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2 - Farabi and a Philosophical Reading of al-Huruf
Ghasem Purhassan

The book al-Huruf has never been approached from a philosophical standpoint. Unlike the common belief, it is not a purely linguistic work and, rather, enjoys great significance regarding its philosophical aspect. Al-Huruf is considered to be one of the most important ph More

The book al-Huruf has never been approached from a philosophical standpoint. Unlike the common belief, it is not a purely linguistic work and, rather, enjoys great significance regarding its philosophical aspect. Al-Huruf is considered to be one of the most important philosophical works of Farabi, and most of the studies conducted on this book emphasize that it is merely a commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics. That is why Farabi’s innovations have been disregarded there. This book is of great importance not only because of its focus on linguistic principles but also because of its discussing the relationships between language and philosophy, religion and philosophy, and everyday language and philosophical language. Here, the writer also reveals the nature of the 200-year conflicts between kalam, philosophy, syntax, and logic in the world of Islam. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze two fundamental principles and evaluate the related views. Therefore, the writer initially attends to the general and philosophical status and writing style of al-Huruf and explains the related ideas. This book is, first and foremost, a reaction to the enemies of philosophy and rationalist trends in understanding religion. Farabi begins the book with linguistic discussions and, then, in the light of his introduction, spells out the intricacies of logical and epistemological theories, and finally clarifies the nature of ontological thoughts. In this book, he discusses how ignoring fundamental linguistic principles could harm ontological and epistemological discussions. He also illustrates how linguistic studies could demystify philosophical principles and grant them more depth and essence. Second, in addition to examining the structure of al-Huruf, the writer tries to explore Farabi’s fundamental doctrine of reconciliation. In doing so, he begins with an analysis of the two schools of Kufa and Basrah and then reviews the mentioned doctrine. In the second part of this book, Farabi demonstrates in two chapters on the unity of philosophy and religion (al-Silah bayn al-falsafah wal millah) that there is no choice but to defend the doctrine of reconciliation. He emphasizes that an irrational religion is nothing but fantasy and maintains that the fundamental principles of religion are based on the intellect and reasoning. In his view, neither Abu Bishr nor Abu Saeid had grasped the significance of this view. Matta Ibn Yunus was not merely a representative of logic and wisdom; rather, he and his companions and advocates relied only on autonomous reasoning, which Farabi found insufficient. In contrast, Abu Saeid was not merely a representative of syntax as advocated by the School of Baghdad, but, in company with several people who defended a purely religious approach, he opposed the role of reason in understanding and justifying religious beliefs. In this book Farabi tries to pose and develop a third theory based on analyzing these two approaches. Manuscript profile

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3 - The Relationship between Beauty and the Good in Plato’s Ontology
Hossein Ghafari Behnaz Parvini

Based on various interpretations, the relationship between the good and beauty in Plato’s philosophy fluctuates between being identical and different, and these interpretations lead to different consequences in Platonic ethics and aesthetics and suggest different relati More

Based on various interpretations, the relationship between the good and beauty in Plato’s philosophy fluctuates between being identical and different, and these interpretations lead to different consequences in Platonic ethics and aesthetics and suggest different relationships between the good and beauty and his metaphysics. Many interpreters believe that the truth and the good are the same in Plato’s view, while the relationship between beauty and the good is not clearly known to them. Through a study of the features of each of these two entities in various dialogs and contexts and the arguments adduced to describe the relationship between them, one can not only learn about the quality of this relationship but also determine the borderlines of Platonic aesthetics and, as a result, discover the place of beauty as the truth of being in this philosopher’s ontology. In this study, based on Plato’s prescriptive method in his seventh letter regarding the knowledge of every subject, the writers deal with the relationship between beauty and its equivalent concepts, such as pleasure, harmony, proportion, order, and unity. Then, by responding to the questions related to the difference of the good from beauty, they demonstrate that the other definitions and meanings of beauty can be interpreted in the same way, and that the truth of beauty is the same as the good in the sense of unity. Finally, they conclude that beauty is the cause of existence and the end of everything. Therefore, ethics and aesthetics are considered to be two dimensions of Plato’s unitary ontology. Manuscript profile

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4 - A Study of the Rise of Shi‘ite Gnosis in Ibn Sina’s Life and Works with an Emphasis on his Ideas in Namat al-‘arifin
Fereshteh Nadry Abyaneh Nadry Abyaneh

A gnostic’s method of unveiling entails the purification of the soul, self-refinement, and observation of divine traditions and duties. Islamic gnosis is divided into two theoretical and practical types. In Ibn Sina’s view, any opposition to gnosis and gnostics is due t More

A gnostic’s method of unveiling entails the purification of the soul, self-refinement, and observation of divine traditions and duties. Islamic gnosis is divided into two theoretical and practical types. In Ibn Sina’s view, any opposition to gnosis and gnostics is due to being ignorant of the station of gnostics. Similarly, any agreement with gnostics and respecting and appreciating them result from being cognizant of their supreme status. Naturally, people usually stand against and oppose what is unknown to them. After demonstrating the necessity of piety and worship as the necessary conditions for happiness, Ibn Sina maintains that they are not enough for attaining this goal and considers gnosis to be superior to the above qualities. However, he emphasizes that a gnostic is an individual who is not content even with attaining the status of being a true gnostic and prefers truth to gnosis. The Shi‘ite gnosis relies on a treasure of traditions and prayers in addition to Qura’nic verses. In the history of gnosis, Ibn Arabi (died in 638 AH) and Seyyed Haydar Amuli (died in 787 or 794 AH) are called the fathers of Islamic and Shi‘ite gnosis. Ibn Sina (died in 428 AH) enjoys great fame in the eye of the public in the fields of Peripatetic philosophy and medicine and has been called the new Aristotle; however, he has not developed a great name in the field of gnosis. Nevertheless, a study of his life and works prove the opposite. There is no doubt about his being a Shi‘ite Muslim; hence, this paper aims to demonstrate that the fundamental principles of the kind of gnosis he discusses in his works were developed under the influence of Shi‘ite gnosis (although the related references have not been directly mentioned in Ibn Sina’s works). Manuscript profile

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5 - An Evaluation of Fakhr al-Din Razi’s Criticisms of Ibn Sina’s Definition of Time
Mahmoud Saidiy Seyyed Mohammad Musawy

Following Aristotle, Ibn Sina maintained that time is the number of motion which is attained by the continuous movement of a moving agent over a distance. He adduced two arguments in order to demonstrate his theory: one was based on the difference between the motions of More

Following Aristotle, Ibn Sina maintained that time is the number of motion which is attained by the continuous movement of a moving agent over a distance. He adduced two arguments in order to demonstrate his theory: one was based on the difference between the motions of moving things in terms of speed, and the other was based on the divisibility of the distance of movement. In contrast, through advancing various objections, Fakhr al-Din Razi challenged this theory not only with regard to its two underlying arguments but also with respect to the theory of time being the number of motion. The present paper aims to demonstrate that Fakhr al-Din Razi’s criticisms originate in his lack of enough scrutiny of Ibn Sina’s principles, particularly regarding the opposition of non-existence and habit between motion and rest, time as necessary by the other and not necessary by itself, the difference between universal and particular times of each motion, and the existence of logical fallacy in some arguments. However, the final response to some of his criticisms are given based on the principles of the Transcendent Philosophy regarding the analytic differences between motion, time, and time as the fourth dimension of being. Manuscript profile

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6 - Ammonius Hermiae and the Historical Impact of his Thought
Maryam Salem

Neo-Platonic philosophers, in addition to advocating Plato’s philosophical and theological school and commenting on his works, also paid attention to Aristotle and explored his philosophy and theology alongside his logic and ethics. This gave rise to the development of More

Neo-Platonic philosophers, in addition to advocating Plato’s philosophical and theological school and commenting on his works, also paid attention to Aristotle and explored his philosophy and theology alongside his logic and ethics. This gave rise to the development of a tradition among some of them to try to reconcile the ideas of these two philosophers with each other and demonstrate that there is no internal and external inconsistency between them. One of the prominent philosophers involved in this practice was Ammonius, the son of Hermiae, who, in spite of his anonymity during his own time, managed to exercise a great influence over the philosophical schools which emerged after him. This influence is quite noticeable initially on Islamic philosophers, particularly on Farabi, and then on Christian theologians. This paper aims to briefly introduce his character and some of his ideas. Manuscript profile

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7 - Development of the Concept of Malignity in the History of Philosophical Ethics in the Islamic World (with an Emphasis on Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi’s Philosophy)
Hossein Atrak Mohsen Jahed

Aristotle’s principle of middle term is commonly defined as avoiding excess and defect, which seems to be a quantitative concept at first sight. This interpretation has received some criticisms from the authorities in the field of ethics. Muslim thinkers have also taken More

Aristotle’s principle of middle term is commonly defined as avoiding excess and defect, which seems to be a quantitative concept at first sight. This interpretation has received some criticisms from the authorities in the field of ethics. Muslim thinkers have also taken some steps to criticize, examine, and possibly improve this principle. Their most important attempt in this regard has been the introduction of the concept of malignity to philosophical ethics in the world of Islam. This concept pays attention to both quality in addition to quantity and remedies some of the defects of Aristotle’s principle of middle term. It is noteworthy that an accurate review of Aristotle’s texts also indicates the presence of the element of malignity in his ethical system. This concept was firstly introduced by Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi in some parts of Akhlaq-i nasiri, and later Qadi Izzuddin Iji placed it in a more logical section among ethical discussions. Following them, many Muslim experts in the field of ethics accepted their idea of this concept and discussed it in their works. The present paper aims to explore the historical development of the concept of malignity and examine its significance in the related fields. Manuscript profile

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8 - A Study of the Truth of Attributing the Salaman wa absal Treatise to Ibn Sina
Seyyed Mohammad Kazem Madadi al-Musavi

This study examines the truth of attributing the Salaman wa absal treatise to Ibn Sina and explores its content based on historical proofs. Several versions of the story of Salaman wa absal have been composed in the course of history; however, Ibn Sina’s version is ques More

This study examines the truth of attributing the Salaman wa absal treatise to Ibn Sina and explores its content based on historical proofs. Several versions of the story of Salaman wa absal have been composed in the course of history; however, Ibn Sina’s version is questionable in terms of both its existence and its content. Unlike his other works, the original text of this treatise is not available, and it has not been studied or investigated in its own right. Neither has it received much attention on the part of philosophers. Here, the writer initially examines the documents on the existence or non-existence of this treatise and, then, refers to certain reports which provide some information regarding its potential content. Accordingly, he concludes that Ibn Sina most probably wrote this work, and that his original version certainly exists. However, he maintains that there is no definite proof regarding its content and argues that there are merely two reports on two types of content for this treatise. Finally, he states that certain historical misunderstandings have occurred in relation to this work over time, which has resulted in committing some serious errors regarding its content and its attribution to Ibn Sina. Manuscript profile

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9 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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10 - Historical Development and Pre-Suppositions of the Theory of the Principiality of Existence in Tusi’s Analysis
Hashem Ghorbani

The theory of the principiality of existence or quiddity lacks a systematic model in pre-Sadrian thoughts; however, it is based on certain presuppositions the discovery of which can illuminate Muslim thinkers’ approach to this problem. Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi has expl More

The theory of the principiality of existence or quiddity lacks a systematic model in pre-Sadrian thoughts; however, it is based on certain presuppositions the discovery of which can illuminate Muslim thinkers’ approach to this problem. Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi has explained his epistemological ideas regarding these presuppositions. This paper deals with some of the presuppositions underlying the principiality of existence or quiddity as presented by Tusi. Some of them are as follows: 1) the problem of the addition of existence and quiddity and its quality; 2) detecting the relationship between existence and quiddity; 3) the mind or the outside as the place of the realization of this relationship, and 4) evaluating the referents of the mentioned analysis and the realization of quiddity and existence in the outside or emphasizing the exclusive realization of one of them. Through his analyses of each of these presuppositions, Tusi adopts an approach which can represent his agreement or disagreement with the principiality of existence. Accordingly, although the theory of the principiality of existence did not occupy his mind as a problem, his epistemological presuppositions regarding existence and quiddity are consistent with it. The development of the relationship between the ideas of Tusi and Mulla Sadra can be analyzed through explaining the former’s standpoints regarding the above-mentioned presuppositions and his influence over Mulla Sadra. Manuscript profile

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11 - Incompleteness of Heidegger’s Interpretation of Platonic Truth: A Critical Review of Plato’s Doctrine of Truth
Said Binayemotlagh seyyed Majid Kamali

In his treatise of Plato’s Doctrine of Truth, by referring to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, Heidegger intends to demonstrate that the meaning of truth in Platonic philosophy underwent some transformation comparing to how pre-Socratic Greeks defined it. Here, truth as More

In his treatise of Plato’s Doctrine of Truth, by referring to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, Heidegger intends to demonstrate that the meaning of truth in Platonic philosophy underwent some transformation comparing to how pre-Socratic Greeks defined it. Here, truth as unhiddenness is reduced to truth as “true” and “correspondence”. The purpose of the present paper is to explain that Heidegger’s interpretation of Platonic truth does not cover all of Plato’s ideas regarding the meaning of truth. Accordingly, by referring to some of Plato’s ideas regarding, for example, “good”, “beauty”, “existence”, and “truth”, the writers have tried to disclose some of the contradictory points of Heidegger’s interpretation of the meaning of truth in Plato’s philosophy. They have also tried to demonstrate that Heidegger’s reading of Plato is reductionist in nature, and that downgrading the meaning of truth merely to the level of “true” and “correspondence”, more than being based on Plato’s documented ideas, originates in Heidegger’s will to call the whole history of Western philosophy as Western metaphysics. Manuscript profile

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12 - Philosophy and Religious law in Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise: Admist Averroism and Textualism
Reza Najafzadeh

Given the Multi-cultural nature of the development of philosophical systems, it can be claimed that Baruch Benedict de Spinoza formulated his view of the problem of the possibility or impossibility of concurrence of philosophy and religion in line with the tradition of More

Given the Multi-cultural nature of the development of philosophical systems, it can be claimed that Baruch Benedict de Spinoza formulated his view of the problem of the possibility or impossibility of concurrence of philosophy and religion in line with the tradition of Latin and Jewish Averroists. A major part of his Theologico-Political Treatise is devoted to responding to this problem. Spinoza’s philosophical thoughts were influenced by several philosophical and political traditions. Inspired by the naturalist philosophers of the Renaissance period, he advocated the radical republican tradition and played a significant role in developing the radical Enlightenment heritage. In unity with such trends and while being influenced by the Protestant religious reforms tradition and having a Jewish educational background, Spinoza was continually occupied with the important problem of the possibility or impossibility of reconciling theology and philosophy or religion and rationality. This radical philosopher of the Enlightenment Period encountered holy texts in the light of the Islamic and Jewish legacies of rational thoughts. In order to provide an answer to this problem, he openly dealt with the rationalist and textualist trends of Judaism. Given the huge contribution of Islamic rational thoughts to the rise of the Middle Age Jewish philosophy, his thoughts also dragged him to the domain of Islamic rational philosophy. In comparison to Muslim and Jewish textualists and rationalists of the Middle Ages, he chose the middle way and defended the reasons for his choice in the theological parts of his Theologico- Political Treatise: he argued that neither is philosophy at the service of religion, nor is religion at the service of philosophy. Based on this Spinozist idea, two hypotheses can be postulated: 1) the impossibility of the unity of philosophy and religion in Theologico-Political Treatise does not necessarily indicate providing some secular principles for the public domain; 2) following the historical hermeneutic approach to holy texts, this treatise provides a fideist theory which frees the vast field of living in the modern world from meaningless sterility and coldness. Manuscript profile

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13 - Rereading Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist Philosophy in the Light of Pierre Hadot’s Philosophical Model: Philosophy as a Way of Life
Amir Abbas ‘Alizamani Zahra Rastakhiz Ghasroaldashti

Pierre Hadot (1922-2010), the contemporary French philosopher showed the dynamism and true life of philosophy in philosophers’ everyday life through presenting a philosophical model, called Philosophy as a Way of Life, which is the product of his several years of resear More

Pierre Hadot (1922-2010), the contemporary French philosopher showed the dynamism and true life of philosophy in philosophers’ everyday life through presenting a philosophical model, called Philosophy as a Way of Life, which is the product of his several years of research in the field of ancient philosophy. In this paper, the writers have tried to analyze and interpret Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist philosophy based on this model. Accordingly, in the first part, in addition to introducing the mentioned model, they explain its important elements such as the philosophical language of spiritual practice and its place in studying philosophical schools pursuing spiritual guidance. The second part provides an analysis and interpretation of the Illuminationist philosophy in the framework of this model. Therefore, it initially propounds the basic principles of Suhrawardi’s school regarding light, the hierarchy of lights, the soul and its significance, the world of Ideas and its necessity, epistemology, and ontology. Discussing the fundamental principles of Illuminationist philosophy helps to specify the way of life and its elements and features in this school in relation to the philosophical model of “Philosophy as a Way of Life”. Since Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist philosophy bears a tight unity with gnosis and spiritual wayfaring, it is difficult to perceive it philosophically and to demonstrate its structural coherence in explaining various philosophical problems. Through presenting certain strategies, Hadot’s model enables researchers to develop a coherent and comprehensive perception of the problems propounded in this philosophical-gnostic school and the way of life it advocates. Manuscript profile

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14 - A Study of the Idea of Crisis in Husserl’s View and its Background in the 19th Century European Philosophy
Seyyed mas‘ud Seyf Afshin Mo’azzen

At the beginning of the 20th century a vast trend which was unanimously called “the crisis of European science and culture” by its advocates emerged in Europe. Following the same trend, Husserl, one of the distinguished European thinkers of the early 20th century, intro More

At the beginning of the 20th century a vast trend which was unanimously called “the crisis of European science and culture” by its advocates emerged in Europe. Following the same trend, Husserl, one of the distinguished European thinkers of the early 20th century, introduced phenomenology as a solution to overcome this full-scale crisis, which, in his view, dominated Europe during the second half of the 19th century. He maintained that this crisis manifested itself in the form of absence of unity and coherence in philosophy and sciences (both natural and human sciences), as well as in the alienation of sciences from people’s everyday life. Husserl argued that the roots and causes of this crisis must be sought in the scientific and philosophical approaches of the 19th century Europe. During this period and after the demise of Hegel, certain schools such as Marxism, biologism, and historical hermeneutics appeared under the influence of Hegelian schools and the idea of historical relativism that they advocated. A common feature of all of them was their interest in relativism. Each of these schools, through negating the possibility of achieving a single and certain truth and also relativising it based on its own principles provided the context for the development of the above-mentioned crisis. After disclosing the nature of crisis in the philosophical principles of the West and through presenting a critical interpretation of Cartesian fundamentalism. Husserl suggested a method called “phenomenological interpretation” in order to have access to a solid and unifying basis for sciences. In spite of the several criticisms targeting this method, it has turned into one of the most fundamental phenomenological elements which has influenced a11 the philosophical schools which were developed after this prominent philosopher. Manuscript profile

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15 - The Idea of Order in the History of Greek Philosophy: A Study of the Epistemological-Ontological Aspects of Order in Plato’s Political Philosophy
Abdulrasul Hasanifar Hamzah Alimi Cheraghali

One of the issues which has united the ontological, epistemological, and anthropological dimensions of philosophical thought in the course of history and has continually affected and determined the related social and political directions and general trends is “order”. I More

One of the issues which has united the ontological, epistemological, and anthropological dimensions of philosophical thought in the course of history and has continually affected and determined the related social and political directions and general trends is “order”. In other words, order enjoys three ontological, epistemological, and anthropological aspects with respect to political life in society and can function as the basis for the interpretation and formation of the history of philosophy. In Greek philosophy, order is one of the philosophical principles which, due to its influence over different schools of philosophy and philosophers during the whole history of philosophical thought, enjoys an important and unique role and status. The issue of order in Platonic philosophy proved to be a turning point in this regard. Accordingly, in this paper it has been tried to explore the philosophical concept of order from its epistemological, ontological, and anthropological aspects in the history of Greek philosophy ,in general, and in Platonic philosophy, in particular. The writers have also aimed to demonstrate its influence and directive role in Plato’s political philosophy. Therefore, following an analytic-descriptive method, they firstly cast a historical glance at the concept of order in the works of pre-Platonic thinkers. Then they investigate his general philosophy and, particularly, his political philosophy with respect to the above-mentioned dimensions while emphasizing his desirable political and educational systems based on his idea of order. Their findings indicate that a philosophical thought based on order might begin with a mythological and naturalist view; nevertheless, with the later development of human thought, it shifts its attention to a kind of order with mathematical, cosmological, and metaphysical tendencies. Following this process, the Platonic natural and mathematical view of order unites with a divine and virtuous view of order. Consequently, as both the context and basis of other virtues and also as the ultimate goal of philosophy, it develops a political-social form in connection with law. Manuscript profile

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16 - Life in Harmony with Nature in the View of Three Stoic Philosophers: Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius
Mohammad Javad Esmaeili Sina Masheyekhi

The main slogan of Stoic philosophy is “Life in Harmony with Nature”, which also signifies the unity between physics and ethics in stoics’ ideas. The study of the roots of this slogan in the view of Stoic philosophers; from Zeno of Cilium, the founder of Stoic philosoph More

The main slogan of Stoic philosophy is “Life in Harmony with Nature”, which also signifies the unity between physics and ethics in stoics’ ideas. The study of the roots of this slogan in the view of Stoic philosophers; from Zeno of Cilium, the founder of Stoic philosophy to Marcus, Aurelius, the last Stoic philosophers, indicates the expansion of the semantic domain of “Life in Harmony with Nature”, as follows: 1) individual nature in the sense of harmony with the rational faculty; 2) general nature in the sense of harmony with fate and those affairs which are beyond our control, and 3) social nature in the sense of harmony with society and social laws. Interestingly enough, in Stoic ethics there are some terms for each of these semantic domains in relation to natural sciences; for example, self-preservation, kindness, common sense, and providence in the world. This paper mainly focuses on the problem of functions of “Life in Harmony with Nature” in Stoic ethics based on the ideas of Seneca, Epictetus, and Aurelius as recorded in their existing works. Finally, it concludes that Stoic philosophers, particularly the three mentioned above, mainly emphasize the Stoic concept of “Life in Harmony with Nature” in order to create a unity between Man’s inner order and the general order of nature and society. This is because, in this school of philosophy, Man is a part of the whole and must use this relationship in order to attain happiness and harmony between themselves, society, and the whole. Manuscript profile

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17 - Logos and Motion in Heraclitus
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Hosseini Khameneh Seyyed Mohammad Reza Hosseini Khameneh

Heraclitus is usually recognized as a philosopher who believes in the motion and becoming of all things. He also maintains that there is a kind of conflict among opposites, which finally leads to their unity. However, not much attention is paid to the fixed principles t More

Heraclitus is usually recognized as a philosopher who believes in the motion and becoming of all things. He also maintains that there is a kind of conflict among opposites, which finally leads to their unity. However, not much attention is paid to the fixed principles that exist in his philosophy. The most important of all of them is logos, which is also referred to by some other terms such as fire, God (theos), etc. Logos is a fixed divine principle which establishes harmony among all things, and a philosopher is an individual who hears the words of logos and acts accordingly. Therefore, it can be said that, in addition to the becoming of worldly things, Heraclitus also speaks of unity and consistency in his philosophy. Manuscript profile

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18 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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19 - Objectivity and Representativeness of Propositions in the Practical Philosophies of Kant and Mulla Sadra
Hossein Qasemi

Kant, the modern philosopher, believes that the development of Man’s moral life depends on designing a moral system the principles of which are based on reason and objectivity. In this way, it would be free from any kind of subjectivity and personal bias, which damaged More

Kant, the modern philosopher, believes that the development of Man’s moral life depends on designing a moral system the principles of which are based on reason and objectivity. In this way, it would be free from any kind of subjectivity and personal bias, which damaged the moral system of his period. The only proposition which enjoys these features is the categorical imperative. Now, the problem is how Kant justifies the objectivity and truth of this imperative. Another question is how this problem is answered in Mulla Sadra’s Islamic philosophy. In his Critique of Practical Reason, Kant maintains that practical matters are rooted in the moral law and tries to justify them by resorting to practical reason and the notion of freedom. Although Kant’s discussions in the field of philosophy of ethics proceed in a way to demonstrate nomena and, particularly, freedom, he considers them to be among axioms. This means that the reality of practical reason and freedom only justify the practical possibility of moral experience and other practical fields. In other words, admitting the reality of the intellect and freedom is merely based on belief and faith, consequently, moral propositions are rational rather than cognitional. In Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy, practical propositions in individual and social fields are developed based on practical reason while attending to its relationship with theoretical reason. Moreover, the realms of both theory and practice stem from the innermost of the soul and are known through presential knowledge. As a result, all mental and rational perceptions are related to the truth of the good and its grades as an ontological affair. In this way, the objectivity and truth of these propositions are justified not based on certain axioms but by resorting to the possibility of the presential knowledge of the world of fact-itself. In this paper, the writer has tried to discuss the truth and objectivity of propositions in practical philosophy through employing a comparative method and the analysis of the philosophical principles of Kant and Mulla Sadra in order to highlight the importance of the principles of the Transcendent Philosophy. Manuscript profile

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20 - Revisiting Scientific Dialog in the Flourishing Period of Islamic Civilization (With an Emphasis on a Methodological Comparison of Ibn Sina and Biruni)
Mohammad Bidhendi Alireza Aghahosseini Mas‘ud Motaharinasab

A review of scientific and methodological dialogs dominating Islamic civilization during the last periods, particularly in the third and fourth centuries (AH), and their explanation and analysis could play a significant role in creating a modern Islamic civilization. Th More

A review of scientific and methodological dialogs dominating Islamic civilization during the last periods, particularly in the third and fourth centuries (AH), and their explanation and analysis could play a significant role in creating a modern Islamic civilization. The purpose of this paper is to clarify and analyze the scientific methodology of Ibn Sina and Aburayhan Biruni in order to expose the nature of the scientific and methodological dialogs of that period of civilization. A comparative study of the methodology of these two thinkers demonstrates that, following the Aristotelian logic, Ibn Sina attached more importance to deduction than to induction. However, Aburayhan was mainly interested in empirical and inductive methods and performed more professional and field studies. He even criticized Ibn Sina for his extreme emphasis on his rational method. Another difference between these two philosophers stems from the fact that Biruni did not confine himself to a pre-determined philosophical structure, whereas Ibn Sina initially defended the structure of Aristotelian philosophy to some extent. However, He finally distanced himself from Aristotle in his al-Isharat wa’l-tanbihat and Oriental Wisdom. Still another difference between the two is said to be that Ibn Sina believed that whatever we hear might be possible, but Biruni maintained that whatever we hear must be denied first unless its opposite is proved through reasoning and argumentation (this judgment has been criticized by many thinkers). Manuscript profile

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21 - The Brilliant Jewel of Islam in Seville: A Historical Analysis of Ibn Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam
Masood Ahmadi Afzadi

Ibn Arabi is one of the prominent figures in the field of theoretical gnosis in the world of Islam. He enjoys a unique status among Muslim gnostic-writers thanks to his benefitting from the legacy of distinguished Muslim and, particularly, Iranian gnostics, on the one h More

Ibn Arabi is one of the prominent figures in the field of theoretical gnosis in the world of Islam. He enjoys a unique status among Muslim gnostic-writers thanks to his benefitting from the legacy of distinguished Muslim and, particularly, Iranian gnostics, on the one hand, and the philosophical legacy of Muslim thinkers of the West, especially, of Seville, on the other hand. The cultural center of Andalusia, which was the philosophical meeting point of Islamic gnosis with Christian gnosis and, especially, Jewish gnosis for centuries, clearly reflects Ibn Arabi’s influence over these gnostic schools and indicates the necessity of making a continuous effort at gaining a thorough knowledge of the different aspects of his thoughts and works. From among all his works, Fusus al-hikam seems to be the best criterion for learning about Ibn Arabi because this great book provides a trustworthy account of the history of Islamic gnosis and Andalusia. Several commentators have commented on Fusus al-hikam, but not all of them have praised the writer, and some of them have even criticized his ideas in their commentaries. Nevertheless, all of them have praised the magnificence of his thoughts in this work. The present paper casts an analytic glance at Ibn Arabi’s character and examines this book based on the ideas of its writer and commentators in terms of form and content. It is hoped that the findings of this study can pave the way for more comparative research in the interreligious atmosphere of Andalusia and contribute to a better understanding of this distinguished figure of the Andalusia school as the crossroad of cultures. Manuscript profile

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22 - Meaning of Truth in the View of Muslim Philosophers with an Emphasis on Ibn Arabi’s Works
Mohsen Habibi Mohammad Sadiq Rezaee

The truth and its meaning have always been discussed by gnostics and philosophers in the course of history. Philosophers have mainly dealt with truth in its logical sense; however, some philosophers, such as Mulla Sadra in Islamic philosophy and Heidegger in Western phi More

The truth and its meaning have always been discussed by gnostics and philosophers in the course of history. Philosophers have mainly dealt with truth in its logical sense; however, some philosophers, such as Mulla Sadra in Islamic philosophy and Heidegger in Western philosophy, have paid attention to truth in its ontological sense, which is very close to Islamic gnostics’ particular impression of this word. The meaning of truth in gnostics’ view is greatly influenced by its meaning in the Qur’anic and traditional culture. One of the divine names mentioned in the Holy Qur’an is the “Truth”, and Almighty God has called Himself by this name. Some philosophers such as Ibn Arabi used to refer to Qur’anic verses and traditions in order to consolidate their religion. Muslim gnostics concede that there is only one truth in the world, and it is the Necessary Being. They believe that any existent other than Him is mentally-posited and is among the manifestations of that simple Truth. That is why gnostics, themselves, consider the religion of the philosophers who believe in the graded unity of existence to be atheistic and believe in the individual and true unity of existence. Hence, they view closeness to the truth as the only way to attain it and have always been after some ways in order to gain proximity to that original Truth. On the other hand, gnostics consider the human soul to be the most complete locus of the manifestation of God; therefore, the first step in Islamic gnosis in order to attain the knowledge of God is to attain the knowledge of the soul. Ibn Arabi also believes that wayfaring towards God is of vital importance for learning about that single Truth. Manuscript profile

