A part of this investigation concerns his mode of encounter with the related views of his predecessors. The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of early thinkers’ ideas regarding pleasure and the extent of their impact on Ibn Sina’s views. The findings of this study are two-fold: firstly, in his critical review of the definition provided by Zakariya al-Razi, Ibn Sina presents an accurate explanation of its defects. However, this critique has mostly been attributed to Fakhr al-Din Razi. Secondly, in his later examination of early thinkers’ views of pleasure, he benefits from the Second Teacher’s brief explanation regarding the definition of pleasure. Hence, he owes his insight in this respect to Farabi. Given the various criticisms of Razi’s definition, Ibn Sina overlooks it and, through resorting to Farabi’s ontological approach to the whatness of pleasure, adopts his view as the basis of his own definition. Next, based on his own Peripatetic and perfection-oriented principles, he completes his own definition of pleasure in his works so that the presented definition is later confirmed and accepted as the basis for the related discussions. Manuscript profile
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  2 - A Study of the Reason for the Unpopularity of Philosophy during the Umayyad Period in Andalusia
  Musa Alreza  Bakhshi Ostad Abdol Hosein  Latifi
  Under the reign of the Umayyad Dynasty, Andalusia managed to take the philosophical lead in Europe during a time when Europe was suffering from Medieval stasis. Moreover, it could compete with Baghdad over the leadership of the world of Islam, the peak of which was in t More

  Under the reign of the Umayyad Dynasty, Andalusia managed to take the philosophical lead in Europe during a time when Europe was suffering from Medieval stasis. Moreover, it could compete with Baghdad over the leadership of the world of Islam, the peak of which was in the fourth century (AH). However, in spite of the scientific progress of Muslims and the favorable cultural atmosphere of this period, philosophy did not receive much attention and even had to deal with severe challenges. Accordingly, the authors of this paper decided to focus on this lack of attention to philosophy, which was not in conformity with the flourishing of Islamic civilization in Andalusia at that time, through analyzing the related historical resources and documents. Their findings indicate that, after conquering Andalusia, Muslims stepped into a land where the church had harshly suppressed rationalism. The same was also the case with the neighboring countries there. Nevertheless, the most important reason for the lack of interest in philosophy in Andalusia was the establishment of Maliki school of thought, which, following a Zahirite approach, did not allow rationalism to flourish there. Manuscript profile
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  3 - Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi’s Philosophical View of the Management and Economy of Family
  Masoud  Sadeghi
  Following an analytic descriptive method, this paper aims to configure and briefly analyze the theory or, at least, approach of Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi regarding the management of the household and the quality of resolving family problems. Given the findings of this s More

  Following an analytic descriptive method, this paper aims to configure and briefly analyze the theory or, at least, approach of Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi regarding the management of the household and the quality of resolving family problems. Given the findings of this study, it seems that, in Tusi’s definition of family, the existence of some full-time servants at home is necessary. This definition could have been developed under the influence of Tusi’s social class. It seems that his views of the desirable economic cycle of the family and its necessary elements need to be modernized in order to become more compatible with present economic realities. The findings of this study further demonstrate that Tusi’s approach to family management is similar to that of a physician. In other words, he believes that the head of the family, as a more experienced and knowledgeable person, should diagnose the defects of the family members with a sympathetic attitude and then try to remedy them. Manuscript profile
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  4 - A Semantic Study of the Description of God as the Simple Intellect in Sinan Wisdom (with Reference to Three Different Interpretations by Fakhr al-Din Razi, Mir Damad and Mulla Sadra)
  SAYYED MOHAMMAD ENTEZAM
  Ibn Sina referred to God as the Simple Intellect; however, his intended meaning of this term has been interpreted differently by Fakhr al-Din Razi, Mir Damad, and Mulla Sadra. Fakhr al-Din Razi believes that the Sinan Simple Intellect depends on the suddenness and non-t More

  Ibn Sina referred to God as the Simple Intellect; however, his intended meaning of this term has been interpreted differently by Fakhr al-Din Razi, Mir Damad, and Mulla Sadra. Fakhr al-Din Razi believes that the Sinan Simple Intellect depends on the suddenness and non-temporality of God’s acquired and differentiated knowledge of existents prior to their creation. According to Mir Damad, this term denotes that God’s knowledge of existents is at the level of essence and identical with essence. He believes that this kind of knowledge is in contrast to His presential knowledge of existents and argues that the attribution of acquired knowledge to Ibn Sina is among Suhrawardi’s mistakes. Finally, Mulla Sadra states that, by the Simple Intellect, Ibn Sina means a general rather than differentiated type of acquired knowledge. In this paper, the author examines each of these interpretations along with their related proofs and, at the end, demonstrates that the correct interpretation of this term is a combination of those provided by Mulla Sadra and Fakhr al-Din Razi. Manuscript profile
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  5 - A Review of the Development of Semantics of Divine Attributes in Islamic Thinkers
  Abdollah Mirahmadi
  One of the extensive realms of tawhidi (related to oneness of God) problems pertains to the explanation of Divine Attributes. The existence of such attributes in different Qur’anic verses and traditions has always raised a serious question among Islamic mutikallimun as More