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23 - The Criterion for Detecting the Problems of Prime Philosophy and the Extent of Islamic Philosophers’ Commitment to them
Mansour Imanpour

The main question advanced in this paper is as follows: Which specific criterion is used to distinguish the problems of prime philosophy from each other. Another related question here is whether Islamic philosophers really employ this criterion or not. A review of the w More

The main question advanced in this paper is as follows: Which specific criterion is used to distinguish the problems of prime philosophy from each other. Another related question here is whether Islamic philosophers really employ this criterion or not. A review of the works of Greek philosophers, particularly Aristotle, indicates that Aristotle’s words regarding the subject of prime philosophy are diverse and divided. It also reveals that the problems of prime philosophy have not been inferred and formulated with reference to a specific subject in an organized manner. In spite of the entrance of Greek philosophy and all its concomitants into the world of Islam, Islamic philosophers, especially Ibn Sina, tried to explain the subject of prime philosophy and its problems, dissect the relationship between them, and provide a criterion for distinguishing philosophical problems from the problems of other sciences. They often considered the subject of prime philosophy to be existent qua existent and assumed that its problems include predicates which are deemed to be among the essential accidents of pure existents. Therefore, the main criterion for identifying the problems of prime philosophy and distinguishing them from each other was introduced as follows: the predicates of those problems had to be essential accidents for absolute existents. Nevertheless, in reality, these philosophers discussed some problems the predicates of which did not follow this rule. A study of the works of Aristotle and Islamic philosophers reveals that the secret of this ambiguity is hidden in an approach according to which they firstly divided theoretical sciences into three categories: natural sciences, mathematics, and prime philosophy. Then, in reality, they transferred the problems that could not be discussed in the other two sciences to the domain of prime philosophy while the equivalence of their predicates with essential accidents for existent qua existent were questionable. The present paper aims to analyze and explain the above claims in detail based on reliable documents and arguments and disclose the main reason behind the lack of conformity between the problems and the subject of prime philosophy in the history of Islamic philosophy. Manuscript profile

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24 - “Gradation of Word” as the Philosophy of Language in Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist Wisdom
Mahmoud Reza Moradian

The main question advanced in this paper is as follows: Which specific criterion is used to distinguish the problems of prime philosophy from each other. Another related question here is whether Islamic philosophers really employ this criterion or not. A review of the w More

The main question advanced in this paper is as follows: Which specific criterion is used to distinguish the problems of prime philosophy from each other. Another related question here is whether Islamic philosophers really employ this criterion or not. A review of the works of Greek philosophers, particularly Aristotle, indicates that Aristotle’s words regarding the subject of prime philosophy are diverse and divided. It also reveals that the problems of prime philosophy have not been inferred and formulated with reference to a specific subject in an organized manner. In spite of the entrance of Greek philosophy and all its concomitants into the world of Islam, Islamic philosophers, especially Ibn Sina, tried to explain the subject of prime philosophy and its problems, dissect the relationship between them, and provide a criterion for distinguishing philosophical problems from the problems of other sciences. They often considered the subject of prime philosophy to be existent qua existent and assumed that its problems include predicates which are deemed to be among the essential accidents of pure existents. Therefore, the main criterion for identifying the problems of prime philosophy and distinguishing them from each other was introduced as follows: the predicates of those problems had to be essential accidents for absolute existents. Nevertheless, in reality, these philosophers discussed some problems the predicates of which did not follow this rule. A study of the works of Aristotle and Islamic philosophers reveals that the secret of this ambiguity is hidden in an approach according to which they firstly divided theoretical sciences into three categories: natural sciences, mathematics, and prime philosophy. Then, in reality, they transferred the problems that could not be discussed in the other two sciences to the domain of prime philosophy while the equivalence of their predicates with essential accidents for existent qua existent were questionable. The present paper aims to analyze and explain the above claims in detail based on reliable documents and arguments and disclose the main reason behind the lack of conformity between the problems and the subject of prime philosophy in the history of Islamic philosophy. Manuscript profile

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25 - Functions of Reason in the Field of Religion in the Views of Qadi Abd al-Jabbar Mu‘tazili and Abubakr Baqillani
Farzaneh Mustafapour

The present paper investigates the functions of reason in the realm of religion in the kalami thoughts of Qadi Abd al-Jabbar Mu‘tazili and Qadi Abubakr Baqillani following a descriptive-analytic method. In doing so, it compares and examines the rational approaches of bo More

The present paper investigates the functions of reason in the realm of religion in the kalami thoughts of Qadi Abd al-Jabbar Mu‘tazili and Qadi Abubakr Baqillani following a descriptive-analytic method. In doing so, it compares and examines the rational approaches of both thinkers to the interpretation of the Qur’an and applications of reason in inferring religious principles. The results of this study indicate that what distinguishes these two great figures from each other more than anything else is their approach to reason and the quality of its relationship with revelation. Qadi Abd al-Jabbar believes in the priority of reason and rational arguments and always resorts to reason as a tool for gaining knowledge in his kalami perception of religion. Sometimes, in cases where rational judgment is in contrast to the exoteric meaning of Qur’anic verses and traditions, he even gives the priority to reason with no reservation and firmly interprets or negates the validity of propositions which stand against reason. However, preferring tradition to the intellect and granting priority to the descended texts, including the Qur’an, traditions, and those on the acts of the Prophet’s companions are the most important epistemological principles of Baqillani. However, his philosophical system, in fact, marked the beginning of Ash‘arite kalam’s treatment of rational premises. The Ash‘arite considered rational principles to depend on beliefs and, thus, believed that it was first necessary to have faith in their content. Manuscript profile

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26 - سخن سردبير
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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27 - The Relationship between Ibn Sina and Peripatetic Philosophy (Historical Semantics of the Term “Peripatetic”)
Seyyed Mohammadali Dibaji

The term Peripatetic is used in contemporary philosophical literature to exclusively refer to the philosophical method of Aristotle, his followers, Ibn Sina, and a number of Muslim philosophers. On the other hand, Ibn Sina himself, who is considered to be the leader of More

The term Peripatetic is used in contemporary philosophical literature to exclusively refer to the philosophical method of Aristotle, his followers, Ibn Sina, and a number of Muslim philosophers. On the other hand, Ibn Sina himself, who is considered to be the leader of Peripatetic philosophers among Muslims, has advanced certain harsh criticisms against Peripatetics and denounced them. Presently, the questions that arise in this regard are as follows: Has Ibn Sina criticized Aristotle or his followers? If his criticism of Peripatetics are not related to Aristotle, does it equally target the Greek, Alexandrian, and Roman advocates of this school and the Peripatetics of Baghdad during the Islamic Period? Can we consider his criticism of the Peripatetics to be a reason for his deviation from the Peripatetic philosophy and turning to a kind of Oriental wisdom? In the present paper, while providing a historical and semantic review of the word “Peripatetic”, the author argues that three groups of Peripatetics (friends of Lyceum, Peripatetics of the third to sixth centuries, and the friends of the House of Wisdom) can be identified in the history of philosophy. Ibn Sina criticizes all the three groups, particularly the third one. Moreover, in his view, one can remove all the defects of the Peripatetic philosophy and then define its modified version in a way that everyone not only accepts it but also pays attention to and emphasizes it. This can be a good strategy for justifying the essence of his Oriental wisdom. Manuscript profile

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28 - An Analytic Study of the Background of the Growth of Philosophy in the Buyid Period
Ali Akbar Kajbaf Sae‘id Moa’kedi

Each field of science demands its own particular conditions for growth; likewise, philosophy is a science the seed of which does not come to fruition in all kinds of soil. The ups and downs of the growth of philosophy in the history of Iran testify to this fact. During More

Each field of science demands its own particular conditions for growth; likewise, philosophy is a science the seed of which does not come to fruition in all kinds of soil. The ups and downs of the growth of philosophy in the history of Iran testify to this fact. During the Buyid Era, this discipline experienced such a considerable growth in the writing and translation of related books and in the attention to philosophers and training philosophy students that one inevitably inquires about the underlying factors of this phenomenon. In order to provide an answer to this question, the authors of this article have explored and analyzed the background of the growth of philosophy in this historical period of Iran. The findings of this research, which was carried out following the descriptive-analytic method, indicate that various scientific-cultural and political-religious factors affected the trend of this growth both directly and indirectly. Here, the authors have tried to examine the influence of these factors over the growth of philosophy in the Buyid Period. Manuscript profile

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29 - Governance and Happiness in ‘Allamah Tabataba’i’s Political Thoughts
Abdolmotalleb ‘Abdollah

Happiness is one of the key terms used by philosophers, in general, and by Islamic sages, in particular. From ancient Greek philosophers to the thinkers advocating monotheistic religions and Islamic philosophers, all have dealt with the issue of human happiness. In the More

Happiness is one of the key terms used by philosophers, in general, and by Islamic sages, in particular. From ancient Greek philosophers to the thinkers advocating monotheistic religions and Islamic philosophers, all have dealt with the issue of human happiness. In the view of the majority of philosophers, the ultimate goal of politics and establishing a government is attaining happiness. However, this concept has been defined differently by different thinkers. In this paper, the author has tried to explore the place of happiness in the philosophy of ‘Allamah Tabataba’i, the distinguished contemporary philosopher and interpreter of the Qur’an. In his view, a society attains happiness when it moves in the line of human primordial nature (fitrah) and the system of creation. A religion which has been sanctioned by God is the extension of a detailed primordial nature which exists in our nature. Thus religion – Islam – is the criterion for distinguishing faith and good deed. Accordingly, a society will attain worldly and otherworldly happiness if it is ruled by a religion which conforms to Man’s primordial nature. Manuscript profile

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30 - A Historical Study of the Origins of the Problem of Method in Western Philosophy and its Reflection on the Methodologies of Descartes and Spinoza
Hossein Saberi Varzaneh

The present paper deals with the background and causes of the rise of the problem of method and its importance in the 17th century, particularly, in Descartes and Spinoza. The criticisms advanced against the different aspects of Aristotelian philosophy (such as the disc More

The present paper deals with the background and causes of the rise of the problem of method and its importance in the 17th century, particularly, in Descartes and Spinoza. The criticisms advanced against the different aspects of Aristotelian philosophy (such as the discussion of the universals, the re-emergence of Pyrrhonian skepticism, functionalism in sciences, and the development of exact sciences) wavered the foundations of previous philosophical schools and gave rise to discussions regarding the criteria for the truth and the correct methods of thinking. As a result, some logicians such as Zabarella and Eutyches decided to revise Aristotelian logic and began speaking of methods of analysis and synthesis, definition processes, and the cohesion and coherence of matters of discussion. Following the same tradition and, of course, under the influence of Aristotle’s critics, Descartes and Spinoza advocated the geometric method of analysis and synthesis. In this way, they tried to provide a guarantee for the truth of their words and transform the infertility of the Aristotelian categorical syllogism into an invaluable, fertile, and methodic kind of thinking. Manuscript profile

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31 - Muslims’ Knowledge of Buddhism: A Study of the Early Islamic Texts and some Evidence from the Pre-Islamic Period
Muhammad Reza ‘Adli

In early Islamic texts, no accurate and clear description of Buddhist thoughts and teachings has been provided, and most of the related statements in such texts are very general and incomplete. In most sources, some beliefs or acts are attributed to Buddhists which are More

In early Islamic texts, no accurate and clear description of Buddhist thoughts and teachings has been provided, and most of the related statements in such texts are very general and incomplete. In most sources, some beliefs or acts are attributed to Buddhists which are either basically incorrect or not at all related to Buddhists but followed by other Indian religious sects. In order to find the reason behind this problem, one should refer to the pre-Islamic period and explore the dissemination of Buddhism in those regions which later turned to Islam. Apparently, a defective knowledge of Buddhist teachings is not restricted to the Islamic period; and it was also the same case at least in the western and central regions of Iran before Islam. However, in the eastern parts of Iran and alongside the Silk Route, there were some very important Buddhist centers. Nevertheless, after the rise of Islam, the Buddhist monasteries of these regions were gradually destroyed, and nothing remained from them except a vague memory. Accordingly, when Islamic historiographers decided to speak of Buddhism, they had access to no authentic sources. The present paper is intended to shed some light on the above issues. Manuscript profile

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32 - Substance in Modern Empiricism
Alireza Javanmardi Adib Mohammad Akvan

The epistemological approach to Empiricism in the Modern era is opposed to the rationalist approach of Descartes and his followers, who believed in the existence of certain innate ideas prior to experience in Man’s mind. The thinkers advocating this approach explored ra More

The epistemological approach to Empiricism in the Modern era is opposed to the rationalist approach of Descartes and his followers, who believed in the existence of certain innate ideas prior to experience in Man’s mind. The thinkers advocating this approach explored rationalists’ metaphysical problems through denying innate ideas and considering sense experience as the source of knowledge. The results of such investigations had nothing to say, even at their peak, about substance except when trying to deny it. Accordingly, given the process of the development of empiricism by the pioneers of this approach and its consequences, the authors of this paper have tried to deal with the following basic question: After accepting the specific reading of some empiricists such as Locke, Berkeley, and Hume from the process of attaining knowledge, would it be possible to accept the existence of substance? Here, the writers respond that, based on their studies of the above thinkers’ views of substance, the acceptance of substance is not consistent with empiricism. This is because substance is a meta-empirical entity which sense experience cannot grasp. What follows sense experience in the end is nothing but a collection of impressions which can never explain the existence of substance. Manuscript profile

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33 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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34 - Ethical Doctrines in Aristotle and Ibn Miskawayh Razi
Ali Mohammad Sajedi Hajar Darayitabar

Different schools of ethics have presented different doctrines in the field of ethics. Ethical doctrines include the premises, criteria, and referents of ethical acts. The differences between schools of ethics in their doctrines are rooted in their philosophical princip More

Different schools of ethics have presented different doctrines in the field of ethics. Ethical doctrines include the premises, criteria, and referents of ethical acts. The differences between schools of ethics in their doctrines are rooted in their philosophical principles. The ethical schools of both Ibn Miskawayh and Aristotle are virtualistic. Ibn Miskawayh believes that the most important prerequisites for ethical acts are self-knowledge, education, and training. Both thinkers explain the criteria for ethical acts relying on the principles of free will, intellect, moderation, and religious laws and analyze their referents based on elements of virtue, joy, friendship, etc. However, given the different worldviews of these two philosophers, their ideas of any of the ethical elements and referents are also different. Unlike Aristotle, Ibn Miskawayh attaches great importance to Islamic laws in relation to his ethical views. Moreover, he is able to provide a more successful model of ethical doctrines based on his monotheistic worldview. Influenced by religious teachings, he also believes that religious training plays an influential and efficient role in ethical growth and development. This paper is intended to explore ethical doctrines by comparing the ideas of these two philosophers. Manuscript profile

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35 - Marsilius of Padua and the Roots of Legal Secularism in the Middle Ages
Yashar Jeirani Mostafa Younesie

The present paper deals with the possibility of propounding the concept of “legal secularism” in the ideas of Marsilius of Padua. All commentators of Marsilius have detected a preliminary form of secularism, that is, institutionalized secularism, in his works and those More

The present paper deals with the possibility of propounding the concept of “legal secularism” in the ideas of Marsilius of Padua. All commentators of Marsilius have detected a preliminary form of secularism, that is, institutionalized secularism, in his works and those of his contemporary scholars. This kind of secularism is opposed to the interference of the institution of the church as such in the field of politics. However, the same commentators have refused confirming a more advanced form of secularism in his works which is called legal secularism that is, one which is opposed to the interference of theological ideas as an official source with the laws. All commentators believe that this kind of secularism is rooted in the political philosophy of the modern period and, particularly, John Locke’s philosophy and maintain that attributing it to Marsilius is a kind of interpretive anachronism. Unlike the common theories, this paper aims to contradict this historistic interpretation of Marsilius’ political philosophy and, through analyzing his writings, demonstrate that his interpretation of faith as an inner and private affair can lead us toward a preliminary but clear form of legal secularism in his works. Manuscript profile

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36 - Philosophical Psychology in Islamic Kalam in the Sixth and Seventh Hijri Centuries
Akbar Faydei Sohrab Haqiqat

The philosophical psychology of Muslim thinkers in the sixth and seventh centuries (AH) was influenced by Ibn Sina’s discussions of the soul. However, the difference was that Ibn Sina tried to demonstrate only the immateriality of the rational faculty. Nevertheless, aft More

The philosophical psychology of Muslim thinkers in the sixth and seventh centuries (AH) was influenced by Ibn Sina’s discussions of the soul. However, the difference was that Ibn Sina tried to demonstrate only the immateriality of the rational faculty. Nevertheless, after him, some thinkers focused on interpreting the immateriality of all levels of perception in the soul. Following Ibn Sina, Nasir al-Din Tusi considered the rational soul to be a substance separate from matter as well as a simple and spiritually originated entity which, in the course of its development enjoys an administrative relation to the body. Based on the belief in the concomitance of immateriality and immortality, Tusi demonstrated the immateriality of all the perceptive levels and subsistence of rational souls by employing solid intellectual arguments. He also believes that the soul and body affect each other, and neither the corruption of the body nor any other factor can cause the annihilation of the simple and immaterial rational soul. However, Fakhr al-Din Razi has a dual theory of the nature of the soul and its relationship with the body. Sometimes, like Islamic philosophers, he views the soul as an immaterial substance drawing on Ibn Sina’s arguments in order to demonstrate its immateriality and, sometimes, like most Islamic mutakallimun, he introduces the soul as a subtle entity which dominates the body in the light of the power of Almighty God. Manuscript profile

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37 - A Study of Different Levels of Love in Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra’s Critique of his View
Mohsen Habibi Hossein Ataie

The problem of love has attracted the attention of philosophers since the beginning of its dawn. For example, in Greece, particularly in Plato’s works, the types and angles of this problem have been philosophically explored to a large extent. In the world of Islam, the More

The problem of love has attracted the attention of philosophers since the beginning of its dawn. For example, in Greece, particularly in Plato’s works, the types and angles of this problem have been philosophically explored to a large extent. In the world of Islam, the study of this theme, like other philosophical subjects, has undergone some changes in terms of its meaning and scope. Previously, the word love merely referred to the existence of great passion between two human beings. However, Islamic philosophers have changed it in their works into a vast concept which flows all over the world of being and permeates all existents. Ibn Sina has also paid particular attention to this problem in his works. In his view, any existent enjoys a level of love in accordance with its existential level ranging from hyle, which is pure potency, to the Essence of the Necessary Being, Who is pure perfection. After Ibn Sina, Mulla Sadra also dealt with the problem of love. Although he agrees with Ibn Sina regarding the overall flow of love all over the world of being, he considers the existence of life and knowledge to be a prerequisite for the realization of love. The main purpose of the present paper is to describe the different types and levels of love in Ibn Sina’s view. A secondary goal here is to cast a glance at Mulla Sadra’s ideas and criticisms of Ibn Sina in this regard Manuscript profile

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38 - Classification of Sciences in Ikhwan al-Safa and Farabi
Seyyed Ahmad Hosseinee Mehdi Amiri

Although many philosophers have spoken of the classification of sciences, none have referred to a single one agreed upon by all. Here, both the source of division and the divisions are different from each other in each classification, when classifying sciences, Ikhwan a More

Although many philosophers have spoken of the classification of sciences, none have referred to a single one agreed upon by all. Here, both the source of division and the divisions are different from each other in each classification, when classifying sciences, Ikhwan al-Safa consider pure types of knowledge and, initially, divide them into two theoretical and practical arts. However, Farabi divides scientific rather than pure types of knowledge and classifies them into two instrumental and non-instrumental sciences based on their functions. In the classification of Ikhwan al-Safa, drawing on the neo-Platonic approach, the place of the soul, politics, logic, and ethics are different from that in the classification of the Peripatetics, such as Farabi. The most important basis for classification of sciences in the view of Ikhwan al-Safa is the end. Nevertheless, similar to Aristotle, Farabi relies on two main criteria for the classification of sciences: end and subject. This paper, in addition to examining the differences between Ikhwan al-Safa and Farabi in their classification of sciences, discusses the specific place of some of sciences from their points of view. Manuscript profile

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39 - Principle of the Identity of Quiddity and Existence in the Truth in Islamic Tradition and Greek Philosophy
Huda Habibimanesh Shamsollah Seraj

The problem of the identity of existence and quiddity in Almighty Necessary has been referred to as the identity of existence and quiddity in the Truth in the works of Muslim philosophers and is dealt with as a philosophical principle. The great figures of Islamic philo More

The problem of the identity of existence and quiddity in Almighty Necessary has been referred to as the identity of existence and quiddity in the Truth in the works of Muslim philosophers and is dealt with as a philosophical principle. The great figures of Islamic philosophy have provided different interpretations of this principle and derived various consequences from it. Undoubtedly, the ideas of Greek philosophers and the teachings of Islam have played a significant role in the development of this principle by Muslim philosophers. The present paper intends to analyze the roots and origins of this principle, and it appears that a conceptual analysis of the technical terms used there could help researchers to derive better and more profound conclusions from this principle. Manuscript profile

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40 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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41 - Origin of Iranian Philosophy
A‘ala Torani Fariba Rokhdad

Perhaps we can never exactly and positively decide where and among which people science and philosophy came into being for the first time. Neither can we fully explain how they were developed. However, what we know for certain is that they cannot have had a specific bir More

Perhaps we can never exactly and positively decide where and among which people science and philosophy came into being for the first time. Neither can we fully explain how they were developed. However, what we know for certain is that they cannot have had a specific birthplace. We should never assume that a particular group of people or nation created and developed philosophy; nevertheless we can discuss which nation or people took the first steps in expanding, spreading, and promoting this invaluable field of knowledge. During the last one or two centuries, researchers and Orientologists have written different books on philosophy and the cradles of knowledge and thought which often seem to be quite subjective. Most of these thinkers have tried to introduce Greece and Europe as the origin of science and philosophy. If we wish to make a fair judgment, we should say that they made this mistake perhaps because they had no access to any of the written sources regarding the brilliant scientific achievements of the East and Middle East. However, there are several historical proofs and documents indicating that some of the well-known Greek scientists and scholars travelled to Egypt, India, Babylon, and Iran and returned to Greece with a great treasure of science, philosophy, gnosis, and illumination. There are also some authentic sources acknowledging that some philosophers such as Pythagoras and Socrates studied under the Iranian magi. Therefore, the magi philosophy of the Media in the land of Iran played a significant role in the history of philosophy and the science and gnosis of the different nations of the East and the West in the World. Some of the philosophers, such as Ostanes, Gobrias, Pazatus, and Astrampsychos, who were famous as Khosrawani philosophers or Persian sages played an important part in transferring Iranians’ knowledge to the whole world. Accordingly, this paper deals with two of these philosophers, namely, Ostanes and Gobrias. Manuscript profile

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42 - Origin of Islamic Philosophy
Ghasem Purhassan

The question of the nature of Islamic philosophy has triggered an extremely important conflict over a very long time. The quality of dealing with this question can play a determining role in our approach towards Islamic philosophy. Generally speaking, there are three ap More

The question of the nature of Islamic philosophy has triggered an extremely important conflict over a very long time. The quality of dealing with this question can play a determining role in our approach towards Islamic philosophy. Generally speaking, there are three approaches in this regard each deserving due attention and critical analysis. The first approach emphasizes the Greek origin of Islamic philosophy and considers it to be the extension of a philosophy which is called the Greek tradition. Advocates of this approach claim that all the philosophical trends in all periods have originated in or been influenced by Greek philosophy and must be studied in the light of the theory of linear continuity. According to this view, the assumption that rational thought has its origins in Iran, India, or China and also Babylon and Mesopotamia or Egypt is not much valid. The second approach insists that Islamic philosophy has no referent at all. The followers of this approach believe that, basically, all religious philosophies lack any kind of referent. They maintain that if we believe in Islamic philosophy, we will encounter some intricacies such as sacredness, contradiction, text interpretation, and the lack of growth and expansion of philosophy. This group claims that if we support the existence of Islamic philosophy, it would necessarily entail sacredness, and then any criticism of this kind of philosophy would be equal to a criticism of religion. However, this necessity is false. Regarding the problem of contradiction, it is claimed that it is not possible to reconcile the Qur’anic and traditional view of philosophy with that of the Greeks. Hence, the Greek view of happiness is in contrast to the Qur’anic one. The third approach emphasizes that Islamic philosophy is the expansion of Greek philosophy, and if we fail to provide a correct interpretation of their commensurability, we can never present a correct explanation of the nature of Islamic philosophy and its essential differences from Greek philosophy. That the number of philosophical problems in Greece was limited to 200 but increased to 700 during the Islamic period does not by itself provide a correct description of the nature of Islamic philosophy. Neither can it justify the Islamic nature of this kind of philosophy or defend it convincingly. The main point here is that the origin of Islamic philosophy is not Greek philosophy; rather, it is rooted in the Qur’anic verses, prophetic traditions, and religious prayers and texts. One cannot discuss the religious origin of Islamic philosophy based on the theory of the expansion of philosophical problems. There is a fundamental difference between a theory which considers Islamic philosophy to be rooted in Greece and limits the efforts of Muslim philosophers merely to increasing the number of philosophical topics and problems or adding variety to the related arguments or modifying or increasing them and a theory which asserts that Muslims, before becoming familiar with Greek philosophy, had already turned to rational thought. In doing so, they gradually set out to benefit from the philosophical knowledge of other nations and countries, particularly and mainly from that of Iranians, Indians, and Greeks. Therefore, the present paper intends to demonstrate that Islamic philosophy is rooted in the Qur’an and traditions. Manuscript profile

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43 - Theory of Continuity in Stoic Physics
Mohammad Javad Esmaeili Sina Masheyekhi

This paper investigates the theory of continuity in Stoic physics based on some concepts such as pneuma (the soul), hexis (disposition), and tonos (tension) and refers to its consequences. Moreover, it demonstrates that Stoic philosophers have provided an organized anal More

This paper investigates the theory of continuity in Stoic physics based on some concepts such as pneuma (the soul), hexis (disposition), and tonos (tension) and refers to its consequences. Moreover, it demonstrates that Stoic philosophers have provided an organized analysis of the relationships among the animate and inanimate components of nature. This issue in Stoic physics is based on the theory of lack of vacuum in nature and its component parts. This theory connects the active elements in nature – God and the rational faculty – with the passive elements – non-organic nature. Therefore, through an analysis of the natural principles of Stoic philosophy, this paper initially explains the active element in physics, i.e. pneuma, and its various forms in nature including: a) its highest form or the rational faculty in human beings; b) its weaker form or hexis in the non-organic nature. Then it deals with the concept of continuity based on pneuma and demonstrates it empirically. Finally, it compares the theory of continuity based on Muslim philosophers’ interpretation of Stoic philosophy. Manuscript profile

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44 - Iranian Culture and Philosophy in the View Eudoxus of Cnidus
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari Mohammad Sadiq Rezaee

Today, perhaps no one doubts the influence of Iranian thought and culture on Greek philosophy. This is because, apart from the existence of several historical documents and pieces of evidence in this regard, some extensive studies have also been conducted on this issue More

Today, perhaps no one doubts the influence of Iranian thought and culture on Greek philosophy. This is because, apart from the existence of several historical documents and pieces of evidence in this regard, some extensive studies have also been conducted on this issue during the last two centuries. All the inscriptions and objects discovered in archeological excavations and the ancient reports and writings of the Greeks and Iranians confirm this cultural exchange and influence. However, there are still some unanswered questions regarding the quality of this influence or adaptation and, particularly, the mediators playing a role in this process. Obviously, in historical studies, it is impossible or very difficult to have access to all the details. For example, it is not really easy to provide a straightforward idea concerning the relationship between the Pythagorean philosophy and Khosrawani wisdom and the quality of the interactions between Persian philosophers and early Greek philosophers, particularly regarding the meanings of words in particular fields. However, the few existing pieces of evidence, especially those which enjoy the necessary validity and authenticity, could still be illuminating. Eudoxus of Cnidus is one of the few prominent figures of the fourth century BC who was, on the one hand, familiar with the pre-Socratic wisdom and, on the other hand, because of his presence in Plato’s Academy and acquaintance with Aristotle, was aware of the classical philosophies developed after Socrates and Plato. He was a student of the Pythagorean School, thus he is mainly famous for his knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. Nevertheless, this paper demonstrates that he not only was greatly interested in the fields of philosophy and cosmology but also functioned as the main reporter of the elements of Iranian culture and philosophy for the members of Academy and as the bridge connecting these two centers of civilization. Manuscript profile

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45 - The Place of the Prophet in Ibn Sina’s Ideal City
Mohammad Akvan Fatemeh Mohammad

As a divine philosopher, Ibn Sina has dealt with politics in his metaphysical discussions. Apparently, he has not written an independent work on politics and has considered it to be a part of practical wisdom. In his view, the prophet represents the “ideal ruler” and re More

As a divine philosopher, Ibn Sina has dealt with politics in his metaphysical discussions. Apparently, he has not written an independent work on politics and has considered it to be a part of practical wisdom. In his view, the prophet represents the “ideal ruler” and revelation and tradition represent the law. Since, before him, Farabi has discussed politics extensively in his al-Siyasah al-madaniyyah (Civil Politics), Ibn Sina does not see any need to provide more explanations in this regard and deals with this field in short without presenting the details. However, he has discussed the quality of choosing a leader and devising laws for his utopia extensively. In fact, he has completed the same prophetic politics that Farabi had initiated previously. The present paper briefly deals with Ibn Sina’s political system in order to clarify the place of the prophet in the hierarchy of his utopia. In this way, the quality of establishing a utopia based on the “definitive text” as the best method of electing a ruler is clearly illustrated. Moreover, the authors demonstrate how the nature of Ibn Sina’s view of the caliphate and the Prophet’s successor bring him closer to the Imamiyyah political philosophy. Manuscript profile

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46 - Philosophy based on Mulla Sadra’s Philosophy
Ali Arshad Riyahi Somayeh Malleki

Thomas Aquinas’s system of philosophy is of such undeniable significance to Christian philosophers as is Mulla Sadra’s to Islamic philosophers. What is of prime importance to both of them is the notion of existence, while most western philosophers preceding Aquinas and More

Thomas Aquinas’s system of philosophy is of such undeniable significance to Christian philosophers as is Mulla Sadra’s to Islamic philosophers. What is of prime importance to both of them is the notion of existence, while most western philosophers preceding Aquinas and some of the Islamic philosophers before Mulla Sadra believed in quiddity. Aquinas completely acknowledged the priority of the act of existence to essence, and Mulla Sadra, too, advocated the principiality of existence. In this paper, the authors have tried to explore the possibility of Thomas Aquinas’ belief in the principiality of existence based on Mulla Sadra’s philosophy. They also inquire whether, as claimed by Étienne Gilson and other well-known commentators of Aquinas’ works and ideas, one can consider him to be an advocate of the principiality of existence. This problem is of great significance because, today, Aquinas is a thinker with the greatest number of supporters in the West, where we are witnessing the emergence of new schools of philosophy at all times. Therefore, the study of whether one of the most important interpretations of this thinker’s theories is false might increase the significance of the topic of this research. In doing so, following the library method and given the interpretations and analyses of the contents of the works of these two philosophers, the authors conclude that Aquinas has discussed nothing but the addition of existence to quiddity, which has also been propounded in Ibn Sina’s works. Therefore, he cannot be considered to be a supporter of the principiality of existence in comparison to Mulla Sadra. Manuscript profile

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47 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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48 - The Purple Philosopher: Life, Thoughts, and Writings of Porphyry
Mehdi ‘Azimi

Porphyry or porphyries (meaning clad in purple) is the name of one of the most prominent exponents of Neo-Platonic Philosophy. Both the philosopher himself and his school exercised an undeniable influence over Islamic philosophy in the past. His doctrine of the five uni More

Porphyry or porphyries (meaning clad in purple) is the name of one of the most prominent exponents of Neo-Platonic Philosophy. Both the philosopher himself and his school exercised an undeniable influence over Islamic philosophy in the past. His doctrine of the five universals can be seen in the preface of all logical books of the Islamic period in a more analytic and extensive fashion. His theory of the union of the intellect and the intelligible was first degraded by Ibn Sina and then accepted and expanded by Mulla Sadra. Becoming God-like as the end of ethics was a doctrine which Porphyry had borrowed from his master Plotinus, and which Muslim thinkers unanimously accepted. Moreover, a taint of Porphyry’s belief in transmigration can be observed in some of the words of Farabi and Ibn Sina. However, both of them rejected the Greeks’ idea of transmigration. Porphyry placed logic at the top of the educational system of the Neo-Platonic School, which influenced Muslim Neo-Platonists’ attention to logic. He believed in the fundamental agreement between Plato, Aristotle, and perennial philosophy, both of which clearly affected Farabi’s ideas in particular. Manuscript profile

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49 - Hermes in Manichaeism and its Impact on Suhrawardi’s Thoughts
Seyyedeh Behnaz Hosseini

One of the most important consequences of the encounter of the two ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations in Alexandria was the development of a rational school of thought called Hermeticism, which derives its name from the person to whom it is attributed. Later, this More

One of the most important consequences of the encounter of the two ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations in Alexandria was the development of a rational school of thought called Hermeticism, which derives its name from the person to whom it is attributed. Later, this school managed to exercise a huge influence over the western world and then over the Islamic world. Some Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosophers, particularly in the Middle Ages, believed that Hermes was the founder of all sciences. The number of thinkers and scholars who were influenced by Hermetic ideas was not small and, in fact, we must say that they were mostly affected by Hermeticism through their study of Islamic books. During the Renaissance, the western thinkers’ attention to this school of thought did not decline and, generally speaking, the Hermetic School, which promoted a particular philosophy concerning the world and nature, greatly influenced both western and Islamic civilizations. Accordingly, a study of the ideas and origins of this school could be illuminating in inferring the essential features of the intellectual life of the world of Islam and Christianity. The important effects of this rational school are also manifested in Islamic philosophy, particularly in Illuminationist philosophy. The belief in heavenly guidance, which is also called “Perfect Nature”, is the same ideas that we see in Manichean writings in China and the rest of them in the Coptic language. The Manicheans also believed in a truth similar to “Perfect Nature” and called it the “Great Vohu Mana”. Manuscript profile

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50 - Historical Development of the Problem of Vaporous Spirit in Sadrian Philosophy
Mohammad Miri

The present paper is devoted to a historical study of some of the developments made by Mulla Sadra regarding the problem of vaporous spirit. Since this spirit is the mediator of the soul’s administration of the corporeal body, he assimilates it sometimes to cloud – whic More

The present paper is devoted to a historical study of some of the developments made by Mulla Sadra regarding the problem of vaporous spirit. Since this spirit is the mediator of the soul’s administration of the corporeal body, he assimilates it sometimes to cloud – which is a gnostic term, sometimes to a heavenly body, and sometimes to the “Throne” or the “Divine Seat”. This is because all of them share the quality of being the intermediary between their higher and lower levels and affect the process of transferring emanation and prudence from their higher worlds to their lower worlds. These similies of Mulla Sadra can be interpreted in line with the principle of the correspondence of the macrocosmos and the microcosmos. Some of these similies as well as his use of the above principle in discussing the vaporous spirit were unprecedented in the history of Islamic philosophy. Mulla Sadra’s other historical innovation was the idea of the gradedness of Man’s existence. In fact, based on his graded view of Man, he considers the vaporous spirit to be the intermediary between the imaginal level and the corporeal body. In this way, he explains the place of the vaporous spirit and its grades in the graded human existence. Accordingly, he solves the problem of establishing a relationship between the immaterial soul and the corporeal body by resorting to the vaporous spirit in a way to avoid the objection advanced against the Peripatetics in this regard. In the Sadrian view, the vaporous spirit is the main body of the soul, and the corporeal body is the sheath and cover of this spirit. Manuscript profile

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51 - The Effects of Philosophical Trends on Teaching Philosophy in Schools in the Safavid Era
Musa al-Riza Bakhshi Ostad

Not the same level of attention was paid to philosophy in schools in different periods of the Safavid era, and there were some ups and downs in this regard under the influence of the various philosophical and scientific trends dominating the society of that time. This p More

Not the same level of attention was paid to philosophy in schools in different periods of the Safavid era, and there were some ups and downs in this regard under the influence of the various philosophical and scientific trends dominating the society of that time. This paper examines the process of teaching philosophy in schools in two halves of the Safavid era based on historical sources while employing a descriptive-analytic method. During the first half of this era, because of the dominance of rationalism over schools, philosophy, alongside religious sciences, was the focus of great attention, as it was in the pre-Safavid era. We can observe the peak of its growth in the middle of the Safavid era in the philosophical School of Isfahan. However, in the second half of this era, particularly during its last decades, with the revival of the Akhbari school of thought or the school of the people of hadith, the teaching of the Shi‘ite traditions and hadith became prevalent in schools, and the teaching of philosophy in schools was very limited and suffered huge decline. For example, in some schools such as “Sultani” and “Maryam Beigum” in Isfahan they banned the teaching and learning of philosophy and placed it in the list of subversive sciences. Manuscript profile

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52 - Anthropomorphism and Transcendence in Ibn Arabi and Spinoza
Abdulrazzaq Hessamifar Pedram Pourmehran

Anthropomorphism and transcendence are related to the quality of Man’s perception of Divine Names and Attributes. The roots of this discussion can be traced back in divine revelation and holy books. In the world of Islam, the anthropomorphic and transcendental verses of More

Anthropomorphism and transcendence are related to the quality of Man’s perception of Divine Names and Attributes. The roots of this discussion can be traced back in divine revelation and holy books. In the world of Islam, the anthropomorphic and transcendental verses of the Qur’an have provided the context for several discussions among Muslim mutikallimun. During the Christian Middle Ages, the Holy Book and the thoughts of the philosophers of that period concerning affirmative and negative methods of knowing God promoted some debates about the Divine Attributes. Ibn Arabi and Spinoza are two philosophers from two different philosophical traditions: one is an intuitive gnosis and the other is a rationalist philosopher; however, both of them deal with the knowledge of God and His Names and Attributes based on a monistic approach. Moreover, both of them follow the same approach to anthropomorphism and transcendence and believe in them. In the present paper, the writers initially present the ideas of Ibn Arabi and Spinoza about anthropomorphism and transcendence and then proceed to analyze and compare them. Manuscript profile

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53 - From God as the Truth to the Principiality of Existence
Mahmoud Zera‘atpisheh

The “principiality of existence” is considered to be a preliminary and fundamental discussion in the Transcendent Philosophy. It is a discussion in which supporting existence versus quiddity has provided the context for ontological philosophizing. This paper aims to sho More

The “principiality of existence” is considered to be a preliminary and fundamental discussion in the Transcendent Philosophy. It is a discussion in which supporting existence versus quiddity has provided the context for ontological philosophizing. This paper aims to show the root of this issue in a discussion in Ibn Sina’s works in which the attribute of “Truth” is demonstrated for God. A careful study of this discussion and comparing it with the issue of the principiality of existence in the Transcendent Philosophy reveals the profound interaction between them. Undoubtedly, the Qur’anic beliefs of Islamic philosophers have influenced the development of the discussion of God as the Truth in Ibn Sina’s works. The same beliefs have resulted in the expansion of this subject so that it has emerged in the form of an independent discussion entitled the principiality of existence in the Transcendent Philosophy. Manuscript profile

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54 - A Comparative Study of the Concept of Generation and Corruption in Aristotle and Ibn Sina
Asghar Salimi Naveh

The treatise On Generation and Corruption is one of the treatises on nature which Aristotle wrote in about 347-335 BC. This treatise consists of two books: in the first one, Aristotle introduces generation and corruption as two basic properties of sublunary bodies. The More

The treatise On Generation and Corruption is one of the treatises on nature which Aristotle wrote in about 347-335 BC. This treatise consists of two books: in the first one, Aristotle introduces generation and corruption as two basic properties of sublunary bodies. The other properties of sublunary bodies include transformation, growth and shrinking, contact, action and interaction, and mixing, which are completely distinct from each other in Aristotle’s view. He rejects absolute generation and corruption and criticizes Empedocles’ theory of equating them with transformation. The second book is mainly devoted to a profound investigation of the four primary elements (water, earth, air, and fire), their nature, and the quality of their changing into each other. Aristotle believes that these elements come into being in a cyclical fashion and none is prior to the other. Ibn Sina divided the existents of the world into four groups of intellects or angels, angelic souls, spherical bodies, and the bodies of the world of generation and corruption. He matched the ontological distinction between immaterial beings and those beings which are coupled with matter and are subject to generation and corruption with the astronomical distinction between the spheres and the sublunary world. Ibn Sina followed Aristotle in this regard. In this paper, the authors analyze the concept of generation and corruption in bodies from the viewpoints of Aristotle and Ibn Sina. They also examine the extent of Aristotle’s influence over Ibn Sina concerning generation and corruption, as well as the latter’s innovations in this regard. Manuscript profile

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55 - A Comprehensive Critical-Comparative Analysis of Tusi’s Works on Ethics
Fereshteh Abolhassani Niaraki

This paper presents a critical-comparative analysis of Tusi’s writings on ethics. Research on various dimensions of his ethical theory requires a comprehensive knowledge of his works. Therefore, prior to any study of his works on ethics, it is necessary to critically an More

This paper presents a critical-comparative analysis of Tusi’s writings on ethics. Research on various dimensions of his ethical theory requires a comprehensive knowledge of his works. Therefore, prior to any study of his works on ethics, it is necessary to critically analyze them and compare them with each other. Moreover, it is also a must to identify Tusi’s contribution to research on ethics among his written works. It is not possible to provide an extensive report of all of his works in various fields in this paper; therefore, the writer has contented herself with referring to those books, treatises, and articles that he exclusively wrote on ethics including some scattered discussions of this field. Moreover, because of the importance of Tusi’s independent works on ethics, the writer has also referred to the date of each work, the purpose behind writing it, the approach of the work, the structure, method, and references used in writing it, its publication status, its place in the history of ethical works, its bibliography, the ethical school it represents, and its Table of Contents following an analytic-critical approach. This paper also examines the relationship between Tusi’s ethical writings, particularly his three important works including Akhlaq-e Muhtashami, Akhlaq-e Nasiri, and Awsaf al-ashraf. Manuscript profile

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56 - Happiness in the Views of Aristotle and Ibn Miskawayh Razi
Ali Mohammad Sajedi Hajar Darayitabar

The question of the concept and referent of “happiness” is rooted in Man’s nature. A comparison of the ideas of two authorities in this field, one from ancient Greece and the other from among the Islamic philosophers who were contemporary with Ibn Sina, is of great impo More

The question of the concept and referent of “happiness” is rooted in Man’s nature. A comparison of the ideas of two authorities in this field, one from ancient Greece and the other from among the Islamic philosophers who were contemporary with Ibn Sina, is of great importance in appreciating the innovations of Muslim thinkers in comparison to those of Greek thinkers in various fields of philosophy. This short paper, which is based on an analytic-comparative study, after explaining the philosophical and ethical principles of each of these two schools, inquires into the similarities and differences between their ideas concerning happiness. Aristotle defined the theory of virtue and happiness based on the concept of “golden mean” with reference to some components such as the intellect, joy, and friendship. However, given his non-monotheistic view of God and the world and heedlessness of resurrection, he was not capable of providing a successful model for the concept and referent of happiness. In contrast, Ibn Miskawayh tries to explain the same concepts on the basis of the knowledge of the soul, the intellect, and the divine rule in the light of his monotheistic worldview. He divides happiness into two worldly and other-worldly types and introduces divine proximity as the true referent of happiness. Both of them define happiness as the transcendent good (supreme good); however, since the basic principles of their ethical philosophies are different from each other, their philosophical concomitants are also different from each other. Manuscript profile

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57 - Farabi and his Distinction between Existence and Quiddity
Ghasem Purhassan

One of the innovations of Farabi and Islamic philosophy is the theory of the distinction between existence and quiddity. This view was merely developed in the light of understanding the meaning of the reality of being. Islamic philosophers, particularly Farabi and Ibn S More

One of the innovations of Farabi and Islamic philosophy is the theory of the distinction between existence and quiddity. This view was merely developed in the light of understanding the meaning of the reality of being. Islamic philosophers, particularly Farabi and Ibn Sina, because of their epistemological rupture with Greek tradition, sought to understand being differently from Aristotle and, in a way, abstained from reducing the question of being to the question of the whatness of objects. In addition to a conceptual and logical distinction, Farabi managed to develop and present an ontological distinction in the field of philosophy. Ibn Sina expanded it so vastly that some might consider this theory as one of his own philosophical achievements. After the problem of the evidence and principliality of existence, the quality of the relationship between existence and quiddity turned out to be one of the most important discussions in Islamic philosophy. At the beginning, under the influence of dividing being into necessary and possible types, Muslim philosophers tried to explain the fundamental difference between them through explaining the relationship between quiddity and existence. As a result, they considered two propositions as the basis of two interpretations of existence and the explanation of its relationship with quiddity. The theory of the synthetic nature of quiddative existents in terms of their existence and quiddity, the existence’s being superadded or accidental to quiddity, and the distinction between existence and quiddity in existents are the views that emerged in Islamic philosophy with Farabi and gradually came to the fore as the most important discussions concerning existence. Furthermore, Farabi’s discussion concerning the individuation of quiddities and the criterion for individuation, which was later accepted by all Islamic philosophers and emphasized by them, was developed under the influence of the above theories. In this paper, the writer has initially tried to provide a correct understanding of the theory of distinction through clarifying its fundamental bases. Then he has clarified its ontological and philosophical consequences and highlighted the importance of this theory in Islamic philosophy. Such an explanation necessitates an extensive investigation of Farabi’s ideas about existence, the meaning of existence, and the existence-quiddity relation. Manuscript profile

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58 - سخن سردبير
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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59 - A Comparison of two Types of Autonomous and Revelation-Based Rationalism in Abu Hatam Razi and Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya Razi’s Debate
Ahad Faramarz Qaramaleki ‘Abas Ali Mansory

The studies on the development of the rationalist trend in the world of Islam usually discuss the challenges of rationalist groups with exoteric groups, including Ash‘ari mutikallimun and Sufists rather than compare or analyze the trends defending reason. Among such tre More

The studies on the development of the rationalist trend in the world of Islam usually discuss the challenges of rationalist groups with exoteric groups, including Ash‘ari mutikallimun and Sufists rather than compare or analyze the trends defending reason. Among such trends, the two autonomous and revelation-based rationalist groups play more influential roles. The reason is that it is in the dialog between these two groups that the mutual dependence of reason and religion on each other is revealed. Here, the dialog moves away from a sectarian debate and comes closer to real conversations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the favorable and unfavorable ideas of Abu Hatam Razi, Ahmad Ibn Hamdan (d. 322 AH), and Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya Razi (d. 313 AH) regarding two kinds of rationalism, namely, autonomous and revelation-based, in the third and fourth centuries, respectively. This period is of great importance in the history of Islamic philosophy because during which different philosophical debates and schools emerged and various theories and boundaries were developed. Reducing the difference of the rationalism of Abu Hatam and Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya Razi to their belief or disbelief in the necessity of prophethood is the outcome of an extremely superficial comparison which does not explain the components and nature of their rationalism. The present paper aims to inquire into the main roots of this difference and provide a clear picture of their rationalistic methods and epistemological systems. Manuscript profile

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60 - A Critical Evaluation of Hegel’s Reading of the Origin of Heraclitus’ Doctrines
Dariush Darvishy

At the beginning of the modern period, German philosophy turned its eyes, more than to any other philosophical traditions, to Greek philosophy and borrowed its most fundamental principles from this school. This Hellenistic tradition in German philosophy, on the one hand More

At the beginning of the modern period, German philosophy turned its eyes, more than to any other philosophical traditions, to Greek philosophy and borrowed its most fundamental principles from this school. This Hellenistic tradition in German philosophy, on the one hand, granted a new depth to these teachings and, on the other hand, resulted in some misunderstandings about Greek philosophy. This paper is intended to formulate one of the most well-known of such misunderstandings. This misunderstanding is rooted in the bases of Heraclitus’ teachings. Some ancient philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, who studied Heraclitus’ book, believed that the doctrine of motion was the basis of all his other doctrines. This was the case while Hegel, at a time when German modern philosophy was at its height of development, tried to bring his philosophy into harmony with Heraclitus’ doctrines. However, since it was impossible, he brought Heraclitus’ doctrines into harmony with the fundamental principles of his own philosophy. For example, he considered the basis of this early philosopher’s philosophy to be, not the doctrine of motion, but the identity of opposites. This reading of Hegel was soon accepted by some of researchers of Greek philosophy. In this paper, the writer has tried to demonstrate that a return to an ancient reading of the basis of Heraclitus’ philosophy is much more justified than accepting a Hegelian reading of the nature of its fundamental principles. Manuscript profile

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61 - A Comparison of Farabi’s Logico-Linguistic Theories with the Principles and Theories of Contemporary Linguistics
Mahmoud Reza Moradian

The main purpose of the present article is to compare the logico-linguistic theories of Farabi with contemporary linguistic principles and theories. To this end, the writers initially review the history of the development of linguistics and its turning into an independe More

The main purpose of the present article is to compare the logico-linguistic theories of Farabi with contemporary linguistic principles and theories. To this end, the writers initially review the history of the development of linguistics and its turning into an independent discipline. Then they introduce the most common fields and theories in contemporary linguistics. Finally, they compare Farabi’s logico-linguistic theories with more recent linguistic concepts and theories. Ten centuries ago, Farabi referred to linguistics as one of the sciences of his time and introduced certain fields, principles, and theories for it which bear amazing similarity to contemporary linguistic theories from several aspects. Moreover, in the science of the laws of singular words, which is the third part of his seven-part science of language, he studies letters, sounds, and words as discussed in the phonology and morphology of today. In the science of compound words (fourth part of his language science), he examines the syntactic structure of sentences and their components. His theories in this regard bear a strange similarity to Chomsky’s phrase structure grammar. By distinguishing grammar or syntax from logic, Farabi established a relationship between them which could be illuminating to the philosophers, logicians, and grammarians following him concerning some of the theories of contemporary linguistics such as the theory of the universal grammar and its principles and parameters, the theory of the language acquisition device and its innateness, and the theory of surface and deep structures. His ideas about syntax and logic and their relationship is extremely innovative and useful, and some clear traces about certain modern theories such as the concept of the phonological surface structure and semantic deep structure of sentences and the theory of the innateness of language can be found therein. This paper explains Farabi’s theories and their relationship with modern linguistic theories in order to reveal some aspects of the genius, breadth of knowledge, academic certitude, and magnanimity of this prominent Iranian and Islamic scientist, philosopher, and linguist following a scientific method. Manuscript profile

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62 - Understanding of Truth in Pre-Socratic Philosophers
Sa‘id Shapouri

The pre-Socratic philosophy of ancient Greece begins with Milesian philosophers and their search for the origin and arche of the world. By stating that nature likes to hide itself, Heraclitus was the first thinker who tried to learn about the truth. Parmenides was also More

The pre-Socratic philosophy of ancient Greece begins with Milesian philosophers and their search for the origin and arche of the world. By stating that nature likes to hide itself, Heraclitus was the first thinker who tried to learn about the truth. Parmenides was also one of the most important thinkers who, in his quest for understanding the truth, explained the way towards attaining it by showing the ways of opinion and truth in his instructional poem. Continuing the trend of pre-Socratic philosophy, the materialist Anaxagoras did not add anything to this perception of the truth; however, he mentioned that, due to their weak senses, human beings are not capable of identifying the truth. Atomists, too, did not add anything to previous ideas more than saying that the truth is hidden in a whirlpool, and we know nothing about it. All these ideas finally reach a common point by concluding that the understanding of the truth has always coupled with such words as physis, lethe, and aletheia. Manuscript profile

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63 - سخن سردبیر
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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64 - The Body-Soul Relation in the Transcendent Philosophy and Ibn Arabi’s School
Mohammad Miri

There are several similarities between the philosophical view of the Transcendent Philosophy and the gnostic view of Ibn Arabi’s school of the quality of the body-soul relation. Both of them, based on certain considerations, believe in the oneness of the body and soul. More

There are several similarities between the philosophical view of the Transcendent Philosophy and the gnostic view of Ibn Arabi’s school of the quality of the body-soul relation. Both of them, based on certain considerations, believe in the oneness of the body and soul. At the same time, while accepting the existence of a huge gap between the rational soul and corporeal body, they emphasize that the existence of the steam-like spirit is not enough to establish the body-soul relation and argue that the existence of an Ideal body and level, which stands between the steam-like spirit and rational soul, is necessary for this relation to be realized. Accordingly, based on the views of both schools, the intellectual and rational soul possesses three bodies which appear alongside each other vertically. That is, it first belongs to the Ideal body, then to the steam-like spirit, and then to corporeal body. In other words, the rational soul administers the corporeal body through two intermediaries, namely, the Ideal body and the steam-like spirit. Moreover, both the Transcendent Philosophy and Ibn Arabi’s school explain the place of the rational soul, Ideal body, steam-like spirit, and corporeal body as the levels of the microcosm and the correspondence of each with the levels of macrocosm based on the principle of the “correspondence of macrocosm and microcosm”. Manuscript profile

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65 - Origin in Shankara’s School
Seyyed Zia al-Din Hosseini Mohammad Reza Asadi

The present paper deals with Shankara’s view of the Origin. Many Indian thinkers and Indologists believe that Shankara is the greatest Indian philosopher. According to him, some of the Upanishads consider the Brahman as nirguna (unqualified), and some others consider it More

The present paper deals with Shankara’s view of the Origin. Many Indian thinkers and Indologists believe that Shankara is the greatest Indian philosopher. According to him, some of the Upanishads consider the Brahman as nirguna (unqualified), and some others consider it as saguna (qualified). Shankara himself maintains that Brahman is nirguna and considers it to be the main theme of the Upanishads. In the advaita sat-chit-ananda, Brahman is pure being, knowledge, and bliss. Nevertheless, in spite of this affirmative approach, we observe some negative arguments whereby the same attributes cannot be used to define the nature of Brahman deservedly. In this sense, Brahman is something beyond the mind and words. In Shankara’s system, Brahman is also referred to as Atman and the supreme self. It is also mentioned there that, in line with Maya’s teachings, there is in fact no existence and self except Brahman. Manuscript profile

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66 - Transition from Intellectual Philosophy to Esoteric Wisdom in the Ideas of Ikhwan al-Safa (An Analysis of Early Encounters of Muslim Thinkers with Philosophy)
Hasan Bolkhari Qehi

The present paper initially discusses and explores the early applications of philosophical terms and their meanings in Islamic culture. Then it clarifies the dominant approach followed by those Muslim thinkers who try to reconcile Shari‘ah with philosophy through using More

The present paper initially discusses and explores the early applications of philosophical terms and their meanings in Islamic culture. Then it clarifies the dominant approach followed by those Muslim thinkers who try to reconcile Shari‘ah with philosophy through using an acceptable concept in religion by resorting to the term hikmah (which is a purely Qur’anic term). This is an approach which managed to result in a kind of esoteric wisdom between the second and fourth centuries (AH) through employing such concepts as t’awil (interpretation) in the Qur’an and promoting the interest in piety and gnosis. Ikhwan al-Safa, who exercised a huge influence on the development of wisdom and philosophy in Islamic culture, are among the pioneers of the above approach. By composing a corpus of 54 Epistles, called Rasa’il, they took a great stride towards reconciling Shari‘ah with philosophy and explaining the concept of wisdom and, particularly, Batini wisdom. Here, following an analytic-historical approach, the writer performs a conceptual analysis of the two terms of philosophy and wisdom during the first period of the rise of philosophical thought in Islamic civilization. Besides, he deliberates on the efforts of Ikhwan al-Safa in order to reach a kind of esoteric wisdom, which is a synthesis of a completely philosophical and, at the same time, Qur’anic (and narrative) approach. This was an approach which inevitably advocated the unity of religion and philosophy in order to demonstrate such a synthesis. Manuscript profile

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67 - Psychology in Ibn Sina and Ibn Miskawayah
Seyyed Ahmad Hosseinee Maryam Gomari

The most important basis of Ibn Miskawayah’s philosophy of ethics is his psychology. In his discussions of ethics, he intends to introduce the exclusive characteristic of human beings; he demonstrates that there exists in Man something superior to the corporeal body, na More

The most important basis of Ibn Miskawayah’s philosophy of ethics is his psychology. In his discussions of ethics, he intends to introduce the exclusive characteristic of human beings; he demonstrates that there exists in Man something superior to the corporeal body, namely, the soul. By means of their rational soul, human beings can attain a transcendent life as befits the station of being a human. In order to present his view of the quality of Man’s access to happiness, Ibn Miskawayah initially proves the existence of the immaterial human soul and then explains its exclusive features. However, since a comparative study contributes to a better understanding of philosophical theories, the writers have introduced Ibn Miskawayah’s psychological theories in comparison to those of Ibn Sina. The present paper examines the concept of the soul in the views of these two distinguished philosophers and also refers to the whatness of the soul, existence, origination, the soul-body relation, and the faculties and subsistence of the soul. Manuscript profile

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68 - A Critical Study and Analysis of Kant’s Ideas concerning the Validity of Categorical Imperative based on Mulla Sadra’s View
Hossein Qasemi

The study of moral propositions and their nature has attracted the attention of philosophers since long ago. Whether these propositions enjoy sufficient flexibility in terms of content is one of the problems discussed in the field of philosophy of ethics. In the West, t More

The study of moral propositions and their nature has attracted the attention of philosophers since long ago. Whether these propositions enjoy sufficient flexibility in terms of content is one of the problems discussed in the field of philosophy of ethics. In the West, the modern philosopher, Kant, believed that moral propositions should enjoy a categorical nature. In his view, determining moral acts by any factor other than the “moral law” will result in subordinating them to the subjective will. His insistence on the validity of the categorical imperative originates in purifying practical wisdom from all empirical factors such as hedonism, sentimentalism, God’s Will, and intellectual perfection. Moreover, he sought the “end” and “good” in man’s nature. Accordingly, the law of ethics and the objective principle of act are introduced as the bases of the categorical imperative and, as a result, all other factors are invalidated. In other fields of philosophy, particularly, in Mulla Sadra’s philosophy, the emphasis on the categorical nature of moral judgments is seriously criticized. Mulla Sadra rejects not only Kant’s a priori interpretation of practical reason but also his interpretation of the good and the end. Alongside moral facts, Mulla Sadra speaks of individual and social differences and, as a result, accepts several levels of being in lower realms of human beings. All these plural beings affect the validity of particular and unnecessary judgments and challenge Kant’s categorical ideas. The present paper analyzes Kant’s view of the categorical imperative and, then, criticizes it relying on the philosophical ideas of Mulla Sadra and some of the commentators of Kant. Manuscript profile

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69 - Aristotelian Model of Defining Science
Mehdi Nazemi Ardakani Hamed Mustafawi Fard