  One of the extensive realms of tawhidi (related to oneness of God) problems pertains to the explanation of Divine Attributes. The existence of such attributes in different Qur’anic verses and traditions has always raised a serious question among Islamic mutikallimun as to which linguistic principles could assist in grasping a correct understanding of them. In the history of Muslim thinkers three main approaches have been developed regarding the explanation of Divine Attributes: The first approach is supported by anthropomorphists (mushabbaha), literalists (hashwiyyah), corporealists (mujassamah), and then revivalists (salafiyya); while interpreting the verses on attributes based on their surface meaning, they maintain that predicative Divine Attributes can be demonstrated through assimilation and qualification. The second approach is mainly prevalent among the people of hadith; while ascribing predicative attributes to God, they are content with the mere explanation of the quality of their attribution and leave the understanding of their meanings to God. Unlike the proponents of the previous two approaches, those of the third approach, despite some methodological differences in interaction with attributes whose primary appearance is in contrast with conclusive rational principles, have adopted the method of t’awil or esoteric exegesis. A group of early thinkers and, following them, the Mu‘tazilites and Shi‘ites are among the true advocates of this approach. Here, following the method of content analysis, the author intends to provide an accurate account of these three approaches and, at the same time, evaluate their efficiency. Manuscript profile
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  6 - foreword
  Hossein  Kalbasi Ashtari
  Borhan Jadal Plato Keratalous

  Borhan Jadal Plato Keratalous Manuscript profile
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  7 - Origins of the Notion of Bahman or Suhrawardi’s First Emanated
  Nadia  Maftouni Morteza  Darrudi Jawan
  The views of Suhrawardi can be traced in the philosophy of ancient Iran. One of such views was the belief in Bahman or the first emanated. Following the method of content analysis, the authors have extracted and examined the overt and covert effects of Bahman, which is More

  The views of Suhrawardi can be traced in the philosophy of ancient Iran. One of such views was the belief in Bahman or the first emanated. Following the method of content analysis, the authors have extracted and examined the overt and covert effects of Bahman, which is considered to be the most supreme manifestation of Ahura Mazda in the view of Zoroastrians, in Suhrawardi’s works. After deducing the general and specific features of Bahman based on Zoroastrian sources, such as Avesta and Bundahishn, they have tried to locate them in Suhrawardi’s books. Following a thorough study of all of his works, they have extracted and counted all the direct references to Amesha Spenta and all the cases referring to the general and particular features of Bahman. After calculating the related frequencies, they have carried out a content analysis and conceptual study of the existing features and signs. The findings of this study reveal the number of direct references to AmeshaSpentaBahman in the studied texts. Moreover, they show that the term Bahman is used in the same sense as the first emanated or the First Intellect and, in contrast to other AmeshaSpenta, as the head of vertical intellects based on their archetypal functions. The writers also conclude that Suhrawardi’s books contain the largest collection of references to Bahman among all Persian texts, while reminiscing some of the Iranian mythological heroes. Among the general and particular features of Bahman or the first emanated, its unity with other AmeshaSpenta has the highest frequency. This is because all signs of AmeshaSpenta enjoy this characteristic, the outcomes of which include the coexistence of all signs of AmeshaSpenta with each other and the organization dominating them. This finding by itself demonstrates that Suhrawardi pays particular attention to the meanings and functions of AmeshaSpenta in his works. Manuscript profile
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  8 - Kierkegaard and the Origin of Existentialist Religious Theorems
  Fatemeh  Mohammad Mohammad Akvan
  The present paper explains the view of Kierkegaard, the prominent founding philosopher of existentialism, regarding religious teachings. Kierkegaard refers to three aesthetic, ethical, and religious spheres for human beings and maintains that there is a large distance b More

  The present paper explains the view of Kierkegaard, the prominent founding philosopher of existentialism, regarding religious teachings. Kierkegaard refers to three aesthetic, ethical, and religious spheres for human beings and maintains that there is a large distance between the aesthetic and religious stages. Accordingly, in order to explain the process of development in these spheres, he uses such words as “pathos” and “leap of faith”. Kierkegaard’s discontinuous dialectics, when moving from one stage to the other, reveals that, firstly, these three-fold spheres can never unite with each other even if they co-exist for some time. Finally, there comes a time when, inevitably, one has to be chosen. Secondly, the quality of moving from one stage to the other is not logical and cannot be explained within a specific framework. When confronting the problem of religious faith, Kierkegaard does not allocate any place to the intellect and thought. In other words, he does not specify a certain time, place, and method so that individuals know when, where, and how they can reach the next stage. Rather, he believes that one must take risks in this process, do miracles, and follow the way without resorting to the intellect. Such risks cause a leap from the ethical sphere to the religious sphere, which is the highest level of an original life or existence; a leap which does not fit the framework of rational principles and, hence, cannot be perceived. Kierkegaard dedicates all his efforts in his works to demonstrating that the two spheres of religious belief and intellect are not only different but also in contrast to each other and, thus, one cannot evaluate religious concepts against the criterion of the intellect. Manuscript profile