Thematic distinction is the oldest method of distinguishing sciences from each other, so that some believe that it is the only method used for this purpose. Taftazani and Lahiji claim that mutikallimun are unanimous that different sciences can be essentially distinguish More

Thematic distinction is the oldest method of distinguishing sciences from each other, so that some believe that it is the only method used for this purpose. Taftazani and Lahiji claim that mutikallimun are unanimous that different sciences can be essentially distinguished from each other based on their subject matters. Accordingly, they believe that the distinctions among sciences arise from the distinctions among their subjects, and by attaining aspects, they mean the aspects of the subject’s preparedness for accepting the predicate. However, in a more accurate sense, philosophers argue that, in the field of exact and demonstrative sciences, what consolidates the unity of a science is its subject matter. In the same way, ‘Allamah Tabataba’i explicitly states that the distinction criterion for exact and demonstrative sciences in their subject, and for mentally-posited sciences it is their end and purpose. In contrast, in the view of the critics of the model of “thematic distinction of sciences”, research findings indicate that sciences consist of a few propositions that have been completed over time. Therefore, their subjects were not even known to their founders and, that is why they were not capable of discussing their states. They argue that, even if we accept the Aristotelian model, we should say that many of the debates regarding the distinctions among sciences originate in confusing exact and mentally-posited sciences with each other and generalizing the principles of exact sciences to mentally-posited ones. Manuscript profile

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70 - Tusi’s Innovations concerning the Theory of Moderation
Hossein Atrak

The theory of moderation is one of the common ethical theories among Muslim philosophers. According to this theory, all ethical virtues enjoy middle term, and all moral vices are rooted in going to extremes. Although the scholars of Islamic ethics were influenced by Pla More

The theory of moderation is one of the common ethical theories among Muslim philosophers. According to this theory, all ethical virtues enjoy middle term, and all moral vices are rooted in going to extremes. Although the scholars of Islamic ethics were influenced by Plato and Aristotle in posing their theory of moderation, they also presented several innovations in this regard. Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi can be considered one of the innovators of this theory. His innovation in psychology consists of the four-fold classification of the faculties of the soul and designating justice as a virtue and as a function of the practical wisdom. However, his important contribution concerning the theory of moderation paved the way for presenting a new interpretation of the principle of moderation, adding the criterion of quality to it, and defining the concept of “malignity”. His other important innovation is determining three supreme genera of excess, neglect, and malignity for the vice, which, given the three faculties of the soul, will increase to nine in the number of supreme genera. It is worth mentioning that these novel contributions of Tusi greatly affected his succeeding philosophers. Manuscript profile

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71 - سخن سردبير
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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72 - Aristotelian Golden Mean in Abu Nasr Farabi
Zohreh Tavaziany

From among the views propounded in the field of ethics, Aristotle’s theory of golden mean has attracted the greatest attention of Muslim philosophers, including Farabi, who is considered to be the founder of Islamic philosophy. The problem here is whether Farabi himself More

From among the views propounded in the field of ethics, Aristotle’s theory of golden mean has attracted the greatest attention of Muslim philosophers, including Farabi, who is considered to be the founder of Islamic philosophy. The problem here is whether Farabi himself was merely content with a pure imitation, explanation, and expansion of Aristotle’s theory in designing his ethical system or developed his independent view in the realm of ethics. Through presenting a documented report of Farabi’s views in ethics, the present paper intends to demonstrate that, in spite of Aristotle’s undeniable influence on his thoughts in the development of some of his philosophical principles in the field of ethics, such as considering happiness to be the ultimate goal and resorting to the theory of the mean in explaining virtues and posing Aristotle’s four-fold virtues, Farabi was never content with a mere explanation of Aristotle’s ideas in this regard and, on the contrary, presented his own specific theories. Clearly, Farabi promotes happiness from the level of a purely ethical concept with an individualistic bent to the level of a social concept and considers it to be the foundation of the political systems that are based on virtue. He also enters some purely religious features into this field and clearly explains them. However, his ideas in this regard are not immune to criticism. What places Farabi with regard to his ethical theories in the same line with Aristotelians is the problem of proposing the mean as the criterion for determining moral virtues. Through emphasizing this problem, this paper intends to demonstrate how Farabi has organized his ethical system based on the elements he has borrowed from Aristotle. Manuscript profile

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73 - Theorem of Eternal Recurrence in Suhrawardi’s Philosophy and Poincaré’s Physics
Mehdi ‘Azimi

“Eternal recurrence” is an old theorem in the history of philosophy stating that any event in the world will recur in future in a self-similar form an infinite number of times as it has recurred an infinite number of times previously. Suhrawardi discusses this theorem i More

“Eternal recurrence” is an old theorem in the history of philosophy stating that any event in the world will recur in future in a self-similar form an infinite number of times as it has recurred an infinite number of times previously. Suhrawardi discusses this theorem in his Hikmat al-ishraq and al-Mashari‘ wa al-mutarihat and adduces some arguments in order to demonstrate it. In his T‘aliqat written on Qutb al-Din Shirazi’s commentary on Hikmat al-ishraq, Mulla Sadra evaluates Suhrawardi’s argument and deems them unfounded. However, the falsity of the argument does not indicate the falsity of the claim, particularly, because we have Poincaré’s “proposition of recurrence” before us demonstrating that, in any system, the initial states of all component parts of a whole will recur after the passage of a sufficiently long time. This idea necessitates the demonstration of the theorem of “eternal recurrence”. Nevertheless, one must ask how long this sufficiently “long time” is. Based on the calculations of Chandrasekhar, for a spherical volume of air with a radius of one centimeter at a standard point of temperature and pressure, with one percent of fluctuation in density around the mean, this time is equal to 3 trillion years! Therefore, the time of the recurrence of the whole universe is so long that the life of its components will come to an end long before that time. This will make the recurrence of the universe impossible. Therefore, this paper concludes that the theorem of “eternal recurrence”, which Suhrawardi also believes in, is essentially possible but practically impossible. Manuscript profile

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74 - School of Vedanta and Non-Dualism
Ali Naqi Baqershahi

Vedanta is the most original Indian philosophical school which has borrowed its basic principles from Upanishads and emphasizes non-dualism. Indian historians have divided the history of this school into three periods: Pre-Shankara, Shankara, and Post-Shankara. In the f More

Vedanta is the most original Indian philosophical school which has borrowed its basic principles from Upanishads and emphasizes non-dualism. Indian historians have divided the history of this school into three periods: Pre-Shankara, Shankara, and Post-Shankara. In the first period, some figures such as Badarayana and Gaudapada emerged and laid the foundation for Vedanta philosophy. In the second period, Shankara expanded this school and played a significant role in spreading and disseminating it. During the third period, Ramanuja presented a different interpretation of non-dualism and the notion of Ultimate Reality based on his own critical views and pushed the borderlines of this school even further. Generally speaking, each of the founders and interpreters of Vedanta philosophy explained and expanded this school based on their own philosophical tastes and views and tried to enrich it more than ever before. However, the important point here is that all of them were unanimous regarding the notion of non-dualism. Of course, they had some serious disagreements concerning certain issues, which can also be seen among their advocates. Some of the contemporary Indian thinkers, such as Rabindranath Tagore tried to reconcile their ideas with each other in some way. Vedanta has also influenced contemporary Indian philosophers and artists to such a great extent that their worldview has been completely affected by this school. In the present paper, the writer traces the historical development of the school of Vedanta and explores its relationship with non-dualism. Manuscript profile

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75 - Background of the Cartesian Distinction in Islamic Philosophy and Kalam
Mahdi Assadi

This paper intends to demonstrate that the traces of the epistemological criterion for Cartesian distinction existed previously in Islamic philosophy and kalam. Hence, the writer initially refers to Descartes’ views and follows their traces in the ideas of early Muslim More

This paper intends to demonstrate that the traces of the epistemological criterion for Cartesian distinction existed previously in Islamic philosophy and kalam. Hence, the writer initially refers to Descartes’ views and follows their traces in the ideas of early Muslim scholars. Then he refers to the views of some Muslim thinkers such as Fakhr al-Din Razi, ‘Allamah Hilli, Taftazani, and Mulla Sadra, who were already involved in this discussion more than others and propounded more solid and plausible theories in this regard. They have sometimes reviewed the same informed theories critically before some of the critiques of Descartes. In this way, the author reveals that Islamic thinkers’ interpretation of the Cartesian distinction is closer to Hume’s more solid interpretation of this notion than to that of Descartes himself. Hume states that clarity and distinction result in possible existence rather than the very existence of the researchers. Manuscript profile

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76 - Place of Justice in Plato and Farabi’s Utopia
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari Parviz Hajizadeh

Justice is the key term by which Farabi has managed to explicate the foundations of the genetic system of the world. Moreover, based on the same concept and following Plato, he has entered it into the structure of utopia and justified the system of individual ethics acc More

Justice is the key term by which Farabi has managed to explicate the foundations of the genetic system of the world. Moreover, based on the same concept and following Plato, he has entered it into the structure of utopia and justified the system of individual ethics accordingly. Here, the writers maintain that it is only through matching the system of divine legislation to creation and using it as a model in establishing individual and social relationships that Man can attain happiness, which is the ultimate end of Plato and Farabi’s utopia. Manuscript profile

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77 - A Study of Heidegger’s Interpretation of Dialectic in Plato’s Dialog of the Sophist
Sadiqah Moosazadeh N‘alband

The term dialectic has a Greek root and enjoys a historical background as long as that of philosophy itself. This term has been employed by most philosophers at all times and has undergone some changes in terms of meaning in line with the differences in the views of di More

The term dialectic has a Greek root and enjoys a historical background as long as that of philosophy itself. This term has been employed by most philosophers at all times and has undergone some changes in terms of meaning in line with the differences in the views of different philosophers. The present paper aims to recount, examine, and evaluate Heidegger’s interpretation of the word “dialectic” as used by Plato. Heidegger’s interpretation of Plato’s dialectic is other than the common interpretations provided by most interpreters. While examining the interpretations given by the philosophers preceding him, Heidegger enters a dialog with them and believes that he has observed the norms of justice in this dialog while granting some freshness and beauty to their interpretations through employing a specific composing style and arrangement of ideas. At the same time, he has remained loyal to the interpreted text. In fact, while having a dialog with philosophers (particularly, Plato and Aristotle) and interpreting their views, Heidegger tries to remain objective and portray a new and unprecedented picture of their thoughts. In this paper, the writers have evaluated Heidegger’s loyalty to the thoughts of his intended philosopher (Plato) and, while exploring Platonic dialectic in the light of Heidegger’s philosophy, review the latter’s interpretation of this particular idea. Manuscript profile

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78 - The Meaning and Object of Intellectual Intuition in Ibn Sina’s Oriental Ethics
Mir Saeid Mousavi Karimi Ali Akbar ‘Abdolabadi Muhammad Hani Jafarian

The present paper presents a definition for “intellectual intuition” in Ibn Sina’s Oriental epistemology as referred to in his Rasa’il mashriqi. Accordingly, in the first part, the writers initially explore the different meanings of intuition. Then, through an analysis More

The present paper presents a definition for “intellectual intuition” in Ibn Sina’s Oriental epistemology as referred to in his Rasa’il mashriqi. Accordingly, in the first part, the writers initially explore the different meanings of intuition. Then, through an analysis of Ibn Sina’s epistemological system, under titles such as “A Study of Different Stages of Acquiring Knowledge” and “A Study of Various Stages of Conjecture”, they try to explain Ibn Sina’s specific definition of intellectual intuition. Finally, by comparing his definition with other ones, they pinpoint their differences and similarities and refer to his all-inclusive definition of intellectual intuition. In the second part, through investigating the specific features of Ibn Sina’s definition of this concept, the writers introduce the objects of intellectual intuition, the good and evil moral attributes of the soul, the evident ethical propositions, and the particular ethical acts. Manuscript profile

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79 - سخن سردبير
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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80 - A Critical Study of the Ideas concerning the Islamicity of Islamic Philosophy
Mansur Imanpour

Today, one of the questions raised regarding Islamic philosophy is what is meant by Islamic philosophy and why this philosophy is described by the attribute “Islamic”. Several contradictory ideas have been put forward in response to this question. Some believe that this More

Today, one of the questions raised regarding Islamic philosophy is what is meant by Islamic philosophy and why this philosophy is described by the attribute “Islamic”. Several contradictory ideas have been put forward in response to this question. Some believe that this philosophy is basically the same Greek philosophy, and it is unjustified to add to it the adjectives of “Arabic” and “Islamic”. Some others have reduced it to Islamic theology and kalam because of its supporting Islamic beliefs; nevertheless, there are many thinkers and researchers who believe in the truth and realization of this philosophy and its Islamic nature. These researchers are divided into two major groups: one group maintain that the title of “Islamic” has only a formal sense and argue that this school is called “Islamic philosophy” because it grew and was expanded in Islamic countries by Muslim philosophers and under the rule of Islamic governments. The other group, however, believe that this denomination is due to the nature and content of this philosophy and have provided different ideas in this regard. Some of the great figures of this group believe that, the reason for this denomination is that some of the issues and problems of this school are rooted in Islamic teachings, and some others are at the service of demonstrating these teachings. Some other thinkers also view the well-documented belief of the advocates of this philosophy in the existence of Almighty Necessary and Shar‘i and divine oneness as the main reason for calling it Islamic (in its general sense) philosophy. There are still others who introduce this philosophy as the same prophetic philosophy derived from the Book and Sunnah. The present paper, after explaining and analyzing the above views, concludes that Islamic philosophy is the birth child of the living interaction between Greek and Iranian philosophy and thought and Islamic culture and civilization. Through adhering to philosophical subjects, frameworks, and methods, this school is influenced by Islamic worldview and teachings in many respects. In fact, any kind of limitation in this regard and concentration on certain directions will inevitably lead to the fallacy of essence and aspect. Manuscript profile

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81 - Love as a Path towards Human Perfection (A Comparison of the Ideas of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra)
Fateme Soleimani

Islamic philosophers, such as Ibn Sina, have divided human love into true and virtual types. True love is the same extreme enthusiasm and passion for divine essence and attributes, and virtual love itself is divided into soulish love and animal love. The origin of souli More

Islamic philosophers, such as Ibn Sina, have divided human love into true and virtual types. True love is the same extreme enthusiasm and passion for divine essence and attributes, and virtual love itself is divided into soulish love and animal love. The origin of soulish love is the substantial participation and commensurability of the souls of the lover and the beloved. However, the origin of animal love is physical desire and seeking animal pleasure. Ibn Sina believes that virtual love is one of the elements of the “purification of the inner self”, which is one of the goals of ascetic practice and a way for attaining perfection. Mulla Sadra also maintains that in soulish virtual love, the unity of the lover’s soul with that of the beloved through preference and representing the external beauty of the beloved leads to the lovers’ purification of the soul, so that he becomes ready for accepting the station of being annihilated in God. Accordingly, he says that virtual love is a bridge for attaining true love and, ultimately, human perfection. Manuscript profile

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82 - God in Process Theology and Mulla Sadra
Hamed Naji Isfahani

This paper presents a comparative study of two philosophical trends. Therefore, it has been organized in two parts: process theology and Sadrian Transcendent Philosophy. Process theology appeared in the 20th century as one of the developmental thought processes followed More

This paper presents a comparative study of two philosophical trends. Therefore, it has been organized in two parts: process theology and Sadrian Transcendent Philosophy. Process theology appeared in the 20th century as one of the developmental thought processes followed by philosophers in the field of religion. Given all the arguments and conflicts existing in the Middle Ages and Modernity’s atheism, its followers sought to present a new version of theology in which various notions such as God, His pre-eternity, His Power, the existence of evil in the world, the relationship between God and the world of being, and the relationship between the changing world and God are revisited. This new school, which was established by Alfred North Whitehead and expanded by Charles Hartshorne and David Ray Griffin, is presently studied in western academic centers as one of the prevalent theological and religious schools. In general, this school has made two contributions to the field of philosophy: 1) presenting a new version of theology, the conformity of which with holy texts is questionable; 2) presenting a new form of ontology and the quality of God’s relationship with the world. The Transcendent Philosophy was initially founded by Mulla Sadra and developed at three stages: the Avicennan stage of the understanding of existence, gradation of existence, and the individual unity of existence. Although Mulla Sadra has not distinguished these three stages from each other in his magnum opus, al-Asfar, the evolution of his ideas in his various treatises attest to this developmental process. Through discovering the principiality of existence, he proceeded to generalize his understanding of existence from the level of concept to the level of referent. Finally, he presented a new model of God’s relationship with the world of being, which can be practically explored based on the development of his philosophical thoughts. This new approach to the concept of existence affected most theological concepts in the field of religion and prompted him to provide a new version of theology. The writer believes that, unlike Mulla Sadra’s system of individual unity, which is in the process of change, his gradational system is a relatively complete one. It is noteworthy that there is a relative conformity between the fundamental principles of the graded unity of existence and those of the Christian process theology. Of course, as explained in the paper, the Sadrian school is much more efficient and accurate than process theology in understanding religious and comparative teachings. Therefore, in addition to posing the discussion of process theology and its new achievements concerning religious concepts, the present paper compares this school with Mulla Sadra’s system of gradational wisdom and explores it strengths and weaknesses. Manuscript profile

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83 - Essentialism and the Issue of Knowledge in Mulla Sadra and Heidegger
Mohammad Reza Balanian

The propositional language of Aristotelian logic concerning the existents of the world is based on his 10 categories. The habit of employing this language in everyday life and in the field of philosophy has resulted in the emergence of certain difficulties regarding som More

The propositional language of Aristotelian logic concerning the existents of the world is based on his 10 categories. The habit of employing this language in everyday life and in the field of philosophy has resulted in the emergence of certain difficulties regarding some philosophical problems. From among them, we can refer to the problems related to essence or quiddity and the quality of acquiring the knowledge of existents in the outside world. The purpose of the present paper is to reveal the quality of the effect of this kind of language and, following it, essentialism in the realm of epistemology with special reference to two philosophers of existence in the East and West, Mulla Sadra and Martin Heidegger, respectively, concerning the terms “essence” and “quiddity”. Here, the writers conclude that, based on Heidegger’s philosophy and Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy, particularly as reflected in the words of some of the commentators of the second school, the logic of essentialism and its tools are not capable of solving the problem of the conformity of mental forms with external realities and providing a justifiable criterion for defending this conformity. Manuscript profile

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84 - Misbah’s Critical Study and Critique of Descartes’ Theory of the Process and Structure of Knowledge
Hesam al-Din Mo’meni

Whenever reference is made to the process and structure of gaining knowledge, one may argue that the possibility of gaining it is rooted in one’s destiny. In fact, if someone absolutely doubts or has some suspicions concerning the possibility of gaining knowledge, he ca More

Whenever reference is made to the process and structure of gaining knowledge, one may argue that the possibility of gaining it is rooted in one’s destiny. In fact, if someone absolutely doubts or has some suspicions concerning the possibility of gaining knowledge, he can never portray its process and structure. Given the fact that Descartes accepts the possibility of knowledge, the question is which strategies, processes, and stages he proposes for a knower to gain knowledge. Here, he appeals to intuition and inference and asks God not to deceive him. In his study and critique of Descartes’ theory of the process of knowledge, Misbah maintains that it is wrong to assume that the existence of nothing is as clear and certain as the existence of doubt, and even the existence of the skeptic has to be proved through the existence of doubt. He also rejects the innate ideas intended by Descartes. In this paper, the writers have explained Descartes’ theory of the process and structure of knowledge and reviewed it critically from Misbah’s point of view. Manuscript profile

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85 - Interdisciplinary Components of the Center for Compiling a Comprehensive History of Wisdom and Philosophy: Introducing a New method for Compiling the History of Philosophy and Reviewing the Present Method of Historiography in Iran
Reza Mahuzi Maryam Soleimani Fard

The Center for Compiling a Comprehensive History of Philosophy, affiliated with the Sadra Islamic Philosophy Research Institute and the Scientific Society of the History of Philosophy has brought a great number of researchers together since 2005 in order to compile a co More

The Center for Compiling a Comprehensive History of Philosophy, affiliated with the Sadra Islamic Philosophy Research Institute and the Scientific Society of the History of Philosophy has brought a great number of researchers together since 2005 in order to compile a comprehensive history of wisdom and philosophy in Iran and in the world in the light of cultural and social events and incidents. The general policy dominating the process of compiling the history of philosophy here dictates a collaborative and cooperative activity in which a number of professors and authorities in the fields of archaeology, linguistics, history, art, gnosis, religion, and philosophy are participating. The present paper firstly analyzes the rules and principles governing the interdisciplinary approach in the field of science and highlights its differences from the disciplinary approach. Then, based on the documents published by this Center, it presents a picture of researchers’ group work in conformity with the norms of the interdisciplinary approach and portrays and judges their present and future activities. Finally, based on the nature of this approach and the scientific expectations it arouses, the writers make some recommendations to the researchers and professors involved in this huge project. Manuscript profile

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86 - Specific Unity or Plurality of Man in Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Sadra
‘Abdullah Salavati

The specific unity or plurality of man is one of the problems that has often remained a marginal one and taken for granted as a presupposition in traditional philosophy. In the past, most Muslim philosophers defended the specific unity of man. However, the opponents of More

The specific unity or plurality of man is one of the problems that has often remained a marginal one and taken for granted as a presupposition in traditional philosophy. In the past, most Muslim philosophers defended the specific unity of man. However, the opponents of this idea posed the specific plurality of man using a demonstrative method. Of course, in the works of some of the advocates of the specific unity of man, such as Ibn Sina, there are some pieces of evidence attesting to this theory. This paper discusses and examines the curve of the evolution of the specific plurality and inequality of man with reference to some prominent and influential thinkers such as Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Sadra. This curve has undergone some fluctuations in the philosophical and kalami schools of the world of Islam. Nevertheless, the process of its development entails the following theories: specific plurality of man at the level of evidence by Ibn Sina, graded specific unity (unequal equal human beings) by Suhrawardi, and three models of purely ontological and graded specific unity, the quiddative graded specific unity seeking ontological graded specific unity, and quiddative graded specific plurality seeking ontological graded specific unity by Mulla Sadra. It is noted that each of the three-fold Sadrian models exists in two apriori and aposteriori forms. The Sadrian specific plurality, because of its relying on solid supporting principles, having a variety of models, and entailing apriori and aposteriori forms of specific plurality, created a transformed atmosphere of inequality of human beings. In order to demonstrate the substantial difference between this type of plurality and the specific plurality of human beings before Mulla Sadra, the writer has referred to the former as human life-specific model. Manuscript profile

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87 - سخن سردبیر
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

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88 - Doxography Tradition of Ancient Greek Philosophers (with Reference to Hermann Diels’ View)
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari Behnaz Aqili Dehkordi

In the sixth century BC, pre-Socratic philosophers introduced different research methods in the realms of science and philosophy, wrote the first scientific treatises, and presented the basic concepts in the process of deduction. However, we do not have access to any of More

In the sixth century BC, pre-Socratic philosophers introduced different research methods in the realms of science and philosophy, wrote the first scientific treatises, and presented the basic concepts in the process of deduction. However, we do not have access to any of their independent works except for some extracts which have been quoted in the works of post-Socratic scholars. Nevertheless, this method lacks the required efficiency in understanding and evaluating the words of pre-Socratic scientists at all times. Hermann Alexander Diels presented a new method of doxography in his book of Doxographi Graeci (Greek Doxographers). He returned the tradition of doxography to the one adopted in a book by Theophrastus, who was a student of Aristotle. Diels’ method was criticized by later scientists, such as Mansfield. Based on his critique, the effects of Sufists’ ideas, Aristotle’s theory of edited collections and books of principles, tradition of genealogy writing, and commentators’ glosses on the formation of doxographical texts have not been much appreciated in Diels’ method. Manuscript profile

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89 - A Study of the Historical Background of Reductionism
Mahdi Ghiyasvand

Reductionism has been so prevalent in contemporary philosophy in certain fields such as the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mind that some have called our time the period of reductionism. The naive form of the idea of reduction w More

Reductionism has been so prevalent in contemporary philosophy in certain fields such as the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mind that some have called our time the period of reductionism. The naive form of the idea of reduction which is expressed as the very “A is nothing but B” has appeared in so many diverse forms and models since the second half of the 20th century that its primary form can be hardly observed today. In this study, the writer aims to investigate the historical background of reductionism as an idea. In doing so, he initially provides a brief historical-logical account of the background of this idea since the second half of the 20th century onwards. In the second part of the paper, he begins his discussion with the philosophy of ancient Greece. Then he brings it to an end through referring to the analysis of this idea by the members of the Vienna Circle and connecting it to the point at which he began the first part of the paper, i.e. the second half of the 20th century. Manuscript profile

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90 - Function of the Intellect in the Realms of Religion and Ethics in Qadi Abduljabbar Mu‘tazili
Farzaneh Mustafapour Hossein Hooshanghi Seyyed Abbas Zahabi

This paper examines the functions of theoretical and practical intellects in the fields of religion and ethics in the view of Qadi Abduljabbar Mu‘tazili. Based on what appears from his views regarding the explanation of ethical propositions, we can refer to three episte More

This paper examines the functions of theoretical and practical intellects in the fields of religion and ethics in the view of Qadi Abduljabbar Mu‘tazili. Based on what appears from his views regarding the explanation of ethical propositions, we can refer to three epistemological, motivational, and ontological approaches. The writers have investigated three categories in the field of epistemology: knowledge of fundamental values, goodness and ugliness of acts, and unveiling of ethical principles based on basic propositions; two functions of the intellect in the field of motivation: the origin of human ethical implications and the basis of Man’s responsibility, and the human voluntary and rational choice in the field of ontology. He maintains that the intellect plays an essential and fundamental role in each of them, and that moral principles have been explained based on rational reasoning. Regarding the functions of the intellect in the domain of understanding religion, the writers initially deal with God’s Oneness and Justice in the light of rational reason and, then, relying on religious principles and through granting a central role to the intellect, they interpret some Qur’anic verses. Finally, they try to interpret some cases which are in contrast to the intellect with reference to certain examples. Manuscript profile

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91 - Worlds of Intellect and Beyond-Intellect in Ayn al-Qudat
Seyyed Mustafa Shahraeini Nahid Najafpoor

As a science representing rationality and intellection, philosophy can liberate human beings from the sensible world, which is the abode of darkness and ignorance, through teaching them the correct method of using their thinking ability. In Ayn al-Qudat’s view, the sens More

As a science representing rationality and intellection, philosophy can liberate human beings from the sensible world, which is the abode of darkness and ignorance, through teaching them the correct method of using their thinking ability. In Ayn al-Qudat’s view, the sensible world is the world of those people who look like human beings but are deprived of the truth of humanity. This is because they are ignorant and live in an animal world which is void of wisdom and thinking. He believes that, by benefitting from rationality, Man can leave the sensible world behind and step into the world of the intellect and thinking. In other words, they can begin the learning of philosophical sciences and other useful disciplines and develop wisdom and intelligence. Moreover, through even greater use of their intellect, they can step beyond the world of the intellect and enter another world which Ayn al-Qudat calls the “beyond-intellect world”. He argues that it is possible to attain this station in two ways: A) intellectual ascetic practice, in the sense that Man should become involved in the acquisition of theoretical sciences such as philosophy; B) training of the will, in the sense that Man should purify their inner reality from unpleasant conduct and behavior and socialize with the people of taste (dhawq). In this paper, by casting a glance at the three worlds of the sense, the intellect, and the beyond-intellect in Ayn al-Qudat’s view, the writers have discussed the role of philosophy and intellection in reaching the world of the beyond-intellect and attaining insight and knowledge, which lead to other-worldly happiness. Manuscript profile

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92 - The Relationship between Religion and Ethics in the View of the Mu‘tazilite
Azam Ghasemi

In Islamic culture, the Mu‘tazilite were the first group who employed the rational method and considered the intellect to be the sole means of knowing the truth and to be independent from religion. That is why they have been referred to as the followers of the “religion More

In Islamic culture, the Mu‘tazilite were the first group who employed the rational method and considered the intellect to be the sole means of knowing the truth and to be independent from religion. That is why they have been referred to as the followers of the “religion of the intellect”. The Mu‘tazilite granted a kind of sanctity to the intellect and maintained that when human beings perfect their intellect, they can perceive essential truths, which consist of the knowledge of God and the knowledge of the good and evil. On the other hand, they never denied revelation but believed that it cannot be in contrast to human intellect. They also stated that since the intellect has a longer history than revelation, it is identical with light, without which no one can be led to the right path. The purpose of revelation is to increase intellectual knowledge and make it more accurate. The Mu‘tazilite, thus, concluded that the intellect is the criterion for revelation. This idea was one of their most important principles. Hence, it can be said that, for this group, ethics is based on a kind of intellect which is prior to religion. One of their most famous principles is, “thinking before hearing”. The Mu‘tazilite are mutikallim, and a mutikallim looks at the intellectual human being as a responsible individual before God. They consider the intellect to be sufficient regarding Man’s need to revelation at the outset of obligation. This paper deals with Mu‘tazilites’ view of the relationship between religion and ethics. Manuscript profile

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93 - Socrates’ Approach and Our Approach (Socrates’ Historical Views of Iran and Iranians)
Seyyed Musa Dibaj

Previously, in a paper entitled Iranian Thought in Socratic Thought (presented in the “Conference on Commemorating Socrates, the Greek Philosopher”, Tehran, 2001), the writer of the present paper argued that in Plato’s dialogues, the rights of Iranians and the Iranian g More

Previously, in a paper entitled Iranian Thought in Socratic Thought (presented in the “Conference on Commemorating Socrates, the Greek Philosopher”, Tehran, 2001), the writer of the present paper argued that in Plato’s dialogues, the rights of Iranians and the Iranian government have not been clearly stipulated. Socrates, who expected Iranians to officially recognize the government of Athens, does not explicitly talk about the official or de facto recognition of the Achaemenid government. Plato has spoken about the poets, playwrights, and historiographers of other nations, particularly those of Iranians, more freely than other Greek thinkers and scholars. However, he does not believe that Athenians’ democratic rights are conditioned by protecting the rights of other nations, including Iranians and Egyptians, and recognizing the legitimacy of their governments. The present paper is intended to define and review the features of Athenian self-knowledge and Iranian self-knowledge and compare them with each other. As Socrates himself considers it justified, strangers can also discuss the nature of “terms”, including the description of the characteristics of the Greeks. As we know, once Phaedrus told Socrates, “Yes, Socrates, you can easily invent tales of Egypt, or of any other country.” In this paper, the writer does not intend to copy Socrates’ approach in this regard; neither does he intend to provide a mythical, narrative, or historical account of the conditions of Greece during the time of this philosopher. Rather, he seeks to extensively explain and interpret his political view of Iran, specifically with reference to Alcibiades and Laws dialogues. Manuscript profile

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94 - A Critique and Study of the Zoroastrian Origin of Plato’s Doctrine of Ideas
Zeinab Shari‘atniya Nourisadat Shahangian

Some basic concepts such as the Ideas and farvahar hold a particular and precious place in Plato’s philosophy and the Zoroastrian religion. In Plato’s philosophy, the doctrine of Ideas introduces the origin of the forms of the material world through explaining the conce More

Some basic concepts such as the Ideas and farvahar hold a particular and precious place in Plato’s philosophy and the Zoroastrian religion. In Plato’s philosophy, the doctrine of Ideas introduces the origin of the forms of the material world through explaining the concept of being. Similarly, in the Zoroastrian worldview, the creation of the forms of this world has been considered to depend on their spiritual forms (farvahar). Because of certain similarities between these two key concepts, some believe that Plato modeled Zoroaster’s teachings and maintain that the doctrine of Ideas is indeed a Zoroastrian doctrine. This paper aims to verify this claim by comparing these two concepts and checking the differences and similarities between them in terms of their characteristics and functions. Apparently, the differences between them are too great to allow the easy acceptance of the modeling theory. Manuscript profile

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95 - The Relationship between Language and Reality in Plato: An Interpretation of Plato’s Cratylus in the Light of the Three Allegories in Republic
Hassan Fathi Aboubakr Soleymanpour

Before Plato, the thinkers dealing with the problem of language viewed it as a dual phenomenon. In Aristotle’s eyes, language is a mysterious entity which functions not only as a link connecting the gods and human beings but also as a body of laws for revealing the trut More

Before Plato, the thinkers dealing with the problem of language viewed it as a dual phenomenon. In Aristotle’s eyes, language is a mysterious entity which functions not only as a link connecting the gods and human beings but also as a body of laws for revealing the truth. For Heraclitus, language enjoys a code-like aspect similar to logos, which is mainly a phenomenon referring to the truth rather than a tool for explaining and analyzing it. On the other hand, for Parmenides, language is a deceptive phenomenon which is the product of a kind of social contract as well as a problem in the sensible world which, by itself, is not of much value. Sophists also consider language to be an arbitrary and relative phenomenon which merely functions as a medium of speech and entails no absolute truth by itself. Given this historical background, Plato set out to explore the problem of language. He developed a view in Cratylus which completed the mentioned historical background. For him, language is a deceptive and imperfect phenomenon; a phenomenon which he investigated in Cratylus based on its essence and its relationship with reality. He maintains that, since language is an artificial entity, it is essentially imperfect and, hence, incapable of providing any knowledge regarding reality. He believes that language can only be used to reflect the reality as accurately as possible, is ontologically posterior to reality, and is only temporally prior to it in terms of its instructional feature. In other words, according to Plato, one cannot attain knowledge through language because it is an artificial phenomenon which, at its best, can manifest the reality in an imperfect form. Manuscript profile

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96 - A Critical Evaluation of Ibn Sina’s Arguments on the Presential Perception of Essence
somayyeh ajalli sahar kavandi

According to Islamic philosophers, the soul’s self-perception is of the type of presential knowledge. In other words, the soul’s awareness of its own essence, unlike what Descartes states in his concept of Cogito, does not occur through external objects, body organs, or More

According to Islamic philosophers, the soul’s self-perception is of the type of presential knowledge. In other words, the soul’s awareness of its own essence, unlike what Descartes states in his concept of Cogito, does not occur through external objects, body organs, or soulish acts. Rather, the soul perceives its self free from its acts and states and with no reliance on the activities of material body. The prominent Islamic philosopher, Ibn Sina, has posed different arguments in order to demonstrate this claim, the most important of which is the argument of “floating man” or “suspended man”. However, an evaluation of such arguments seems to reveal that they are not capable of demonstrating their claim and, under the best circumstances, they can merely prove the difference between the soul’s self-knowledge and its knowledge of other objects. Therefore, it seems that either more solid arguments are necessary to demonstrate the soul’s independence in self-perception or the soul should not be considered independent of the body and, particularly, the brain in this regard. Manuscript profile

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97 - A Study of Fakhr al-Din Razi’s Critique of Ibn Sina’s Argument on the Immateriality Dimension of Place with an Emphasis on its Historical Aspect
ehsan kordi ardakani Mahmood Seidi

Place has always been one of the most challenging philosophical discussions in the history of Islamic philosophy. Aristotle was the first to trigger this discussion. Through explaining the signs of place, he not only clarified the view of surface in this regard but also More

Place has always been one of the most challenging philosophical discussions in the history of Islamic philosophy. Aristotle was the first to trigger this discussion. Through explaining the signs of place, he not only clarified the view of surface in this regard but also criticized other related theories, particularly, the theory of immaterial dimension or empty space (void). His misunderstanding of Plato’s words in the dialogue of Timaeus led to the development of the theory of void in the discussion of place. Muslim philosophers, especially Ibn Sina, criticized this theory while ignoring this historical mistake. One of the most important arguments in this regard is the overlap of dimensions and their realization without matter. Through criticizing Ibn Sina’s arguments, Fakhr al-Din Razi supported the theory of void. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that his objections to Ibn Sina’s arguments originate in his neglecting the principles of the Peripatetic philosophy, particularly, the impossibility of the realization of dimensions without matter. Manuscript profile

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98 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Philosophy in Cyber World

Philosophy in Cyber World Manuscript profile

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99 - Historical Roots of the Concept and Referent of Prime Matter and the First Emanated in Greek Philosophy
ali haghi Abbas Javareshkian Hossein Bulkhari Ghahi

Undoubtedly, the history of philosophy follows a continuous and successive process of development in the course of human life. Although inventions and new problems and topics have always been witnessed and warmly welcomed in this field, they have never interrupted the c More

Undoubtedly, the history of philosophy follows a continuous and successive process of development in the course of human life. Although inventions and new problems and topics have always been witnessed and warmly welcomed in this field, they have never interrupted the continuous process of development of thought in the realm of philosophy. In fact, philosophy, which is the most illuminating dimension of human intellection on the history of thoughts, is responsible for the rational explanation of the most important issues in human life. Undoubtedly, one of the most important of all of them is clarifying the relationship between the Creator or Maker of the world and existents and creatures. Now, if we consider the rise of philosophy in Greece as a crucial event in the history of philosophy, the quality of the philosophical approach to prime matter and, then, the issue of the first emanated are viewed as two of the most significant and fascinating topics in this field. Following an analytic approach, the writers have tried to study the historical background of the first emanated in the history of Islamic philosophy (intellect as the first creation) with reference to Greek philosophy in this regard. The writers assume that the history of philosophy in Islamic civilization has been developed by deliberating over some Greek thoughts and has established the foundation of its own philosophical structure through a profound review of philosophical resources, such as the Qur’an and traditions, as the absolute center of this enterprise. Manuscript profile

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100 - Sophists and Muslim Sceptics
Abdullah Farrahi

Scepticism was one of the most important products of a transition period which emerged in the world of Islam in the form of a philosophical movement called Sophism. According to a number of Muslim mutakallimun, including the “Inadiyyah”, “Indiyyah”, and “agnostics”, Mus More

Scepticism was one of the most important products of a transition period which emerged in the world of Islam in the form of a philosophical movement called Sophism. According to a number of Muslim mutakallimun, including the “Inadiyyah”, “Indiyyah”, and “agnostics”, Muslim sceptics, led by a person called Salih Ibn ‘Abdulquddus, were a group who, similar to Greek and Indian sophists and sceptics, mainly appeared in the Islamic civilization as a philosophical movement or trend rather than a philosophical school. They denied the truth and originality of both “subject” and the “object”, and, in their view, everything merely enjoyed an imaginal, illusory, and conjectural existence. The vigorous confrontation of theologians, particularly, the Mu‘tazilite, natural and logical philosophers, and Sufist thinkers, such as Ghazzali, with this trend resulted in the quick annihilation of this group so that there has rarely remained any reference to the names of their advocates or their works in history. Of course, Muslim sceptics also played a role in undermining the teachings adopted from sense perception and rational sciences and, as a result, attracting the attention of Muslim thinkers to presential instead of acquired knowledge and persuading them to develop an interest in gnosis and Sufism instead of science and philosophy. Manuscript profile

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101 - Mulla Rajabali and Mulla Sadra’s Approach to Uthulujia
Ali Karbasizadeh Isfahani Faride Koohrang Beheshti

Uthulujia by Plotinus, which had been mistakenly attributed to Aristotle for many years, has influenced all Muslim philosophers, including Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi and Mulla Sadra. Although both philosophers were contemporary with each other, followed the School of Isfaha More

Uthulujia by Plotinus, which had been mistakenly attributed to Aristotle for many years, has influenced all Muslim philosophers, including Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi and Mulla Sadra. Although both philosophers were contemporary with each other, followed the School of Isfahan, dealt with similar problems, and resorted to Uthulujia in order to confirm their own ideas and theories, they led two completely different philosophical trends in the history of philosophy and, in fact, stood against each other. Mulla Rajabali’s great attachment to Kalami issues persuaded him to believe that accepting the univocality of the Necessary Being and the possible beings and attributing different adjectives and qualities to the divine essence is far from God’s incomparability to other things and against Qur’anic verses and traditions. However, Mulla Sadra, in spite of his interest in Kalami and gnostic issues, believed that such problems could be solved in the light of his theory of the gradation of existence. Nevertheless, the noteworthy point is how is it possible for two philosophers with opposing ideas regarding different problems to have benefitted and quoted from the same book! Although the influence of Uthulujia over the philosophical and ideological principles of these two philosophers is undeniable, it seems that, since both believed that this book was written by Aristotle, whom both considered to be a divine philosopher, they tried to refer to this book in order to confirm their ideas and prove their validity. Thus each looked at Uthulujia from his own point of view and perceived its content based on his own ideas. Wherever they saw it consistent with their own principles, they quoted the related statements in order to confirm their ideas, and wherever they saw its content inconsistent with their views, they ignored it or tried to justify the case. Manuscript profile

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102 - Explaining the Theory of Meta-History in Henry Corbin’s Philosophy
Seyed Ali Alamolhoda Marziyeh Akhlaghi Naser Mohamadi Hasan Seyedarab

Henry Corbin (1903-1978), the French philosopher, is the first western interpreter of Suhrawardi’s philosophy. His thoughts are focused on the fields of t’awil (esoteric interpretation), phenomenology, and the theory of meta-history. The present study aims to explain an More

Henry Corbin (1903-1978), the French philosopher, is the first western interpreter of Suhrawardi’s philosophy. His thoughts are focused on the fields of t’awil (esoteric interpretation), phenomenology, and the theory of meta-history. The present study aims to explain and examine this theory and its impact on Corbin’s study of Iranian-Islamic philosophy and gnosis. In the realm of theoretical studies of history, the philosophy of history derives from philosophical studies and, accordingly, investigates history and historical events and incidents. In Corbin’s view, it is not possible to investigate the reporting of the history of philosophy based on the theory of the philosophy of history because one cannot describe historical events based on cause-effect relationships. Corbin’s view in this regard is rooted in theology. In fact, he has employed a theological approach in order to interpret the relationship between history and human beings; the philosophical periods of ancient Iran; Islamic philosophy and, particularly, the philosophical school of Suhrawardi (540-587 AH), and gnosis. He has attributed the issues related to the mentioned fields to the world of Ideas. Corbin benefitted from the theories of Edmund Husserl (1859-1928) and Martin Heidegger (1889-1996) in order to pose the theory of meta-history. The present paper is a first attempt at examining and analyzing Henry Corbin’s theory of meta-history. Manuscript profile

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103 - An Analytic Study of the Development of Philosophical Intelligibles from Farabi to Mulla Sadra
Seyyed Mohammadali Dibaji Zeynab Yusefzadeh

This paper examines the epistemology of the secondary intelligible, in general, and the quality of the truth of philosophical secondary intelligibles, in particular. It does so relying on an analytic study of the modes of the “accidence” and “qualification” of the secon More

This paper examines the epistemology of the secondary intelligible, in general, and the quality of the truth of philosophical secondary intelligibles, in particular. It does so relying on an analytic study of the modes of the “accidence” and “qualification” of the secondary intelligibles in the views of such great philosophers as Farabi, Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Sadra. The results of the present study indicate that all the above thinkers argue for the prevention of epistemological errors in the light of a clear explanation of the ontological existence of secondary philosophical intelligibles in the outside. Nevertheless, each of them has pursued a different approach towards attaining his goal based on his own philosophy. Finally, the writers conclude that Mulla Sadra’s epistemological analysis of philosophical intelligibles is a great step towards justifying the presence of such intelligibles in the outside. His analysis in this regard ultimately leads to his idea of the principiality of existence. Manuscript profile

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104 - A Comparative Study of Ibn Sina and Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi on God’s Knowledge
Einollah Khademi Mahmood Ahesteh

God’s Knowledge is one of the important philosophical problems whose various dimensions have continually been explored by different thinkers. In order to avoid the problem of change in divine essence, Ibn Sina argues that God’s Knowledge of particulars is possible throu More

God’s Knowledge is one of the important philosophical problems whose various dimensions have continually been explored by different thinkers. In order to avoid the problem of change in divine essence, Ibn Sina argues that God’s Knowledge of particulars is possible through the knowledge of universals and causes. He also holds that the divine undifferentiated knowledge of existents is possible through imprinted forms. On the other hand, Muhaqqiq Tusi considers the necessary knowledge to belong to the category of relation and maintains that, in the Necessary Being’s Knowledge of changing particular affairs, some changes occur in the relation while the essence remains the same. Therefore, unlike Ibn Sina, Tusi accepts God’s Knowledge of particulars. He also criticizes Ibn Sina’s theory of the imprinting of established forms in the essence of the Necessary Being. Ibn Sina argues that the knowledge of divine essence through His Essence and the essential knowledge of imprinted forms, which is the cause of the appearance of existence, are of the presential type, while the differentiated knowledge of other existents is of the acquired type. In this paper, the writers explain and explore the philosophical principles of these two thinkers. Manuscript profile

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105 - Qadi Kamal al-Din Hossein Ibn Mo‘in al-Din Meybodi: Life, Character, Views
Alireza Javanmardi Adib Maghsoud Mohammadi

Hossein Ibn Mo‘in al-Din Meybodi, nicknamed Kamal al-Din, known as Qadi, with Mantiqi as his pen-name, is one of the great figures and distinguished scientific, literary, and philosophical characters of the land of Iran. He was born in Meybod in Yazd Province in the nin More

Hossein Ibn Mo‘in al-Din Meybodi, nicknamed Kamal al-Din, known as Qadi, with Mantiqi as his pen-name, is one of the great figures and distinguished scientific, literary, and philosophical characters of the land of Iran. He was born in Meybod in Yazd Province in the ninth century (AH). After learning the common preliminary intellectual and transmitted sciences of his time, he went to Shiraz in his youth and became a student of Dawani. Meybodi is a Muslim philosopher, an advocate of Shafi‘i school of thought, and a man of Tawalla (loving the People of the Prophet’s House). His love of the Commander of the Faithful (a) and the Pure and Infallible Household is so profound that some have considered him to be a Shi‘ite scholar. During the reign of Sultan Y‘aqub Aq Qoyunlu, he was a judge and the custodian of endowments of Yazd and its suburbs. His most important works include Sharh-i hidayah al-hikmah, Sharh-i diwan mansub bi Amir al-mu’minin (a), and Munsha’at. During the reign of Shah Isma‘il Safavi, when Mohammad Karra (ruler of Abarqu) captured the city of Yazd, Meybodi became his minister and, between 909 and 911 AH, when Shah Isma‘il recaptured Yazd, he was murdered on the King’s order. Meybodi believed that Illuminationists and Sufis (gnostics) were superior to theologians and Peripatetics and considered Peripatetic philosophy, which is based on rational deduction and reasoning, an immensely uncertain and ambiguous school which exhausts the intellect in the process of perceiving its fundamental principles. Unlike Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, and Ibn Arabi, he was not the founder of a specific school of philosophy. However, given his accurate criticisms, investigations, and particular views regarding topics which interested theologians, Peripatetics, gnostics, and Illuminationists in the mould of a number of independent and dependent (commentaries and glosses) works, as a connecting link, he managed not only to play a significant role in developing Islamic philosophy and bringing the different philosophical trends and schools of his time together, but also become a source of inspiration for Mulla Sadra in developing the Transcendent Philosophy. Manuscript profile

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106 - 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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107 - A Study of Kalami School of Ya‘qub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi
Afshin Mo’azzen

Ya‘qub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi is one of the prominent scientific figures of the Islamic world who is usually referred to as the first Islamic philosopher. He was the first to introduce philosophy as an independent field of study in the world of Islam. In addition to transla More

Ya‘qub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi is one of the prominent scientific figures of the Islamic world who is usually referred to as the first Islamic philosopher. He was the first to introduce philosophy as an independent field of study in the world of Islam. In addition to translating several philosophical works into Arabic, he made great efforts in order to introduce and reveal the coordination between rational thinking and Islamic teachings. Although some consider al-Kindi to be a follower of Judaism or Christianity, available evidence indicates his belief in Islam. Moreover, there are different ideas regarding his kalami views. Some believe that he was a follower of Abu Hanifah; some view him as a Shi‘ite philosopher, and some consider him to be associated with the Mu‘tazilite school of thought. A study of available proofs demonstrates that there are several religious and historical reasons suggesting his attachment to each of these schools. However, meticulous scrutiny reveals that he followed a particular kind of Shi‘ism which was prevalent in his own time called “Muhibbi Shi‘ism” and the “Mu‘tazilite School of Baghdad”. A synthesis of these two trends demonstrates that he was a believer in a religious school called the Mu‘tazilite Shi‘ism. Manuscript profile

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108 - Historical Deliberations over the Principle of the Nobler Possibility
Hoorieh Shojaee Baghini Einollah Khademi

The present paper examines the principiality of the principle of the nobler possibility as an Illuminationist principle. Despite the common belief regarding the Greek root of this principle, here the writers claim that it is among the concomitants of the Illuminationist More

The present paper examines the principiality of the principle of the nobler possibility as an Illuminationist principle. Despite the common belief regarding the Greek root of this principle, here the writers claim that it is among the concomitants of the Illuminationist philosophy and is not consistent with Peripatetic ideas and principles. In order to demonstrate their standpoint, they initially provide some proofs from the works of Suhrawari himself and the commentators of his philosophical school and explain how the words of such commentators have led to the idea that this principle has a background prior to the development of Illuminationist philosophy. Second, they examine the concomitants of the Illuminationist school and conclude that Suhrawardi used this principle in order to prove the philosophical principles of his own school, which are not accepted by the Peripatetic school. Hence, it is wrong to seek for a background for this principle in pre-Suhrawardi times. Manuscript profile

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109 - Muslim Philosophers’ Reading of Milesian Pre-Socratic Philosophers
Mansour Nasiri Mahdi Askari

Early philosophers are of particular importance in the history of philosophy. This is because they led the first stages of the development of philosophical concepts and thoughts. Among them, three Milesian philosophers enjoy great significance. The question that they po More

Early philosophers are of particular importance in the history of philosophy. This is because they led the first stages of the development of philosophical concepts and thoughts. Among them, three Milesian philosophers enjoy great significance. The question that they posed prompted later philosophers to try hard to provide a worthy response for it. They posed the question of: “What is the origin of the world?” During the period of the translation of philosophical texts into Arabic, Muslim philosophers became familiar with these three thinkers to some extent and quoted and, in some cases, interpreted their ideas. The present paper is intended to introduce Muslim philosophers’ interpretation of the views of Milesian pre-Socratic philosophers and demonstrate how justified they were in their interpretation. A short response to this question is that Muslim philosophers provided a completely non-historical interpretation, which is open to historical criticism. Manuscript profile

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110 - Foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Comperative Philosophy

Comperative Philosophy Manuscript profile

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111 - Nature of Place in the History of Islamic Philosophy
Abdulrassoul Oboudiat

Place enjoys some specific characteristics which are accepted by all thinkers; for example, place is the receptacle of the emplaced; the emplaced occupies place; it is impossible for two emplaced things to exist at the same time in the same place; the emplaced can seek More

Place enjoys some specific characteristics which are accepted by all thinkers; for example, place is the receptacle of the emplaced; the emplaced occupies place; it is impossible for two emplaced things to exist at the same time in the same place; the emplaced can seek for a place or leave it through motion; place can be divided into smaller places, etc. Accordingly, the existence of place in the outside is considered to be evident, and if there are any disagreements, they pertain to the nature of place. Now, the question is which entity possesses the above-mentioned characteristics. There are certain views which are clearly inconsistent with some of these features and are, therefore, rejected; for example, the place of a thing is the same as its matter or form. Regarding this issue, Aristotle’s view is more acceptable than others and has been confirmed by Farabi and Ibn Sina. They believe that place is the internal surface of the container which is tangent with the external surface of the contained. The next view which is supported by some well-known philosophers indicates that place is the immaterial dimension. However, the idea of some mutikallimun entailing that “place is the same imagined vacuum” is rejected in the view of philosophers because it refers to vacuum. Finally, more recent philosophers interpret place as volume. Manuscript profile

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112 - A Comparative Approach to Epistemological Sources: From Hillah School (Ibn Abi Jumhur Ihsa’ei) to Isfahan School (Mulla Sadra)
Reza Rezazadeh Somayyeh Monfared

Ibn Abi Jumhur Ihsa’ei (838 AH) adopted a comparative approach under the influence of Hillah philosophical-kalami school in order to reconcile kalam (Mu‘tazilite and Ash‘arite), philosophy (Peripatetic and Illuminationist), and Sufism. In this way, he created a distinct More

Ibn Abi Jumhur Ihsa’ei (838 AH) adopted a comparative approach under the influence of Hillah philosophical-kalami school in order to reconcile kalam (Mu‘tazilite and Ash‘arite), philosophy (Peripatetic and Illuminationist), and Sufism. In this way, he created a distinct methodology which, after about two centuries, joined the philosophical school of Isfahan. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the similarities and differences between the achievements of three epistemological sources, namely, the intellect, unveiling and revelation, at the heart of the Shi‘ite rational philosophical trends, on the one hand, and the extension of this endeavor to the school of Isfahan (with an explicit emphasis on Sadrian philosophy), on the other hand. In doing so, the authors have initially tried to examine the roles of revelation, heart, and intellect as three important sources in Ihsa’ei’s epistemology and, ultimately, have a brief and comparative study of such roles in Sadrian philosophy. Manuscript profile

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113 - An Introduction to the Philosophy of History of Philosophy
Masoud Omid

Although the discipline of history of philosophy and the related questions existed in the past, they have greatly occupied the minds of philosophers during the last two centuries. Some of the important questions in the field of the history of philosophy include the foll More

Although the discipline of history of philosophy and the related questions existed in the past, they have greatly occupied the minds of philosophers during the last two centuries. Some of the important questions in the field of the history of philosophy include the following: what is the meaning and nature of history of philosophy? What is its station of confirmation and demonstration? Is history of philosophy a perfect field or it is still in the process of development and expansion? What is the relationship between us and history of philosophy or what should it be like? Is this field the same as history or philosophy or of the type of philosophy? What is the difference between the history of philosophy and the history of science, religion, art, or the like? Due to the increasing attention to the problems related to the history of philosophy (in Iran and in the world), the present paper is intended to deal with some issues in relation to history of philosophy while discussing it in a framework entitled the philosophy of history of philosophy. In the past, philosophers referred to the theoretical philosophy of history and the philosophy of the science of history; however, it seems that it is now the right time to discuss the philosophy of the history of philosophy. The most fundamental themes which are propounded in this paper regarding this field include the place of philosophy of history of philosophy in various schools of philosophy and the possibility, necessity, and desirability of this field of knowledge. Finally, it appears that the philosophy of history of philosophy can be considered to be a branch of related philosophical fields, and it can even be offered as a new course at universities. Manuscript profile

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114 - Dramatic Conflict between Law and Justice in Plato’s Crito
Abdulrasul Hasanifar Seyyed Mohsen Alavipour

The influence of the philosophical and physical life and, ultimately, death of Socrates over the history of philosophy is a turning point and a topic of deliberation for many thinkers. He is believed to be one of the few thinkers who has clearly demonstrated the concomi More

The influence of the philosophical and physical life and, ultimately, death of Socrates over the history of philosophy is a turning point and a topic of deliberation for many thinkers. He is believed to be one of the few thinkers who has clearly demonstrated the concomitance and unity of theory and act. Socrates’ ethical propositions, which are clearly manifest in the practical aspects of his life, have promoted a number of challenges that are presently among the most important socio-political problems of our society and the world. One of such challenges and living problems in political thought is obeying the law and state decrees and its relationship with justice. This problem has been dramatically evaluated and tested by Socrates in the dialogue of Crito. While focusing on this work, in the present paper the writers aim to explore the dramatic conflict between law and justice through analyzing its various aspects. In fact, following a hermeneutic method, they inquire about the relationship between the law and justice even when the former is unfair and costs the life of human beings. Manuscript profile

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115 - Role of Christianity in the Return of Greek Philosophy to the Sassanid Iran
Zahra Abdi

The present paper explores the role of Christianity in the transfer of Greek sciences, particularly philosophy, to Iran during the Sassanid period. Initially, Christianity enjoyed a brotherly and cooperative nature; however, later, in order to consolidate the status of More

The present paper explores the role of Christianity in the transfer of Greek sciences, particularly philosophy, to Iran during the Sassanid period. Initially, Christianity enjoyed a brotherly and cooperative nature; however, later, in order to consolidate the status of theology and teaching it, Christian teachers and saints had to use a philosophical system, which they adapted from Greek philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, and their followers, such as neo-Platonists. Some innovative branches of Christianity such as Monophysites and Nestorians began teaching their theoretical theology based on certain philosophical ideas. Moreover, the Syriac-speaking Christians of Mesopotamia, who were mainly Nestorian, translated the works of Plato, Aristotle, and neo-Platonists into Syriac in their schools so that, while teaching philosophy, they could use them in their own religious field. The emigration of these groups to Iran, whether as refugees or captives, resulted in the transfer of Greek sciences to Iran. In this paper, the writer has discussed the above issues based on library resources and following the descriptive-analytic method. Manuscript profile

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116 - Historical Development of Approaches to the Problem of Essential Accidents: From Mulla Sadra to Muhaqqiq Rashti
Moosa Malayeri

The present paper deals with one of the most important and complicated epistemological problems targeted by Muslim philosophers, that is, determining the referents and realm of essential accidents. The main question here is whether accidents are considered to be essenti More

The present paper deals with one of the most important and complicated epistemological problems targeted by Muslim philosophers, that is, determining the referents and realm of essential accidents. The main question here is whether accidents are considered to be essential through the more particular. In this historical study, the writer examines the development of the various theories regarding this problem over three centuries (1050-1312 AH) and then reports and evaluates the solutions suggested by four of the most prominent theoreticians of this historical period. To this end, he initially explores Mulla Sadra’s solution, which is based on the necessity of distinguishing between particular accidents and accidents through the more particular. Then he discusses the view of Hossein Khwansari, who, after criticizing Mulla Sadra’s theory and acknowledging its weakness in solving the problem, presents his own theory of juristic preference and consensus in determining territories and setting boundaries between sciences. Later the writer deals with the views of Mulla Mehdi Naraqi, who accepts a part of Mulla Sadra’s theory but solves some parts of the problem using a different method. Naraqi’s method necessitates the screening of sciences and extracting some problems from the domains of related sciences. Finally, the writer focuses on the last character of this period, Mirza Habibullah Rashti. He was a capable fundamentalist who enriched this discussion more than ever before in the light of his own profound insight and increased the accuracy of the technical language used to describe the problem. Although he benefitted from the words of other thinkers, he did not accept the solution of any of the preceding philosophers in its totality. He believed that the scholars working in each field are allowed to discuss the related scientific problems within the borderlines of their own knowledge as long as no specific sciences have been devised for investigating them. This view, as explained in the body of the paper, is quite compatible with the apriori-historical approach to the development of various disciplines. Manuscript profile

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117 - The Relationship between Language and Reality in Plato: An Interpretation of Plato’s Cratylus in the Light of the Three Allegories in Republic
Aboubakr Soleymanpour

Before Plato, the thinkers dealing with the problem of language viewed it as a dual phenomenon. In Aristotle’s eyes, language is a mysterious entity which functions not only as a link connecting the gods and human beings but also as a body of laws for revealing the trut More

Before Plato, the thinkers dealing with the problem of language viewed it as a dual phenomenon. In Aristotle’s eyes, language is a mysterious entity which functions not only as a link connecting the gods and human beings but also as a body of laws for revealing the truth. For Heraclitus, language enjoys a code-like aspect similar to logos, which is mainly a phenomenon referring to the truth rather than a tool for explaining and analyzing it. On the other hand, for Parmenides, language is a deceptive phenomenon which is the product of a kind of social contract as well as a problem in the sensible world which, by itself, is not of much value. Sophists also consider language to be an arbitrary and relative phenomenon which merely functions as a medium of speech and entails no absolute truth by itself. Given this historical background, Plato set out to explore the problem of language. He developed a view in Cratylus which completed the mentioned historical background. For him, language is a deceptive and imperfect phenomenon; a phenomenon which he investigated in Cratylus based on its essence and its relationship with reality. He maintains that, since language is an artificial entity, it is essentially imperfect and, hence, incapable of providing any knowledge regarding reality. He believes that language can only be used to reflect the reality as accurately as possible, is ontologically posterior to reality, and is only temporally prior to it in terms of its instructional feature. In other words, according to Plato, one cannot attain knowledge through language because it is an artificial phenomenon which, at its best, can manifest the reality in an imperfect form. Manuscript profile

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118 - A Comparative Analysis and Explanation of the Creation of the World in the View of Ionian Philosophers
Mohammad Akvan

The creation of the world, which is an important and contradictory problem with an eventful historical background, has always attracted the attention of human beings and aroused their enthusiasm and curiosity since ancient periods. This problem has been investigated in More

The creation of the world, which is an important and contradictory problem with an eventful historical background, has always attracted the attention of human beings and aroused their enthusiasm and curiosity since ancient periods. This problem has been investigated in four epistemological areas: mythological cosmology, philosophical cosmology, monotheistic worldview, and scientific cosmology. Each of these disciplines has dealt with the creation of the world and its phenomena based on its own principles and methodology and introduced its particular bases of cosmological system. In this study, the process of the creation of the world and natural phenomena has been probed in the philosophical-cosmological view of Ionian philosophers, including Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. In doing so, the author initially examines the principles of the quality of going beyond a mythological view towards a philosophical approach regarding the problem of creation through focusing on the historical trend of the development of theogonic view into a cosmogenic one, the quality of the change of personal explainers into non-personal ones, leaving mythological particularism behind and developing universal philosophical concepts, and then compares their methods and methodological approaches. Thales and Anaximenes have both explained the issue of creation based on the “change and evolution” of the prime matter of “water” and “air”, and Anaximander has done so based on the “separation” of objects from the first principle of apeiron. Thales and Anaximenes consider all existents and objects as the qualities of prime matter, while Anaximander grants an objective existence to qualities and deems them to be among real existents. Toward the end of this paper, the author tries to provide answers to the questions of how the structure and nature of the world and natural phenomena are formed in the view of Ionian philosophers, how existents and objects are created and annihilated, and whether there is a single origin and a prudent intellect called the Divine Element beyond all changes and evolutions, the turning of material elements into each other, and the detachment of objects. Manuscript profile

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119 - A Comparative Analysis of Heraclitus’ Flux, Parmenides’ Stability, and Plato’s Ideas
Reza Bazeli Mahdi Monfared

The issue of ontology and the problem of authentic and unauthentic types of being have always been debated by philosophers since the time of ancient Greece until now. Among Greek philosophers, Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Plato enjoy particular significance because of th More

The issue of ontology and the problem of authentic and unauthentic types of being have always been debated by philosophers since the time of ancient Greece until now. Among Greek philosophers, Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Plato enjoy particular significance because of their particular theories. Heraclitus believed in flux and everlasting change of things and denied stability in being. By contrast, Parmenides denied change and believed in stability and unchangability in being. These two opposite theories were later reformulated in Plato’s theory of Ideas. He developed his particular theory by benefitting from these two theories and employed Heraclitus’ continuous flux in the world of sensibles and Parmenides’ stability of being in the world of Ideas. The present paper comparatively examines the problem of existence from the viewpoint of these three philosophers in order to clarify Plato’s agreement with his two predecessors. A comparison of the ontological views of these three Greek philosophers revealed that Parmenides’ theory of stability (way of truth) and Heraclitus’ theory of unity can be matched with Plato’s world of Ideas. Moreover, the writers conclude that Heraclitus’ theory of flux and Parmenides’ ways of inquiry are compatible with Plato’s world of sensibles. Manuscript profile

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120 - A Critical Study of the Illuminationist Nature of Ibn Sina’s Philosophy
Abdolhossein Khosropanah Hesam al-Din Momeni Shahraki Seyyed Hamid Forghani Dehnawi

One of the important problems in the field of the study of Ibn Sina is whether his philosophy is of a Peripatetic nature or an Illuminationist one. Some believe that his philosophy follows an Illuminationist approach and offer certain proofs in order to demonstrate thei More

One of the important problems in the field of the study of Ibn Sina is whether his philosophy is of a Peripatetic nature or an Illuminationist one. Some believe that his philosophy follows an Illuminationist approach and offer certain proofs in order to demonstrate their claim. In a general classification, it can be said that some of these proofs are based on the works of Ibn Sina himself, and some others are based on the knowledge sources he benefitted from. The writers of this paper believe that the proofs adduced on the Illuminationist nature of Ibn Sina’s philosophy are open to criticism. Therefore, they initially delve into the nature of Illuminationist philosophy and provide a concise but precise account of the proofs and reasons presented in support of the above claim. Next, they analyze and criticize them and highlight their weaknesses. This research has been carried out following an analytic critical method. Manuscript profile

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121 - Heidegger’s Interpretation of Anaximander’s Arche, Participation, and Time
Ghasem Purhassan Mehrdad Ahmadi

Heidegger believed that a metaphysical conceptualization of the relationship between identity and difference is not original and maintained that such negligence is rooted in the fact that metaphysics has forgotten “difference as such” as pure unfoldedness. In his view, More

Heidegger believed that a metaphysical conceptualization of the relationship between identity and difference is not original and maintained that such negligence is rooted in the fact that metaphysics has forgotten “difference as such” as pure unfoldedness. In his view, the Greeks had a clearer image of the above-mentioned relationship. In his interpretation of Anaximander’s view, Heidegger demonstrates that, while viewing all being as a whole, Anaximander does not ignore the differences among them. Based on Heidegger’s interpretation, through introducing apeiron and time as two fundamental elements, Anaximander managed to have an early encounter with the relationship between identity and difference. Heidegger called this relationship “participation” and maintained that this concept can lead one to fundamental difference. This is because, unlike metaphysical theories, it does not depend on external elements, upon which correlation relies; rather, it depends on the being of beings. Apeiron and time open the door to a pure space in the unfoldedness of which beings find their essence and, at the same time, depend so much on each other that the whole is created based on their mutual relation. Manuscript profile

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122 - Elements and Place of the Concept of Techne in Greek Ancient Philosophy with Reference to Heidegger’s View
Hassan Mehrnia Hossein Latifi Mahdi Zakeri

One of the significant and influential aspects of the philosophy of technology is the historical background of the concepts related to this field in the words of the writers and thinkers of ancient Greece. Among such concepts, the concept of techne, in the sense of tech More

One of the significant and influential aspects of the philosophy of technology is the historical background of the concepts related to this field in the words of the writers and thinkers of ancient Greece. Among such concepts, the concept of techne, in the sense of technique, industry, or art, and its place in ancient Greek works is of greater importance. Martin Heidegger was one of the first thinkers who conceived of the study of the concept of techne in ancient Greece as the introduction of a distinct perception of modern technology and held a particular view in this regard. Through the study of three groups of Greek texts, the present paper initially aims to trace the main elements of the concept of techne in the view of ancient Greek writers and thinkers. Second, through investigating Heidegger’s view, it intends to reintroduce the core of his analysis of this problem. Finally, it demonstrates that, firstly, techne is a rich concept, which, given its various elements, was so attractive to Greek thinkers that they used it in their philosophical discussions; secondly, its main elements have been repeated during ancient periods. However, in some periods, due to the existing conditions and views of different thinkers, some of its elements have become more foregrounded. The writers also conclude that reducing the complicated and multi-dimensional concept of techne into a general element does not appear to be correct and accurate. Manuscript profile

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123 - 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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124 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Neo platonic tradition has especial characters in history of philosophy. In this paper I explain 4 character of this school.

Neo platonic tradition has especial characters in history of philosophy. In this paper I explain 4 character of this school. Manuscript profile

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125 - Moving from Anselm’s and Descartes’ Arguments to another Version of the Conceptual Argument on the Existence of God
Amir Divani

The conceptual argument which is called the “ontological argument” in Western philosophy moves from a concept in the mind to its external referent. This argument is only about a concept which exclusively applies to God. Philosophers unanimously concede that the move fro More

The conceptual argument which is called the “ontological argument” in Western philosophy moves from a concept in the mind to its external referent. This argument is only about a concept which exclusively applies to God. Philosophers unanimously concede that the move from the (mere) concept to the referent is not allowed; at the same time, they agree that the concept representing God, like the existence of God, which is unique and different from that of any other existent, is different from all other concepts and has no parallel among them. Anselm and Descartes have presented the conceptual argument in different ways. Irrespective of the truth or falsity of the leveled criticisms against these two arguments, the present paper suggests another version of this argument (conceptual argument) which, under the necessary conditions, will attain its end more conveniently. This concept enjoys certain features, among which representation is of great importance. The intended concept is the same concept of existence; an intelligible concept which is a part of the nature of the intellect and stands at a distance from any kind of association with whatness and non-existence. After interpreting this argument and exploring the writings of Muslim philosophers, including Mulla Sadra, the author concludes that some of his words could be used as proof for the truth of this claim. If this argument yields fruit, it demonstrates not only the general capability of the intellect in knowing God and His Attributes but also the possibility of providing a new version of some of the objectives of the great figures in the fields of philosophy and gnosis. Manuscript profile

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126 - Eros and its Semantic Change in Proclus
Said Binayemotlagh Mohammad Javad Sabzevari

This paper initially deals with the meaning, place, and role of eros in the view of Proclus and, then, presents the changes that he created in the meaning or role of this concept by bringing it close to its rival Christian concept of ágape. Although Proclus himself neve More

This paper initially deals with the meaning, place, and role of eros in the view of Proclus and, then, presents the changes that he created in the meaning or role of this concept by bringing it close to its rival Christian concept of ágape. Although Proclus himself never acknowledged this semantic change in any of his books and believed that what he had done was in conformity with Platonic philosophy. Here, the writers demonstrate that, given his intended meaning of eros, there is no opposition between this concept and ágape, and they are, rather, consistent with each other. Manuscript profile

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127 - A Critical Study and Explanation of Mulla Mohammad Na‘im Taleqani’s Approach to the Theory of the Individual Unity of Existence
Seyyed Shahriyar Kamali Sabzewari

In the view of Mulla Mohammad Na‘im Taleqani, the theory of the individual unity of existence necessitates either the absolute identity of Almighty Necessary with objects or His possible being. Therefore, several objections can be advanced against this theory, which ren More

In the view of Mulla Mohammad Na‘im Taleqani, the theory of the individual unity of existence necessitates either the absolute identity of Almighty Necessary with objects or His possible being. Therefore, several objections can be advanced against this theory, which render it into an implausible and unacceptable one. Here, after analyzing his view regarding this theory through using such concepts as the copulative existence of the effect and encompassing plurality and distinction, the writer clarifies the theory of the individual unity of existence and demonstrates that none of the mentioned objections are justified. He finally concludes that Taleqani has failed to explain and analyze gnostics’ views regarding this theory. Manuscript profile

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128 - Factors Influencing Hakim Zonouzi’s View of Corporeal Resurrection
Mohammad Mahdi Meshkati Ali Mostajeran Gortanee

The philosophical explanation of corporeal resurrection is one of the most important philosophical problems which has attracted the attention of researchers during the post-Sadra era. Given the existing ambiguities and questions in this respect, the legacy of earlier ph More

The philosophical explanation of corporeal resurrection is one of the most important philosophical problems which has attracted the attention of researchers during the post-Sadra era. Given the existing ambiguities and questions in this respect, the legacy of earlier philosophers, particularly Mulla Sadra, in relation to this problem, and the principles of the Transcendent Philosophy, such as the trans-substantial motion and the gradedness of existence, Hakim Agha Ali Modarres Zonouzi has carefully investigated the issue of corporeal resurrection and provided a new analysis in this regard. His view is based on three premises: firstly, after death, the soul leaves certain soulish effects and forms in trust with the cells and elements of the body. Secondly, such effects result in the trans-substantial motion and the change and evolution of the body. Thirdly, after the perfection of the body in the light of its trans-substantial motion, it joins its own specific soul so that no other soul would be appropriate enough to unite with it. Hakim Zonouzi managed to demonstrate his new explanation for corporeal resurrection relying on certain philosophical principles and analytic studies of authentic hadith sources. The present paper investigates some of Hakim Zonouzi’s philosophical principles such as the union of the body and the soul, the true and unitary texture of the form, and the quality of its subsistence in two states. Finally, it elaborates on consolidating Hakim Zonouzi’s specific theory based on a tradition from Imam Sadiq (a). Manuscript profile

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129 - Doubt and Certainty in Contemporary Islamic and Western Philosophies
Abdurrazzaq Hesamifar

Doubt and certainty are two soulish states which form problematic and certain knowledge in the process of human cognition. Problematic knowledge is mainly obtained in the realm of empirical sciences, while certain knowledge is mostly acquired in the domain of certain no More

Doubt and certainty are two soulish states which form problematic and certain knowledge in the process of human cognition. Problematic knowledge is mainly obtained in the realm of empirical sciences, while certain knowledge is mostly acquired in the domain of certain non-empirical sciences such as philosophy, logic, mathematics, and gnosis. In the history of philosophy, philosophers often sought certain knowledge and believed that it is possible to attain the truth. In contrast, skeptics undermined the acquisition of such knowledge and did not believe in the existence of any kind of truth. The confrontations of these two groups have always constituted a part of the history of philosophy. Such a confrontation has been revived in contemporary philosophy as a result of the discussions which are made in modern epistemology both in Islamic philosophy and Western philosophy. On the one hand, contemporary Muslim philosophers have tried to defend the strong epistemological principles of Islamic philosophy through negating the views of skeptics. They believe in realism in epistemology and reject any interpretation of knowledge which is based on subjective idealism. On the other hand, at least some contemporary Western philosophers have tried to provide some responses to the questions posed by skeptics by developing a number of new views. In this comparative study, the author has tried to evaluate the attempts of a group of philosophers of each side in this regard. It is eventually concluded that the responses of Islamic philosophers to the posed questions enjoy a stronger basis both in the past and at present. Manuscript profile

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130 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

This paper contains some notes on academic researches.

This paper contains some notes on academic researches. Manuscript profile

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131 - History of Philosophy and its Models
Masoud Omid

Could the history of philosophy be viewed in the light of models? The author of this paper believes that a deliberation over the history of philosophy can reveal the traces of certain models for philosophizing. A model for philosophizing in its general sense indicates a More

Could the history of philosophy be viewed in the light of models? The author of this paper believes that a deliberation over the history of philosophy can reveal the traces of certain models for philosophizing. A model for philosophizing in its general sense indicates an allegorical mould based on which and within the framework of which a philosopher formulates his philosophy and his method of philosophizing. Accordingly, one can provide a general classification for all models of history of philosophy and then explain each of them. Based on the trend of the development of history of philosophy and the activities of philosophers, the models of philosophizing can be divided into three neutral, positivist, and negativist groups in general. The mirror (reflective) and narrative (iterative) models can be placed in the neutral category. However, the positivist models themselves can be divided into two mechanical and organic groups. The encyclopedic models fall under the first group, while the mathematical-tree (Descartes) models, mathematical-geometrical (Spinoza), puzzle-like models (Hume), architectural models (Kant), dialectic architectural models (Hegel), universalist organic architectural models (Schopenhauer), phenomenological architectural models (Heidegger in Being and Time) and logical architectural models (early Wittgenstein) belong to the second group. The therapeutic model (late Wittgenstein) and post-modern philosophies can be categorized under negativist models. Manuscript profile

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132 - Historical Development of the Concept of Hyle (Matter) in the Works of Muslim Thinkers
Mahmoud Hedayatafza Mohammad Javad Rezaeirah

As generally acknowledged, the term “hyle” in Peripatetic philosophy has been derived from Aristotle’s views on matter and form or potency and act. Although this term has been defined as “matter lacking actuality and enjoying pure potency” in Islamic philosophy, a study More

As generally acknowledged, the term “hyle” in Peripatetic philosophy has been derived from Aristotle’s views on matter and form or potency and act. Although this term has been defined as “matter lacking actuality and enjoying pure potency” in Islamic philosophy, a study of the works of Muslim thinkers reveals that, because of the integration of some philosophical views with gnostic ideas as well as the influence of Islamic teachings, this term has undergone different semantic changes. As a result, in some schools of philosophy, it has been consciously employed to refer to actual affairs. Below, the writers have provided eight meanings for “hyle”, which are listed in their chronological order of formulation: 1. Matter lacking any kind of actuality and enjoying pure potency, as accepted by Peripatetic philosophers and equivalent to its Aristotelian concept. 2. The fourth level of being, for the Isma‘ilite, which is posterior to the soul and prior to nature. 3. Pure substantial continuity, in some of Suhrawardi’s works, which, along with accidental quantity, constitutes the truth of body. 4. Matter inclusive of all possible worlds and an otherworldly expression of simple existence in the view of some gnostics. 5. One of the modes of form in line with Mulla Sadra’s view of the unitary integration of matter and form. 6. An equivalent to possible existence or created thing’s divine aspect (Face of God) in the view of Shaykh Ihsa’ei. 7. An expansion of the Aristotelian concept of prime hyle under the title of the dark nature of essence in Tafkik (separation) School. 8. An application of the matter of world to the element of water based on the religious texts of Tafkik School of thought. Manuscript profile

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133 - Heraclitus, Ethics, and Knowledge
Majid Mollayousefi Maryam Samadieh

Heraclitus was one of the important pre-Socratic philosophers who had some scattered notes on ethics. In order to understand his ethical views, in addition to referring to his existing notes, it is necessary to pay attention to the context in which his philosophy was fo More

Heraclitus was one of the important pre-Socratic philosophers who had some scattered notes on ethics. In order to understand his ethical views, in addition to referring to his existing notes, it is necessary to pay attention to the context in which his philosophy was formed. Heraclitus was under the influence of two traditions of his time. The first was the influence of Homer and early poets and philosophers, such as Solon, Bias of Priene, and the like, who were distinctively characterized by believing in human-like Gods or anthropomorphism. The other was the influence of a new scientific and technical tradition which was developed during the same century in Miletus under the influence of some figures such as Thales and Anaximander, who were mainly concerned with cosmology, that is, an understanding of the quality of the creation, survival and, finally, annihilation of the world order. In fact, Heraclitus’s philosophy can be viewed as a bridge between these two different traditions. Since he considered the world order and human order to be the same, it can be said that his main purpose and concern was explaining the status of human beings in the physical world and not the physical world itself. The ethics of Heraclitus, similar to those of other ancient Greek philosophers, described a kind of ethics of virtue, the core of which comprised virtue and happiness. In the field of virtue, he dealt with both moral virtues and intellectual virtues. Regarding moral virtues, through distinguishing bodily joys from non-bodily joys, he ultimately rejected excessive acts and introduced moderation in joys as the criterion for human behavior. With respect to intellectual virtues, Heraclitus also relied on the knowledge of wisdom and acknowledged that wisdom does not simply mean to have vast knowledge; rather, it means a kind of conscious and well-scrutinized knowledge which conforms to logos. As a result, he mainly emphasized intellectual rather than ethical virtues. Finally, he viewed man’s happiness a result of knowing and behaving in line with logos. Manuscript profile

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134 - Effects of Stoic Logic on the Development of the Concepts and Technical Terms of the Discussion of Conditional Propositions in the Islamic Period
Amin Shahverdi

Afnan and Sami al-Nishar believe that Islamic philosophers found access to the main texts of Stoic thinkers during the translation movement. Nevertheless, Josef van Ess maintains that Muslim philosophers were exposed to Stoic teachings in the course of the cultural inte More

Afnan and Sami al-Nishar believe that Islamic philosophers found access to the main texts of Stoic thinkers during the translation movement. Nevertheless, Josef van Ess maintains that Muslim philosophers were exposed to Stoic teachings in the course of the cultural interactions between Muslims and the residents of newly conquered regions. In the present paper, after criticizing these two ideas, the writer agrees with Dimitri Gutas’s view regarding the indirect impact of Stoic logical doctrines through the works of such logicians as Galen and Alexander of Aphrodisias. Then, by examining the concepts and technical terms which are employed by Stoic logicians in the analysis of conditional propositions and reasonings, he investigates the effects of such concepts and terms through the works of the above-mentioned logicians in the development of certain concepts such as conflict, necessity, and exception. Manuscript profile

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135 - Typology of Rationality in Two Philosophers: Confluence of Zakariya (al-Razi’s Autonomous Rationality and Abu Hatam al-Razi’s Revealed Rationality)
Mahdi Ganjvar

The relationship between “philosophical rationality” and “revelation-oriented religiosity” or, in a sense, the domain and functions of reason in comparison to revelation and its role in guiding human beings and leading them toward happiness has always been one of the mo More

The relationship between “philosophical rationality” and “revelation-oriented religiosity” or, in a sense, the domain and functions of reason in comparison to revelation and its role in guiding human beings and leading them toward happiness has always been one of the most important issues occupying the minds of Muslim thinkers. Following a problem-centered and descriptive-analytic method, the present paper examines two different methods of philosophical and religious rationalities practiced by two Iranian philosophers, Muhammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (died in 313 AH) and Abu Hatam Abdul Rahman Razi (died in 322 AH). It also explains the quality of the confluence of the two philosophical and kalami trends of thinking with each other in the 4th Hijri century. The significance of this study lies in the fact that it clearly infers the relationship between reason, revelation, and mutual needs of philosophy and religion for each other from the confrontational debates between these two methods of rationality. The most important findings of this study are related to the typology of the rationality of these two thinkers and their standpoints regarding the problem of reason and revelation, equality and inequality of reason among people, and the role of rationality in their views of happiness. Manuscript profile

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136 - An Analysis of the Philosophical Principles of Anthropology in Ancient Egyptian Philosophy
Mohammad Hossein Madad Elahee Hossein Zamaniha

The Greeks were familiar with Egyptian culture long before Thales in the 6th century BC and greatly benefitted from their teachings particularly in the field of mathematics. Recent studies in the realm of philosophy also indicate that Thales had a thorough knowledge of More

The Greeks were familiar with Egyptian culture long before Thales in the 6th century BC and greatly benefitted from their teachings particularly in the field of mathematics. Recent studies in the realm of philosophy also indicate that Thales had a thorough knowledge of ancient Egyptian philosophy and was influenced by it in developing his own philosophical views. In ancient Egyptian philosophy, in spite of resorting to myths in order to analyze and explain the truths of the world, there are also some traces of philosophical thought in its particular sense. For example, there are some traces of pure philosophical thought in the realms of ontology, politics, sociology, and anthropology. This kind of philosophical thought is formed based on the profound and multi-dimensional concept of ma’at. This word means order in the field of ontology, justice in the field of politics and sociology, and honesty in the field of anthropology. Within the domain of anthropology, ancient Egyptians specifically believed that Man’s existence has nine grades and dimensions which enjoy a kind of unity among themselves. What has led to the final emergence of such grades, particularly the last grade called thought, and, thus, Man’s eternity, is following ma’at or the laws governing the order of being. Accordingly, they establish a tight relationship between their ontology and anthropology. Manuscript profile

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137 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Iranian culture, History, philosophy of history.

Iranian culture, History, philosophy of history. Manuscript profile

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138 - Components of Plato’s Critical Approach to Poetry and Poets
Meysam Dadkhah Ali Naqi Baqershahi

In his Republic, after denouncing Athenian poetry and poets in certain sections, Plato decrees their deportation from his Utopia in the 10th book of the same work. At the same time, however, Plato’s own works abound in poetic concepts, and wherever he talks about poets, More

In his Republic, after denouncing Athenian poetry and poets in certain sections, Plato decrees their deportation from his Utopia in the 10th book of the same work. At the same time, however, Plato’s own works abound in poetic concepts, and wherever he talks about poets, he uses a language which is both hesitant and respectful. Accordingly, this paper is intended to provide some answers to the following questions: which truth underlies such a paradoxical attitude? How could Plato’s approach to poets be explained? What is the main object of Plato’s criticism: Athenian poets’ use of poetry or the essence of poetry itself? Or, should one seek for the response elsewhere and perhaps find the problem in the addressees of poetry? The authors believe that, if one agrees that one of the important elements of poetry in Athens was to believe in an epistemological aspect for sophist teachings, and if one assumes that, beyond ontological and epistemological discussions, Plato’s first problem is basically politics and the establishment of an organized political system, it can be concluded that, in this Utopia, the Athenian poetic tradition and its specific features are not consistent with Plato’s political ideas. The reason is that if one considers paedeia or a system of education to be necessary for the establishment of Utopia, if the intended paedeia is based on mythology and sophists’ teachings as its epistemological origin, it will be doomed to failure from the beginning. Moreover, one can approach this problem from the epistemological aspect of Plato’s philosophy and speak of the distinction between aesthetic beauty, as we know it today and as it is manifest in works of art, and the Ideal beauty or the same truth, as intended by Plato. In his view, the aesthetic view of beauty is a subcategory of Ideal beauty; hence, by the word “beautiful”, he does not merely mean the values that are involved in today’s concept of aesthetics. Rather, he has ethical and epistemological values in mind as well. Therefore, the discussion of the dismissal of poets from Utopia must be revisited under the category of general and particular senses of beauty. Manuscript profile

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139 - An Evaluation and Pathology of the Components of Epistemology of the Modern Period in Human Sciences
Ali Karbalaei Pazooki Fatemeh Najafi Pazooki

The formation of modern human sciences which are presently taught at the academic centers of the world dates back to the modern period in the West; an era which is known as the period of the separation of science, religion, intellect, and faith from each other. The theo More

The formation of modern human sciences which are presently taught at the academic centers of the world dates back to the modern period in the West; an era which is known as the period of the separation of science, religion, intellect, and faith from each other. The theoretical principles of this field of knowledge are limited to matter from an ontological standpoint, to anthropology from a humanist standpoint, to secularism from an eschatological standpoint, and to sense perception, experience, verification, and instrumental intellect from an epistemological standpoint. The question is what the contexts and background of the formation of modern human sciences in the West are, and what epistemological, religious, psychological, and spiritual harms they might lead to. Following a descriptive-analytic design and through a historical review of the problem of knowledge in the West, the present study intends to revisit the epistemological factors influencing the formation of the human sciences of the modern period and their disadvantages. Restricting science to scientism; human being to humanism; the world of being to natural phenomena; acquisition of knowledge to sense perception, empiricism, causality, and pure rationalism, as well as focusing on an epistemological distinction between phenomena and things in-themselves, and ignoring inner sense and fitri (intrinsic) knowledge, intuitive intellect and revelation are among the significant factors which play roles in the formation of modern western human sciences. Moreover, they underlie the creation of epistemological, religious, and psychological crises; spiritual poverty; nihilism, and the like in the world today. Manuscript profile

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140 - Reflection of the Philosophy of Amesha Spenta in Suhrawardi’s Theory of Archetypes
Nadia Maftouni Morteza Darrudi Jawan

Following the method of content analysis, this study explores the extent of the direct and indirect effects and signs of five amesha spenta in the collection of Suhrawardi’s works. In this process, after establishing the general and particular features of amesha spenta More

Following the method of content analysis, this study explores the extent of the direct and indirect effects and signs of five amesha spenta in the collection of Suhrawardi’s works. In this process, after establishing the general and particular features of amesha spenta based on Zoroastrian sources, such as Avesta and Bandhesh, and other scientific and analytic texts, the authors have searched for them in Suhrawardi’s works. They have extracted and enumerated all the cases in which explicit references have been made to amesha spenta and their general and specific features. After calculating the frequency of the features and signs of each amesha spenta, they have provided a content and conceptual analysis for them. Among the findings of this study are determining the number of explicit references to amesha spenta and the relative order of the frequency of the signs based on the order of amesha spenta, referring to the five-fold amesha spenta as accidental intellects based on their archetypal functions, providing a collection of the strongest signs in Persian texts, and reminiscing about Iranian mythical heroes. Manuscript profile

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141 - 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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142 - 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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143 - 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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144 - Foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Religion Culture Iran

Religion Culture Iran Manuscript profile

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145 - Aristotelian and Avicennan Background of the Principles of Analogical Theology of Thomas Aquinas
Mohammad Mahdi Gorjian Mojtaba Afsharpour

Given its emphasis upon the text of the Holy Scripture, Thomas Aquinas’s theory of analogical theology is one of the most influential and multi-faceted theories regarding the knowledge of God and analysis of His names and attributes. Aquinas’s main purpose in discussing More

Given its emphasis upon the text of the Holy Scripture, Thomas Aquinas’s theory of analogical theology is one of the most influential and multi-faceted theories regarding the knowledge of God and analysis of His names and attributes. Aquinas’s main purpose in discussing this issue in both of his great works, Summa Theologia and Summa Contra Gentiles, was to predicate the perfectional attributes of all creatures, including human beings as the most perfect of them, on God. He believed that this is possible by employing an analogical method of predication as opposed to equivocation and unequivocation. In this way, he attained a knowledge of the names and attributes of the Truth that enabled him to leave the negative theology of the Middle Ages behind and, in this way, avoid the trap of assimilating the Truth to the created. The essential element of Aquinas’s analogical theology is the “principle of the perfections of cause and effect”. The perfections of effect have an apriori supreme presence in the cause. There are two other principles in his works called the “argument of degrees of perfection” and the “principle of the priority of cause to effect”. He insists on attributing all these three principles to Aristotle and Ibn Rushd in order to introduce his own analogical predication as being rooted in Aristotle’s philosophy. However, the truth is that Aristotle never made any explicit reference to any of the claims made by Aquinas. Rather, the idea of God’s being above perfection and pure good, in the sense that Pure Perfection embodies all perfections of finite things, is among Ibn Sina’s achievements and innovations in theological discussions. In fact, Ibn Rushd’s words in this regard explain Ibn Sina’s theories although he wrote them in his commentaries on Aristotle’s words. Manuscript profile

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146 - Kant and History of Philosophy: Perspectives and Main Points
Masoud Omid

Investigating the history of philosophy and philosophers’ views of it are of great significance because the most important source of philosophy and philosophizing is the same field of the history of philosophy. The trend of modern philosophy, whether in the mould of rat More

Investigating the history of philosophy and philosophers’ views of it are of great significance because the most important source of philosophy and philosophizing is the same field of the history of philosophy. The trend of modern philosophy, whether in the mould of rationalism or empiricism, has generally been developed without acknowledging the need for history of philosophy, without making it the center of discussion, and without having a particular historical perspective in this respect. For example, in order to develop his philosophy, Descartes merely focused on the thinker’s capacity and the endless world. Empiricists have also tried to have a share of the knowledge of human nature and the world of qualities and quantities through experimentation. However, when it comes to Kant, at the beginning of his book, Critique of Pure Reason, he focuses on the possibilities of human knowledge, while he finishes this work with a section entitled “History of Pure Reason”. Even the opening section and some of his words in his Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics reflect certain perspectives and points concerning the history of philosophy. Therefore, it can be said that he was, to some extent, interested in the history of philosophy and even believed that he owed the development and consolidation of his philosophy to perceiving the nature and history of metaphysics and the related sciences and teachings. Kant found out that it would be impossible to understand the nature of philosophy or conduct philosophical inquiries and discoveries without first studying the history of metaphysics and other philosophical and empirical sciences. The rise of subject and its transcendental nature would have also been impossible without considering the history of philosophy and sciences and following a historical approach regarding systematic human sciences. However, Kant did not deal with the history of philosophy by itself; rather, he focused on the history of philosophical studies. Moreover, even at this point, the relation of the history of philosophical studies or a historical approach to the definition, restriction, and specification of subject is not of a constitutive knowledge-producing type; rather, it can be of a regulatory functional type. The history of philosophical studies could function as a guiding principle for philosophical understanding and work and highlight the signs and traces of the subject. Nevertheless, it cannot, by itself, define or create the subject, for Kantian subject has a historical aspect but is not a historical entity. In other words, the subject is a historian, perspectivist, and history-bound but is not of a historical nature. The history of philosophy is the occurrence condition of the subject and not its transcendental condition. The transcendental conditions of the subject are internal and included in its definition rather than being external, historical, and accidental. The present paper examines Kantian views of the history of philosophy in order to reveal this neglected and hidden aspect of his philosophy. In doing so, it explores some problems such as the meaning and definition of history of philosophy, history of interest in philosophy, end of history of philosophy, difference and similarity between history of philosophy and history of science, classification of history of philosophy, the relationship between philosophy and history of philosophy, the relationship between the philosophy of history and history of philosophy, and the like from Kant’s point of view. Manuscript profile

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147 - Cosmology of Muhammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi
Iraj Nikseresht Rasool Jafarian Abdullah Farrahi

In his search for the essence of being, following an aprioristic approach, Razi believed in the five-fold substances of Necessary Being (Creator), rational soul, hyle (matter), absolute time (perpetual duration), and absolute place (vacuum). When explaining the process More

In his search for the essence of being, following an aprioristic approach, Razi believed in the five-fold substances of Necessary Being (Creator), rational soul, hyle (matter), absolute time (perpetual duration), and absolute place (vacuum). When explaining the process of creation through the four pre-eternal things alongside God, he justified the role of God’s Will in the process of creation by highlighting the role of the soul’s ignorance in its tendency for matter. He also demonstrated that the world was created at God’s will and not by nature. In his view, it is only Man who can liberate the soul from the pains and calamities of matter through the mediation of the intellect and lead it towards happiness and salvation. However, the difference is that the soul will not have any desire for matter. Razi believed in the possibility of corruption and change in bodies and, as a result, in the world of creation, even if the bodies are of an earthly or heavenly nature. He maintained that bodies consist of hyle and vacuum and emphasized that substances enjoy volume and are pre-eternal. Accordingly, he agreed that particles are infinite in number and composite in nature and disagreed with creation out of nothing. In his view, the qualities of four-fold elements and heavenly spheres, such as lightness and heaviness, brightness and darkness, and softness and hardness, depend on the mass and number of the vacuum-like components that penetrated the substances of hyle. At the same time, Razi acknowledged the centrality and immobility of the Earth and believed that heaven and, following it, the Sun, and other stars have a spinning motion through the balance of the components of the hyle and the vacuum within them. He considered the world to have been originated and agreed with the possibility of existence of other worlds. Finally, Razi explained vacuum and plenum in the mould of the concept of an infinite universal place which is independent of the world and also introduced beyond this place as space. Manuscript profile

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148 - The Relationship between Gods and Man in Greek Philosophy
Abdulrasul Hasanifar Sajjad Chitforush

Man’s behaviors and acts in each period are directly influenced by the ontological views and philosophical and religious principles of that period. Therefore, in order to understand the nature of such behaviors and acts, one might initially learn about the dominant onto More

Man’s behaviors and acts in each period are directly influenced by the ontological views and philosophical and religious principles of that period. Therefore, in order to understand the nature of such behaviors and acts, one might initially learn about the dominant ontological and epistemological principles of the time. One of such principles which is necessary for understanding human behavior and acts in each period pertains to the prevailing view of being and God, which directly affects one’s conduct in society. Given the necessity of cross-cultural knowledge in the contemporary era, the profound relationship between the Greeks and Iranians, and its effects on different aspects of their thoughts, the knowledge of the Greeks’ philosophical and behavioral principles could play a key role in the study of this cultural relationship. Accordingly, the present paper investigates the ontological views of the Greeks, their philosophical principles and, particularly, their views of God and the soul and the effect of such views on their behaviors and acts. In doing so, the authors have examined the ideas of three thinkers of the Greek era, namely, Homer, Socrates, and Plato, following an interpretive method. The results of this study indicate that the Greeks’ view of God in each period changed under the influence of the views of the thinkers of the time. In fact, Homer, Socrates, and Plato held distinct ideas in this regard. In Homer’s mythical view, Gods are like human heroes with human attributes and in transaction with human beings. However, in Socrates’s eye, God is a being who guides human beings and communicates with them through demons. Finally, in Plato’s philosophy, where polytheism moves toward monotheism, God, as the Idea of Good, is a transcendent Being who determines Man’s destiny and promulgates laws for their individual and social lives. Manuscript profile

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149 - 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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150 - 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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151 - 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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152 - 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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153 - Creation of Persian Works by Muslim Philosophers
Alireza Najafzadeh

As far as we know, no book was ever written in Persian during the early centuries of the history of Islam on philosophy or any other field, and all Muslim scientists and scholars, who were mostly Iranian, wrote their scientific works in Arabic. From fourth century (AH) More

As far as we know, no book was ever written in Persian during the early centuries of the history of Islam on philosophy or any other field, and all Muslim scientists and scholars, who were mostly Iranian, wrote their scientific works in Arabic. From fourth century (AH) onwards, Iranian philosophers gradually started writing a limited number of their works in Persian alongside the many works in Arabic. This was an invaluable endeavor since it paved the way for later scholars to write in Persian. They did so at a time when Persian, after an interval, lacked the necessary capacity for the expression of abstract philosophical concepts and meanings. Ibn Sīnā and his students, Nāṣir Khusraw, Suhrawardī, Bābā Afḍal Kāshānī, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī, and many others played a significant role in writing philosophical works in Persian. Their attempts at finding Persian equivalents for Arabic philosophical terms have been of great value to Iranian philosophers of the modern period to create Persian philosophical works. Following a descriptive-analytic method, this paper investigates the linguistic and literary reasons behind the dominance of Arabic over philosophical writings. Moreover, through introducing the most important philosophical writings in Persian, it explains their role in the development and enrichment of this language for the transfer of philosophical knowledge. Finally, the author discusses the effects of translated western philosophical works on the enrichment of the treasure of Persian lexicon and emphasizes the necessity of writing more philosophical works in Persian in the present era, in which the number of people who speak Arabic as a foreign or second language has decreased to a large extent. Manuscript profile

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154 - Foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Islamic Philosophy, Arabic Philosophy, Orientalism

Islamic Philosophy, Arabic Philosophy, Orientalism Manuscript profile

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155 - 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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156 - 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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157 - 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

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158 - Suhrawardī’s View of the Logic; A Fundamental Variation from Aristotelian School
mostafa abedi jige

In contrast to Aristotelian tradition, in Suhrawardī’s philosophy, logic loses its instrumentality regarding knowledge and its place is established after the realization of wisdom. Aristotelian philosophy includes the whole human knowledge, except the principles of know More

In contrast to Aristotelian tradition, in Suhrawardī’s philosophy, logic loses its instrumentality regarding knowledge and its place is established after the realization of wisdom. Aristotelian philosophy includes the whole human knowledge, except the principles of knowledge, within the domain of acquired knowledge and considers knowledge to be a theoretical affair. However, through acknowledging the presential nature of knowledge, Suhrawardī extracts it from the realm of conceptual and acquired thought and maintains that it is primarily pre-theoretical. He initially attains wisdom through intuition and then adduces some arguments for it. Then, by a fundamental turn, he argues that conceptual thought is based on presential thought and emphasizes that the realm of presence is the criterion for the realm of acquisition. Manuscript profile

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159 - A Study of the Views of Three Muslim Philosophers on the Four-Fold Virtues: Ibn Miskawayh, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ḥakīm J‘afar Kashfī
Masoud Sadeghi amir jalali

Ibn Miskawayh, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ḥakīm J‘afar Kashfī share relatively similar views on the soul and believe in Aristotle’s middle term. Moreover, all of them consider the four-fold virtues of wisdom, bravery, piety, and justice to be the most original moral More

Ibn Miskawayh, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ḥakīm J‘afar Kashfī share relatively similar views on the soul and believe in Aristotle’s middle term. Moreover, all of them consider the four-fold virtues of wisdom, bravery, piety, and justice to be the most original moral virtues; however, they also have some disagreements with each other. This paper, while trying to accurately explain the similarities between them, aims to carefully investigate the differences among them regarding the mentioned virtues. Accordingly, after dividing the virtues into primary and secondary ones, the authors analyze and compare the lists and definitions of secondary virtues in the view of each of these philosophers with those of others. The findings of this study demonstrate that the greatest similarities between the views of Ibn Miskawayh, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ḥakīm J‘afar Kashfī pertain to the virtue of wisdom and its related virtues. However, there are some relatively noteworthy differences among them regarding bravery, piety, and justice. For example, regarding piety, there is some disagreement between the views of Ibn Miskawayh and Ṭūsī; nevertheless, Ḥakīm Kashfī provides a different list of secondary virtues in comparison to the other two philosophers and oftentimes discusses piety in unity with economic and sexual self-discipline. The list and definitions of secondary virtues in relation to justice are completely similar to each other in the views of Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī and Kashfī; however, Ibn Miskawayh’s list of justice-related secondary virtues contains 13 items more than those of the other two philosophers. Manuscript profile

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160 - A Critical Analysis of Henry Corbin’s Thoughts on the Comparison of Suhrawardī’s Philosophy with Greek Philosophy
Hasan Seyedarab seyedali Alamolhoda Alireza parsa Akhlaghi Marzie

Henry Corbin is a western commentator of Suhrawardī’s Illuminationist philosophy. His thoughts in relation to interpreting this philosophy are based on t’awīl (hermeneutics), phenomenology, metahistory, and comparative philosophy. The present paper is the first attempt More

Henry Corbin is a western commentator of Suhrawardī’s Illuminationist philosophy. His thoughts in relation to interpreting this philosophy are based on t’awīl (hermeneutics), phenomenology, metahistory, and comparative philosophy. The present paper is the first attempt at addressing this subject, and it is intended to critically investigate Corbin’s thoughts regarding the comparison of Suhrawardī’s philosophy with those of Plato, Aristotle, and neo-Platonists. Here, the authors have explored Suhrawardī’s innovative ideas so that the differences between them and the thoughts of the above-mentioned philosophers are disclosed. They have also presented a general critique of Corbin’s methodology and its defects in the conclusion. Comparative philosophy, which is sometimes called intercultural philosophy, requires philosophers to deal with various cultural, linguistic, and philosophical trends with an emphasis on the fundamental principles underlying the philosophers’ thoughts and to study the differences and similarities among their views. In Corbin’s view, comparative philosophy has functioned as the gateway of the correct perception of philosophical thoughts in the history of philosophy, and that is why he has compared Illuminationist philosophy with the philosophical views of Plato and Aristotle. He believes that Suhrawardī’s philosophy has been derived from Plato’s views, which seems to have its roots in his idea that the origin of philosophy is Greece. Corbin considers him as the Plato of the world of Islam; however, he ignores Suhrawardī’s innovations, the differences between his philosophy and that of Plato, and his criticism of Aristotle. Manuscript profile

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161 - foreword
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Borhan Jadal Plato Keratalous

Borhan Jadal Plato Keratalous Manuscript profile

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162 - 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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163 - 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

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164 - The Relationship between Weakness of Will and Ethical Life in Aristotle: A Glance at Socrates’ View and Aristotle’s Critique of Weakness of Will
Simin Kheirabadi Ali Akbar Abdol Abadi

“Weakness of will” is one of the fundamental concepts in Aristotle’s ethics, a thorough understanding of which requires an understanding of its meaning and use in his views. In this paper, following a descriptive-analytic method, the authors initially refer to the lexic More

“Weakness of will” is one of the fundamental concepts in Aristotle’s ethics, a thorough understanding of which requires an understanding of its meaning and use in his views. In this paper, following a descriptive-analytic method, the authors initially refer to the lexical roots of the expression of “weakness of will” in Greek and, then, try to explain Socrates’ idea of weakness of will and Aristotle’s critique of this view. Next, given some of the referents of the concept of weakness of will in Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics, they seek to demonstrate why human beings sometimes act against their ethical knowledge. Later they provide Aristotle’s analysis of the phenomenon of weakness of will as one of the obstacles to living an ethical life and argue that sometimes it stands in contrast to rationality. As a result, while being aware that something is ethically wrong or right, an individual, under the influence of their misplaced desires, might act unethically or cease to act ethically. In Aristotle’s view, a necessary condition for the rationality of ethical necessity is for human beings to benefit from “practical wisdom”. He also believes that if the intellect leads the other human faculties at the level of act, individuals will certainly choose and do the right thing. Manuscript profile

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165 - The Concept and Place of Bahman in Avestan and Pahlavi Texts as the “First Emanated” in Illuminationist Philosophy
Hasan Bolkhari Qehi

The statement, “Reason was the first thing that God created”, which has been mentioned in several Islamic texts and has been quoted and emphasized by some great philosophers such as Suhrawardī and Mullā Ṣadrā (in Sharḥ-i uṣūl al-kāfī), is a well-known narration in Islam More

The statement, “Reason was the first thing that God created”, which has been mentioned in several Islamic texts and has been quoted and emphasized by some great philosophers such as Suhrawardī and Mullā Ṣadrā (in Sharḥ-i uṣūl al-kāfī), is a well-known narration in Islamic ḥadīths. A similar statement with a clearer meaning is: “The Glorious God created the intellect, which was the first heavenly created”. Such statements gain more significance when we compare them with similar statements regarding the place of the intellect, which is equal to being, in Greek philosophy. As the master of all Iluminationist philosophers, Suhrawardī, as he has emphasized in his treatise of Fī ḥaqīqat al-‘ishq (On the Truth of Love) (p. 268), was well-aware of this famous narration. Given Suhrawardī’s explicit reference to this statement and his clear indication in Ḥikmat al-ishrāq, in which he calls himself the reviver of ancient Iranian philosophy (or at least introduces the wisdom of ancient Iranian philosophers (fahlavīūn) as one of the main sources of his own philosophy), this study aims to provide an answer to the question of how we can trace the effects of ancient Iranian wisdom in Suhrawardī’s philosophy. One of the most important factors linking his philosophy to ancient Iranian philosophy is his reference to the place of such Amesha Spenta as Bahman or Urdībihišt in Avestan and Pahlavi texts and considering them as the pillars of the nūrī (illuminative) and ontological system in his philosophy. Here, based on the principle of “Nothing is emanated from the one but one”, he calls the first-emanated from the light of lights (al-nūr al-anwār) the closest light (al-nūr al-aqrab) and, based on ancient Iranian philosophy, he calls it Bahman. However, one might inquire about the relationship between Bahman and the first-emanated, particularly if the first-emanated in Islamic philosophy is the intellect. Following a historical and analytic approach, this paper investigates the philosophy of choosing Bahman as the first-emanated in Suhrawardī’s philosophy and examines his particular choice of Bahman as the god of wisdom and knowledge as tantamount to the intellect in Islamic ḥadīths, which demonstrates Suhrawardī’s profound knowledge of ancient Iranian wisdom. Manuscript profile

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166 - Editor's Notes
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Language Culture Civilation

Language Culture Civilation Manuscript profile

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167 - A Study of Idah al-Khayr al-Mahd and its Influence over the History of Islamic Philosophy
Gholamhossein Ahmadi Ahangar

The book al-Khayr al-mahd is inspired by Proclus’ Elements of Theology and, in spite of its small size, has exercised the greatest influence upon Islamic philosophy along with Athologia. In this treatise, Proclus has propounded several problems concerning the prime caus More

The book al-Khayr al-mahd is inspired by Proclus’ Elements of Theology and, in spite of its small size, has exercised the greatest influence upon Islamic philosophy along with Athologia. In this treatise, Proclus has propounded several problems concerning the prime cause, intellect, and soul, which are accepted by Muslim philosophers. Through posing the four elements of prime cause, existence, intellects, and souls in the cosmological theory of emanation based on effusion, as well as dividing each of the intellects and souls into primary and secondary ones and discussing them based on their ontological places and excellence, Proclus stands at a distance from Plotinus’ theory of emanation. The translation of al-Khayr al-mahd into Arabic granted it a more visible presence before Muslim philosophers because of its greater conformity with their religious and revealed thoughts. That is why we sometimes confront the same words and statements used in al-Khayr al-mahd in their works. For example, in ‘Amiri’s treatise of Fi al-m‘alim ilahiyyah, the principles and problems discussed in al-Khayr al-mahd have been presented in exactly the same form. However, they have been reflected in a new form in others’ works. In this paper, the writer has tried to demonstrate the influence of this book on Muslim philosophers. Manuscript profile

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168 - Truth of Man and the True Man in Abulhassan ‘Amiri and Mulla Sadra
Hassan Rahbar

The discussion of man’s existence and his truth and station in the world of creation has always attracted the attention of philosophers as one of the important philosophical issues. Muslim philosophers have also dealt with the problem of man in their discussions. The fu More

The discussion of man’s existence and his truth and station in the world of creation has always attracted the attention of philosophers as one of the important philosophical issues. Muslim philosophers have also dealt with the problem of man in their discussions. The fundamental point in philosophical anthropology is to speak about the truth of man as a distinct and chosen existent among all others. Abulhassan ‘Amiri Nishaburi, the Iranian Muslim philosopher, is one of the thinkers who has posed certain discussions regarding the truth of man in his philosophical works. As a result, here the writers have compared his views in this regard with those of Mulla Sadra as a distinguished philosopher with some novel theories about the truth of man. In doing so, they have tried to analyze their ideas and reveal their points of agreement and disagreement. Here, their conception of man as a creature of God composed of soul and body, their conception of the soul as the truth of man and, as a result, their opposition to materialistic approaches can be considered to be among their common points. On the other hand, their views concerning the body-soul relationship and its quality can be viewed as their points of difference. Mulla Sadra believes that the body-soul relationship is a necessary and ontological one, and introduces the steam-like spirit as the mediator between the two. Then, by posing the theory of corporeal origination, he provides a more comprehensive theory. Nevertheless, ‘Amiri considers this relationship to be an accidental one and does provide a clear explanation to justify his position in this regard. It is emphasized that both of them conceive of the intellect as one of the levels of the soul, the element distinguishing man from other existents, and the criterion for the truth of man. Manuscript profile

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169 - Man’s Intellectual and Intuitive Knowledge of the One and the One’s Knowledge of Himself and other than Himself in Plotinus’ Philosophy
Asadullah Heydarpour Kiya’i

The present paper explores whether, based on Plotinus’ view, man can have a demonstrative and inferential knowledge of the One. It also tries to provide answers to the questions of whether he can describe and explain Him, whether he is capable of having an intuitive and More

The present paper explores whether, based on Plotinus’ view, man can have a demonstrative and inferential knowledge of the One. It also tries to provide answers to the questions of whether he can describe and explain Him, whether he is capable of having an intuitive and presential knowledge of the One, what kind of knowledge the One has of Himself, and, finally, whether this knowledge is of an intellectual demonstrative nature or of an intellectual-intuitive type. Plotinus believes that man is not capable of attaining a theoretical concept and intellectual-demonstrative knowledge of the One. Therefore, he cannot provide a description and explanation for Him. Nevertheless, he will be able to have intuitive knowledge and presential knowledge of the One under certain conditions. In this case, he will become one with the One in some way. Demonstrative thinking, which is concomitant with plurality in its essence, has no way into the essentially simple and pure One. Accordingly, He is intuitively self-conscious, and since He is the Origin of everything, and since everything is present in Him, He is aware of other than Himself in the same way that He is aware of Himself. Manuscript profile

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170 - The Relationship between the Pillars of Wisdom and Utopia in Suhrawardi and Plato
Saeed Rahimian

The idea of utopia entails extensive discussions with a history as long as the history of humanity. Plato was the first philosopher who portrayed utopia in a philosophical mould. On the other hand, in the Islamic world, Farabi was the pioneer of this view and left it as More

The idea of utopia entails extensive discussions with a history as long as the history of humanity. Plato was the first philosopher who portrayed utopia in a philosophical mould. On the other hand, in the Islamic world, Farabi was the pioneer of this view and left it as a legacy to the thinkers living after him until today. Shaykh Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi is one of the philosophers who gives a specific direction to his philosophical thoughts in search of an ideal state; one that emerges from the heart of his Illuminationist ontology and epistemology. The present paper aims to explore this firm relationship and, given the place of Plato’s ideas in Suhrawardi’s philosophy, highlights the points of agreement and disagreement of these two thinkers in this regard. Considering the similarities between their views, particularly in cases such as man’s interest in a civil society, the conformity and harmony between their ideal state and the order of being and confining the ruling power to the people possessing the knowledge of the truths of the higher world, one cannot deny the independence of Suhrawardi’s philosophy, especially, with respect to the leadership of an ideal state and its leader’s attributes. Manuscript profile

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171 - Philosophers and the Esoteric Interpretation of the Qur’an in Ibn Rushd
Roohallah ‘Alizadeh

Like other Islamic philosophers, Abulwalid Muhammed Ibn Rushd, the most prominent philosopher of the West of the Islamic world thought about the relationship between religion and philosophy and created some important works in this regard. From among them, we can refer t More

Like other Islamic philosophers, Abulwalid Muhammed Ibn Rushd, the most prominent philosopher of the West of the Islamic world thought about the relationship between religion and philosophy and created some important works in this regard. From among them, we can refer to Fasl al-maqal, al-kashf ‘an manahij al-adillah fi ‘aqa’id al-malah and Tahafut al-tahafat. In Ibn Rushd’s view, religion and philosophy are in harmony and bear no opposition against each other. In this regard, he argues, “Since Shari‘ah is the truth and invites people to a kind of rational reasoning which is fulfilled by the truth, both are the truth, and the truth is not in contrast to the truth. Rather, both agree with each other and acknowledge each other.” However, saying that philosophy is not in opposition to religion pertains to the innermost of religion and Qur’anic verses because philosophy and rational thinking are sometimes in contrast to the external meaning of religious ideas and verses. Ibn Rushd’s solution for removing such contrasts is to attain the inner meaning of the verses through interpretation. Of course, like Farabi, Ibn Rushd does not believe in the unity of religion and philosophy and merely thinks about their consistency with each other and lack of opposition between them. This is because philosophy and religion have to be independent from each other for the sake of their own safety. Thus we must not mix their related discussions with each other. In the present article, the writers have tackled the problem of the harmony between philosophy and religion from Ibn Rushd’s view in general, and explored his theory of interpretation, in particular. Finally, they argue that one of the most important goals of Ibn Rushd in propounding the discussion of the lack of opposition among religion, philosophy, and interpretation was defending philosophy and giving the right of interpretation to the people of reasoning, who are the same philosophers. Manuscript profile

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172 - Development of the Theory of Categories from Aristotle to Ibn Sina
Reza Rasuli Sharabiyani

Aristotle’s view of categories is not a merely linguistic one. His four-fold division of existents and referring to the features of being in the subject and being told in terms of the subject alongside each other indicate his ontological view of categories. In his eyes, More

Aristotle’s view of categories is not a merely linguistic one. His four-fold division of existents and referring to the features of being in the subject and being told in terms of the subject alongside each other indicate his ontological view of categories. In his eyes, they are the windows linking subject and object to each other. He poses the issue of categories to bring thought and reality together. Therefore, the goal of the laws of Aristotelian logic, in addition to analyzing the forms of thinking, is to explain the knowledge of reality as it is reflected in the human mind. The discussion of categories in Aristotle’s logical works functions as a window to the entrance of essentialism in logic and the dominance of Aristotelian metaphysics on his logic. This aspect weakens Aristotle’s logic in presenting and analyzing many propositions and syllogisms and makes the semantic aspect of this logic more prominent in comparison to its formal aspect. The theory of categories existed in logic books before Ibn Sina. In several cases in the book of categories of al-Shifa, he mentions that there is no place for the discussion of categories in logic and puts it aside in the logic section of al-Isharat. Unlike Aristotle, Ibn Sina’s heedlessness of categories can reveal formalization in logic and its deviation from Aristotle’s essentialism and semanticism. Manuscript profile

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173 - Athiri’s Heritage: Life and Works
Mehdi ‘Azimi

Athir al-Din Mufaddal Ibn Umar Abhari (590-663 AH) is a well-known Iranian mutikallim, philosophers, logician, mathematician, and astronomer. So far, Recher, Qanawati, Muwahhid, and Sariogulu have provided some heterogeneous reports of his life and works. In this paper, More

Athir al-Din Mufaddal Ibn Umar Abhari (590-663 AH) is a well-known Iranian mutikallim, philosophers, logician, mathematician, and astronomer. So far, Recher, Qanawati, Muwahhid, and Sariogulu have provided some heterogeneous reports of his life and works. In this paper, through criticizing previous studies and based on first-hand historical sources, the writer has tried to give a comprehensive and well-documented report of his life and works. Some of the new findings of this report are as follows: 1) the timeline of Abhari’s life, 2) a bibliography of his works (a list of his manuscripts and printed works), 3) a complete list of his masters, students, and contemporary thinkers, 4) critiques of Recher, Qanawati, and Sariogulu claiming that Abhari’s hometown was Mosul, 5) Sariogulu’s critique stating that Abhari was said to be from Samarqand because either he or his ancestors were originally from this city, and Muwahhid’s critique stating that old sources do not contain any information in this regard, 6) Sariogulu’s critique reporting that Abhari went to primary school in Mosul, 7) ‘Asqalani’s critique and, following it, the critiques of Sarkis, Kordali, and Mudarres Razawi, all claiming that Abhari found shelter with Abu al-fada’ in Hamat, and 8) A critique declaring that Abhari passed away in Mosul. Manuscript profile

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174 - Editor's Notes
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Student's Thesis Research on Basically Problems

Student's Thesis Research on Basically Problems Manuscript profile

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175 - Nature of Intellectual Intuition in Ibn Sina’s Oriental Ethics
Mir Sa‘id Musawi Karimi Ali Reza Sayyad Mansur Muhammed Hani J‘afarian

The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of Ibn Sina’s idea concerning the ethical epistemology of oriental works entitled “intellectual intuition”. In the study of the nature of intellectual intuition, the focus is placed on its component parts. In other wo More

The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of Ibn Sina’s idea concerning the ethical epistemology of oriental works entitled “intellectual intuition”. In the study of the nature of intellectual intuition, the focus is placed on its component parts. In other words, we will pay attention to elements which Ibn Sina considers as the sources of the acquisition of ethical knowledge under the title of intellectual intuition, and it appears that this kind of intuition results from a combination of these elements. Therefore, here the writers initially introduce the epistemological elements of intellectual intuition following a modern approach and maintain that intellectual intuition consists of three epistemological elements of intuition, introversion, and intellect. Then they clarify the role of each of these elements in the epistemological functions of intellectual intuition in Ibn Sina’s view. Next, through explaining the role of intuition in the ethical epistemology of contemporary intuitionists, they try to explore the particular functions of this epistemological layout in the eyes of contemporary thinkers. Finally, through a comparison of their ideas with those of Ibn Sina, the writers provide a more accurate picture of the whatness of intuition and its constituent elements in Ibn Sina’s philosophy. Manuscript profile

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176 - A Study of Hermes in Suhrawardi’s Thoughts
Seyyedeh Behnaz Hosseini

In Tabari sources, Hermes is one of the grandchildren of Sheth, the son of Adam. After these two people, he was the first to become a prophet. In Suhrawardi’s view, the history of philosophy and thought begins with Hermes. The Sufis have been truly called the most impor More

In Tabari sources, Hermes is one of the grandchildren of Sheth, the son of Adam. After these two people, he was the first to become a prophet. In Suhrawardi’s view, the history of philosophy and thought begins with Hermes. The Sufis have been truly called the most important heirs to Hermetic tradition among Muslims. In many sources, the names of such figures as Hallaj and Suhrawardi have been placed among the names of the followers of this tradition. Moreover, Hermetic ideas have penetrated into the world of Islam through some sciences such as medicine, astronomy, alchemy, and the like. As a result, a group of Muslim writers, historians, gnostics, and philosophers have considered Hermes to be a pioneer in the field of wisdom and various sciences. Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, the founder of Illuminationist philosophy in the world of Islam, is one of the representatives of this Iranian symbolic and esoteric, interpretive tradition, which, in addition to honoring Hermes’ character, tries to connect him with Iranian mythology. He attributes some names derived from his own philosophical terms to Hermes, such as tiba‘ tam (perfect natures). Suhrawardi considers himself an heir to Hermetic wisdom. Through a study of Hermes in Greek mythology and later sources, this paper intends to show how he entered the domain of Islamic prophethood. Manuscript profile

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177 - Ibn Sina and the Problem of the Immortality of the Soul
Ghasem Purhassan

Unlike the prevailing idea, Ibn Sina is neither a loyal advocate of Aristotle nor a mere commentator of his ideas. He is an independent, distinguished, and Muslim Iranian philosopher. In the light of the criticisms targeted at Greek philosophy and Aristotle’s ideas, Ibn More

Unlike the prevailing idea, Ibn Sina is neither a loyal advocate of Aristotle nor a mere commentator of his ideas. He is an independent, distinguished, and Muslim Iranian philosopher. In the light of the criticisms targeted at Greek philosophy and Aristotle’s ideas, Ibn Sina intended to develop a new form of epistemology and lay the foundations of oriental philosophy. One of the controversial issues among thinkers is the problem of the soul and its trans-substantiality, immateriality, and immortality. Ibn Sina considers Aristotle’s ideas in this regard to be inadequate and contaminated with defects, mistakes, and confusion. Through criticizing Aristotle’s definition of the soul, Ibn Sina tries to introduce a novel approach to the problem of the soul, while rejecting the arguments of survival and finally devising a new theory concerning the immortality of the soul. The purpose of the present paper is to explore Aristotle’s ideas and Ibn Sina’s objections to them and also reveal the latter philosopher’s innovative ideas concerning the problem of the soul. The writer tries to demonstrate that Ibn Sina’s achievement regarding the issue of the soul and body is, in fact, a new solution to this problem. He also aims to show that it is a mistake to assume that Islamic philosophers still continue to follow Aristotle’s ideas. Ibn Sina must be considered as a pioneer in fundamental arguments on the subject of the soul and its immateriality. Manuscript profile

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178 - Appearance of Ibn Sina’s Philosophical Anthropology in his Allegorical-Gnostic Treatises
Furugh al-Sadat Rahimpoor Afsanah Lachinani

The knowledge of various aspects of man is the main concern of Ibn Sina’s philosophy. In his philosophical system, man is a created existent whose immaterial soul and material body, both, come into existence by the Active Intellect. From the very beginning, the soul is More

The knowledge of various aspects of man is the main concern of Ibn Sina’s philosophy. In his philosophical system, man is a created existent whose immaterial soul and material body, both, come into existence by the Active Intellect. From the very beginning, the soul is immaterial by essence and parallel to separate intellects. However, it is material in terms of acts and depends on bodily means. The soul-body relationship is unique: The soul is the administrator of the body and the main agent of all human acts. The body, as the unique instrument of the soul’s acts, enjoys worldly life and is the mediator of the actualization of faculties and their capabilities. Man has no life prior to his worldly life and is not pre-eternal; however, its immaterial soul is eternal and, unlike the body, which is destroyed after death, is not annihilated and is immortal. Three of Ibn Sina’s allegorical-gnostic works center around anthropology: in the treatises of al-Tayr, Hayy ibn Yaqzan, and Salaman wa Absal, he explains human life and the factors leading to or hindering his perfection in the language of stories, secrets, and symbols. Moreover, following an approach which is less philosophical and more gnostic and didactic, he tries to reveal the way of perfection and happiness to its seekers. The present paper intends to explore the appearance of philosophical anthropology of Ibn Sina in the anthropology embedded in his three-fold allegorical-gnostic treatises. In this way, it seeks to discover the differences and similarities between these two approaches to man from the viewpoint of this dexterous Peripatetic philosopher. Manuscript profile

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179 - Substantiality of the Soul in Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra
Maliheh Saberi Najafabadi

One of the important problems of Islamic philosophy is the demonstration of the substantiality of the soul. In spite of their agreement concerning the substantiality of the soul, Mulla Sadra and Ibn Sina have some basic disagreements in the interpretation and explanatio More

One of the important problems of Islamic philosophy is the demonstration of the substantiality of the soul. In spite of their agreement concerning the substantiality of the soul, Mulla Sadra and Ibn Sina have some basic disagreements in the interpretation and explanation of this principle. The extent of these disagreements has also stretched to some critical issues such the explanation of the soul, its changes, and its relationship with other faculties, which are the focus of this paper. According to Ibn Sina, possible beings consist of two analytic-rational components, that is, existence and quiddity. He also maintains that the source of the division of categories, under which substance and accident fall, is quiddity itself. The difference between substance and accident also lies in the fact that existence is substance by itself, and existence is accident through the other. Therefore, the soul is an immaterial substance that performs voluntary administrative acts and perceives universal affairs. It has some branches or faculties through which it carries out its acts. In this approach, the differences among human souls, from their highest to lowest levels, are rooted in accidents, and no change occurs in their substance. In Mulla Sadra’s view, too, accident has no independence before substance, thus it is a dependent truth enjoying an existence depending on the other. Nevertheless, based on the principle of the principiality of existence, the criterion for individuation is existence; an existence which underlies the individuation of a subject and is the referent for substance itself and a referent for all accidents. In other words, it is a single existence that is a referent for man with various accidents. The soul is a substance commensurate with existence and enjoys an essential and graded existence the accidents of which are considered to be the grades of this truth. The soul’s faculties are its modes and grades, and the perfections attained by the soul originate in its unity with perceptive forms. Manuscript profile

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180 - Humanism in Sophists and Great Greek Philosophers:A Study of their Common and Different Ideas
Hasan Bolkhari Qahi Mina Muhammedi Vakil

The Sophists were the first ancient thinkers who considered the issue of man as the main subject of philosophy. They were the first to change the direction of philosophical research from phusis to nomos. Almost at the same time and a short while after the rise of the So More

The Sophists were the first ancient thinkers who considered the issue of man as the main subject of philosophy. They were the first to change the direction of philosophical research from phusis to nomos. Almost at the same time and a short while after the rise of the Sophists, in spite of their disagreements with and fundamental oppositions to these thinkers, Socrates, Plato, and also Aristotle introduced man as the primary concern of philosophical theories. This was the main commonality between the views of the Sophists and ancient philosophers. On the other hand, there is also a kind of formal proximity between Socrates and the Sophists in terms of their method of dialectics and discourse. However, since Socrates considers a fixed criterion for knowledge which is free from sense impressions, he criticizes Protagoras’ statement as to “Man is the measure of all things”, and argues that Protagoras focuses on individual man and considers the truth to be relative. In this way, a comparative study of the ideas of the Sophists and philosophers reveals that both groups followed the same subject and method but had different purposes. The Sophists’ purpose was teaching, while philosophers sought their end in knowing the truth. This paper aims to discover the differences and similarities between these two approaches. In doing so, it initially deliberates accurately over their distinctive ideas and then clearly explains that some of the philosophical findings of the Sophists, in spite of their historical notoriety, have exercised some lasting effects on contemporary philosophy. In other words, by changing the direction of philosophy’s attention to the problem of man, in a sense, they developed the basis for modern philosophy. Manuscript profile

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181 - Khalil Khan Thaqafi (A‘alam al-Dawlah): A Philosophical Translation concerning Time and Place
Reza Ranjbar

After graduation from Dar al-Funun and before going abroad, Dr. Khalil Khan Thaqafi translated and wrote two treatises on time and place. In the first treatise, which was introduced in the previous issue of History of Philosophy Journal, he discusses the idea of finite More

After graduation from Dar al-Funun and before going abroad, Dr. Khalil Khan Thaqafi translated and wrote two treatises on time and place. In the first treatise, which was introduced in the previous issue of History of Philosophy Journal, he discusses the idea of finite and infinite time and place. The second treatise, which is introduced in this issue, includes the translation of a short part of a huge philosophical book by Victor Cousin, the French philosopher of the 19th century, discussing whether time and place are substance or not. Manuscript profile

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182 - Editor's Notes
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Language Being Existence the Relation between Language and Existence

Language Being Existence the Relation between Language and Existence Manuscript profile

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183 - Duality of Mind-Body in Homer, Plato, and Aristotle
Yashar Jeirani

The present paper explores the mind-body problem in Homer, Plato, and Aristotle. Here, the writers claim that the opposing ideas of Plato and Aristotle concerning the ontology of body and soul is ultimately rooted in the dualist interpretation of the ontology of the sou More

The present paper explores the mind-body problem in Homer, Plato, and Aristotle. Here, the writers claim that the opposing ideas of Plato and Aristotle concerning the ontology of body and soul is ultimately rooted in the dualist interpretation of the ontology of the soul in the mythical era, particularly in Homer’s period. In other words, the philosophical opposition between Plato and Aristotle concerning the ontology of the soul and body has its origin in Homerian dual and opposing interpretation of the concept of the soul. In addition, by substantiating this view, the writers have tried to take a small step towards understanding the relationship between the mythical legacy of ancient Greece and its period of humanistic philosophy, particularly that of Plato and Aristotle. Manuscript profile

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184 - Kalami, Philosophical, and Gnostic Approaches to the Hadith of ‘Ama
Mahdi Zamani

It has been narrated in a famous hadith from the Holy Prophet (s) that, before the creation of people, God was in “‘ama” (cloud). There have been several different and contradictory ideas concerning the content of this hadith. Muslim mutikallimun, gnostics, philosophers More

It has been narrated in a famous hadith from the Holy Prophet (s) that, before the creation of people, God was in “‘ama” (cloud). There have been several different and contradictory ideas concerning the content of this hadith. Muslim mutikallimun, gnostics, philosophers, and interpreters have studied this hadith based on their own principles and have benefitted from it in their own philosophical system. Mutikallimun have interpreted it based on their tanzihi (transcendent) and tashbihi (comparative) views and either confirmed or rejected it. Some Muslim gnostics assume that “‘ama” refers to God’s henas, and others believe that it represents the station of monas. They have matched this term with “merciful breath”, “truth of the creature”, “absolute imagination, and “substance of the world” and have granted it a sublime place. In his Transcendent Philosophy, Mulla Sadra equates ‘ama with “unfolded being”, “unity of bringing together” and “truth of truths” and, through the interpretation of hadith, reaches some conclusions about the dominance of divine existence over all places and times and attempts to reconcile tanzih with tashbih. Manuscript profile

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185 - Ibn Miskaway and the Evolution of Species
Muhammed Nasr Isfahani

Ahmad Ibn Muhammed Razi known as Ibn Miskaway, the famous philosopher, historian, physician, and literary man of the fifth century, lived in Isfahan during the last years of his life. He passed away in the same city. His ideas regarding theoretical wisdom are gathered i More

Ahmad Ibn Muhammed Razi known as Ibn Miskaway, the famous philosopher, historian, physician, and literary man of the fifth century, lived in Isfahan during the last years of his life. He passed away in the same city. His ideas regarding theoretical wisdom are gathered in his al-Fawz al-asghar, and those related to his practical wisdom are recorded in the book Tahdhib al-akhlaq. One of Ibn Miskaway’s philosophical ideas is rooted in his belief in the organic connection and unity among the natural existents of the world. He views the corporeal worlds, similar to the spiritual world, as a labyrinth with certain grades that encompass each other and are connected to each other. In fact, he draws a comprehensive map of all these grades. In his view, it seems as if the movement of each moving thing is intelligently directed towards its own totality and everything that agrees with its perfection. This motion is rooted in enthusiasm, in which the lover is the effect of its beloved. He believes that, in order to specify the stages of the prophets’ evolution, it is necessary to clarify the quality of the connection of existents to each other. He argues that God has divided each species into different groups and types through His certain wisdom and prudence. He has also established a vertical order among species so that each is more perfect comparing to the previous one until we come to the last type of the last species. It is at this point that the end of this species is connected to the beginning of the next species. By going through the various stages and levels in this direction, vegetation becomes animal, and animal turns into human being. According to Miskaway, after traversing the levels of biological perfection, man attains spiritual perfection and finally reaches the last level of human perfection, which is prophethood. The prophet, too, is promoted to the level of the next species, which is the intellect or angel. Given the situation of empirical sciences in Ibn Miskaway’s time and the prevailing philosophical school of that time, it seems that his philosophical system was not capable to clarify the theory of perfection from a philosophical standpoint. This was because philosophy did not have the required capacity for explaining such problems yet. This view had been posed before him by Ikhwan al-Safa and also by some of his contemporary thinkers such as Aburayhan Biruni and Ibn Sina with some changes. However, it was Ibn Miskaway’s thoughts that were transferred to later thinkers such as Mulla Sadra, so that he would be able to clarify it philosophically. Perhaps, if Ibn Miskaway had shared the same philosophical principles of Mulla Sadra, he would have been able to explain biologists’ theory of evolution from a philosophical point of view. Manuscript profile

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186 - The Role of Muslim Peripatetics in the Development of Aristotelian Logic
Akbar Faydei

Before Aristotle, some of the topics in the science of logic had appeared in a scattered form in the words of the great Zeno, Plato, Socrates, and some Sophists. However, Aristotle was the first scholar to compile theoretical logic and classify its topics into related p More

Before Aristotle, some of the topics in the science of logic had appeared in a scattered form in the words of the great Zeno, Plato, Socrates, and some Sophists. However, Aristotle was the first scholar to compile theoretical logic and classify its topics into related parts and chapters in a book. Based on his own epistemological principles, he propounded predicative logic. From among his most important logical ideas, we can refer to predicative reasoning and categorical syllogism. After Aristotle, another school of logic entitled Stoic-Megarian was developed in Greece by other logicians such as Philo, Diodorus, Megari, Zeno, and Chrysippus. Unlike Aristotelian logic, this new school dealt with conditional logic. Megarians’ detection of compound conditional syllogisms and Stoics’ detection of other compound syllogisms, such as conjunctive and disjunctive propositions and the forms of connected and disconnected syllogisms, created conditional logic. Therefore, the logical legacy of Greece consists of two Aristotelian and Stoic-Megarian Schools. Muslim Peripatetics, who were well-aware of Greeks’ logical legacy, diverted from the method of Greek philosophers in devising the science of logic. In addition to reducing some logical problems, such as the problem of categories, the differentiated discussion of poetry, rhetoric, and dialectics, as well as some changes in other areas such as conversion, and descriptive definitions, they played an influential role in the development and advancement of the science of logic. In this paper, some of these changes have been discussed. Manuscript profile

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187 - Time and Place in the View of Mirza Khalil Khan Thaqafi (A‘lam al-awlah): Two Hand-Written Treatises
Reza Ranjbar

Doctor Khalil Khan Thaqafi (A‘lam al-Dawlah), a physician, writer, and translator of the Qajar period and one of the first graduates of modern medicine in Iran, translated and wrote two treatises about time and place after he graduated from Dar al-Funun and before he we More

Doctor Khalil Khan Thaqafi (A‘lam al-Dawlah), a physician, writer, and translator of the Qajar period and one of the first graduates of modern medicine in Iran, translated and wrote two treatises about time and place after he graduated from Dar al-Funun and before he went abroad. In the treatise that he wrote himself, Mirza Khalil Khan discusses the quality of the development of the idea of space, the distinction between the idea of environmental space and infinite space, the quality of the formation of the idea of infinite space, the idea of space as substance, the infinity of space with respect to its breadth and continuity, the development of the idea of time, and the idea of time as a predicate of space. In this treatise, he briefly explains and criticizes the ideas of such philosophers as Victor Cousin, Stewart Mill, and Spinoza. In the second treatise, which is a translation, he discusses whether time and place are substance or not. Manuscript profile

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188 - A Historical Glance at the Move from Self-Knowledge to Knowledge of God in Peripatetic and Illuminationist Philosophies
Seyyed Mohammed Kazem Alavi

The development and consequences of self-knowledge is one of the important discussions in Islamic philosophy. One of the most noteworthy of these consequences, according to the hadith of “One who has self-knowledge verily knows God”, is to know the Creator. The explanat More

The development and consequences of self-knowledge is one of the important discussions in Islamic philosophy. One of the most noteworthy of these consequences, according to the hadith of “One who has self-knowledge verily knows God”, is to know the Creator. The explanation and interpretation of this hadith was not taken seriously in earlier schools of Islamic philosophy. In fact, it was not until the early periods of the Schools of Shiraz and Isfahan up to the period of the dominance of the Transcendent Philosophy among contemporary thinkers that great attention was devoted to clarifying and interpreting it. This paper is intended to discuss the background of these explanations and analyses in two of the early schools of Islamic philosophy, Peripatetic and Illuminationist philosophies, and even in those preceding them. The interpretation of the hadiths on self-knowledge in Islamic philosophy is united with psychology. That is why its background is traceable to Greek philosophy. In books on Islamic philosophy, some ideas and words have been attributed in this regard to Greek early philosophers, who are considered to mark the beginning of writing the history of this issue. The narration of these hadiths and similar words began during the first periods of Islamic philosophy with Ikhwan al-Safa (Brethren of Purity). They mainly focused on the importance of self-knowledge and the immateriality of the soul, which is more prominent in the Peripatetic philosophy considering the significance of psychology and self-knowledge in this school. Through relying on these hadiths, Ibn Sina demonstrated the most important problem of self-knowledge, that is, the immateriality of the soul, and uses it as a religious confirmation of this point versus the view of mutikallimun as to the corporeality of the soul. In Illuminationist philosophy, given the fundamental status of the dimension of the epistemology of the soul, a more basic approach to the relationship between self-knowledge and the knowledge of God is observed. This approach is introduced as an argument in order to demonstrate the existence of God and His attributes; it is an argument which is indeed superior to other arguments. What is clearly witnessed in this historical process is an interpretation referring to the possibility of self-knowledge and the possibility of the move from that knowledge to the knowledge of God, which is considered to be gradational in its most Illuminationist explanation. Manuscript profile

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189 - China according to Muslim Travelers: First to Eighth Century AH
Maryam Soleimani Fard

Muslim’s relationships with China have a very long background. These relationships have been established through Muslims’ journeys to that region for various commercial, economic, political, and religious motives. Available evidence suggests that Muslims travelled to th More

Muslim’s relationships with China have a very long background. These relationships have been established through Muslims’ journeys to that region for various commercial, economic, political, and religious motives. Available evidence suggests that Muslims travelled to this land when the first signs of cultural and political life appeared there. As a result of these journeys, Muslim geographers have accumulated some valuable information in various areas such as natural geography, including the geographical realm of China, its cities, and the distances between them, and economic, cultural, and educational fields, including artistic, scientific, social, and industrial achievements. This paper intends to explore and analyze the picture of China as portrayed and described by Muslims from the first century AH until the time of Hafiz Abru in the eighth century. As a result, it can function as an introduction to and an analysis of Islamic orientalism in which the reports of scientists and travelers of a great political and cultural power in the Far East form the basis of journeys, relationships, and wars between countries and the transfer of philosophical and cultural legacies from one place to another. The writer believes that the importance of these reports and descriptions lies in the fact that they have been at the service of expanding Islamic culture and religion. Manuscript profile

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190 - A Different Version of Immortality in Plato’s Symposium
Hamidreza Mahboobi Arani

A well-established and common view in Plato’s philosophy is that the immortality of the soul after death is a persistent and fixed type of immortality. The human soul, or at least an important part of it, which is the same intellect, is a substance of a different type a More

A well-established and common view in Plato’s philosophy is that the immortality of the soul after death is a persistent and fixed type of immortality. The human soul, or at least an important part of it, which is the same intellect, is a substance of a different type and from a different world, which remains alive after death. However, Plato’s Symposium portrays a perspective of immortality that, through creating a phenomenological image of the soul and attributing the tendency for immortality to Eros, considers the soul to be vulnerable to change. Hence, he maintains that the immortality of the soul is different from the common sense interpretation of this concept. The present paper argues that, in order to understand and interpret Plato’s intended meaning of immortality in Symposium, it is necessary to pay careful attention to some of his remarks in this regard, as well as to his discussions of birth and education, and remembrance and reminiscence. In this way, one could infer a dynamic and creative model of immortality which neither necessitates the after-death subsistence of the identical soul, which enjoys the passive and stagnant introversion of the Ideas, nor presupposes the existence of a soul of another type. The present paper, while referring to and describing Plato’s four-fold model of immortality, explains their important, similar, and, in some cases, different characteristics. It also demonstrates that this immortality is in permanent unity with the creation of certain words regarding true virtue or its images and life in the memory of future generations and indirectly affects the world affairs. Manuscript profile

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191 - Epistemological Place of Phronesis and its Importance in Aristotle’s Philosophy of Ethics
Ali Nazemi Ardakani Reza Davari Ardakani Malek Hosseini

Phronesis or practical wisdom is one of the intellectual virtues which Aristotle has defined as a predisposition for continuously becoming involved in practice while thinking wisely about good and evil affairs. The outcome of this predisposition or phronetic act is the More

Phronesis or practical wisdom is one of the intellectual virtues which Aristotle has defined as a predisposition for continuously becoming involved in practice while thinking wisely about good and evil affairs. The outcome of this predisposition or phronetic act is the product of a kind of philosophical thinking which, in addition to viewing certain established principles, attends to madīna (polis) as a cradle for the development of acts; to finite, particular, and changing affairs as the subject of knowledge, and to Man as a free agent. The irregularity and, at the same time, legitimacy of phronesis provides individuals with a strategy not to surrender to fixed and strict scientific laws as the only legitimate tools of knowledge acquisition. Through making a methodological distinction between sophia or theoretical wisdom and phronesis, Aristotle has in fact founded the independence and irreducibility of practico-ethical knowledge about what is correct; practical deliberation cannot be reduced to logical arguments. In Aristotle’s ethical philosophy, accidental knowledge, as the knowledge of finite, particular, possible, and changing affairs, is a complement to essential knowledge, which pertains to pre-eternal and universal affairs and primal and fixed basic principles. Sophia and phronesis can lead to happiness only in case they function as the two sides of the same coin. Manuscript profile

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192 - Editor's Notes
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Ibn Sina Cultural Heritage

Ibn Sina Cultural Heritage Manuscript profile

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193 - A Comparison of Perfect Nature in Islamic Philosophy with Fravashī in Khosravani Wisdom
Maryam Asadian Babak Alikhani Alikhani

The concept of perfect nature (ṭabā ‘tāmm) has been derived from a Hermetic anecdote and, according to Illuminationists, is among nūrī (luminous) and archetypal truths. The union of the soul and archetype (intellect) is possible through purification, asceticism, and lib More

The concept of perfect nature (ṭabā ‘tāmm) has been derived from a Hermetic anecdote and, according to Illuminationists, is among nūrī (luminous) and archetypal truths. The union of the soul and archetype (intellect) is possible through purification, asceticism, and liberation from intermediate and immaterial worlds. This view, which was also shared by Abu’l-Brakāt al-Baghdādī and some others before Suhrawardī, was explained and interpreted by Mullā Ṣadrā and his students. Mullā Ṣadrā believed that perfect nature is a single intellectual form and the highest level of Man’s existence which enjoys the highest degree of immateriality. He called this level the “Holy Spirit” and emphasized that there is no difference between the soul and perfect nature and, basically, the whole identity of the human soil originates in their perfect nature. Although perfect nature is closely related to Hermetic teachings, one cannot ignore its Khosravani roots. In Mazdayasnan teachings, reference has been made to the states and modes of the soul, the most supreme of which is Fravashī or Farvahar. Fravashī is the heavenly essence or an aspect of Mīnuy-e Xerad (or spirit of wisdom) which reveals itself to ascetics and teaches them religious principles. In the present paper, after examining the views of Islamic philosophers regarding perfect nature, the authors have tried to demonstrate that this concept is rooted in the pre-eternal essence of wisdom, which, in conformity with Suhrawardī’s etymology of both Eastern (Khosravani) and Western (Hermetic) branches of philosophy, is among the most fundamental principles of epistemology. In fact, in order to attain his own illuminationist purpose, which is to revive the pre-eternal substance through posing the concept of perfect nature, Suhrawardī has brought Khosravani and Hermetic philosophies together. Mullā Ṣadrā has also advocated him in this regard. Manuscript profile

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194 - Sinian Transcendent Philosophy: Ibn Sīnā’s Move from Peripatetic Philosophy to Transcendent Philosophy
Mostafa Momeni

Although Ibn Sīnā has been frequently introduced as a Peripatetic philosopher and the “Master of Peripatetic Philosophers” in the world of Islam, one might wonder if such a reading of his philosophy is absolutely correct. Undoubtedly, his major works have been written o More

Although Ibn Sīnā has been frequently introduced as a Peripatetic philosopher and the “Master of Peripatetic Philosophers” in the world of Islam, one might wonder if such a reading of his philosophy is absolutely correct. Undoubtedly, his major works have been written on the basis of the principles of Peripatetic philosophy. However, the question is whether one can find some indications of his departure from this school of philosophy in the same works. Ibn Sīnā neither remained a Peripatetic philosopher nor followed Peripatetic thoughts to the end of his life. Through coining the term “Transcendent Philosophy” for his own school and inviting the seekers of truths to follow it in order to have an accurate grasp of what they sought for, Ibn Sīnā added a completely new dimension to his identity. Finally, the Transcendent Philosophy reached its peak of development in Sadrian thoughts. Here, the author intends to explain the “transcendence of Sinian philosophy” and, at the same time, trace the roots of the principles of the Transcendent Philosophy in Sinian philosophy and highlight them in his works and words. Although the political occupations of Ibn Sīnā and his short life did not allow him to provide a new synthesis of such principles, he managed to pave the way for the creation of the Transcendent Philosophy by his successors. Manuscript profile

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195 - Impact of Zoroastrian Wisdom on Pre-Socratic Philosophers and Plato
Reza Amiri

There are several similarities among the philosophical thoughts of pre-Socratic sages and the preceding Zoroaster’s teachings. Such similarities indicate the familiarity of Greek philosophers with Zoroaster’s teachings through their contacts with eastern nations, partic More

There are several similarities among the philosophical thoughts of pre-Socratic sages and the preceding Zoroaster’s teachings. Such similarities indicate the familiarity of Greek philosophers with Zoroaster’s teachings through their contacts with eastern nations, particularly Iranians. In this paper, following a comparative method, the author intends to provide an answer to the question of how Zoroaster’s teachings influenced pre-Socratic philosophies. The findings of this study demonstrate that some thinkers such as Thales, Pythagoras, Empedocles, and, particularly, Plato developed their views under the influence of Iranian philosophical thoughts. In this regard, reference can be made to some concepts including partnership, duality, Plato’s king-sage, and Pythagoras’ views regarding spirit and numbers. Manuscript profile

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196 - The Relationship between Platonic and Aristotelian Philosophies in Alexandrian (Ammonian) Philosophy
Roohollah Fadaei Ahmad Asgari

Since the first century BC, Platonic philosophy has always been in conflict with Peripatetic philosophy. Here, the main trend which tried to reconcile these two schools with each other reached its culmination in Ammonius Saccas’ philosophy. The same idea was fully reali More

Since the first century BC, Platonic philosophy has always been in conflict with Peripatetic philosophy. Here, the main trend which tried to reconcile these two schools with each other reached its culmination in Ammonius Saccas’ philosophy. The same idea was fully realized in Porphyry’s school, following which Platonic philosophers devoted particular attention to reconciling the views of Plato and Aristotle. However, Sureyanus and Proclus did not agree with this trend and criticized Aristotle with respect to some important issues. They also maintained that some of his views were in contrast to those of Plato. According to Proclus, Aristotle had denied the world of Ideas and had failed to grasp the concept of the Divine efficient cause, thus limiting His agency to the final cause. He also maintained that Aristotle had promoted the intellect to the level of the first origin and absolute one, which was by itself an unforgivable mistake and diversion. In contrast, in the light of the efforts made by Ammonius Hermiae and his students, the Alexandrian School of Philosophy was developed. This School aimed to reconcile the philosophical Schools of Plato and Aristotle with each other following a systematic process and, finally, managed to do so in the best way possible. As one of the most prominent philosophers of this field, Simplicus, under the influence of Ammonius Hermiae, interpreted what Proclus deemed as the points of departure between the views of Aristotle and Plato in a way that they turned into their points of agreement. He did this not because of his personal preferences but due to the existing philosophical necessities. Manuscript profile

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197 - The Belief in the Other World in Pre-Historic Iran (A Philosophical Analysis based on Archeological Proofs)
Atousa Moemeni

Following the growth of human sciences, archeology, as one of the materialist and spiritual branches of human sciences, has recently been seeking to learn about the quality of the formation, continuity, and change of early societies. It has been doing so on the basis of More

Following the growth of human sciences, archeology, as one of the materialist and spiritual branches of human sciences, has recently been seeking to learn about the quality of the formation, continuity, and change of early societies. It has been doing so on the basis of tangible and intangible proofs and through investigating the development of thoughts, cultures, traditions, and beliefs of such societies. Moreover, archeologists aim to perceive this process of change and development alongside rational and logical findings in relation to human worldviews as an everlasting treasure which has lingered since pre-history until now. Death and its life-related and ontological dimensions in different cultures and societies have always been among the most fundamental problems attracting the attention of human beings all over the world. In fact, humans are essentially living beings who are always thinking about death and have continually kept their connection with this concept in the course of history. Archeological proofs represent the most tangible legacy of death-related thoughts and demonstrate people’s attention and sensitivity to death, which are themselves rooted in their philosophy of the other world. In the present paper, the author has tried to deal with the philosophy of death and Man’s thanatoptic nature during the second and first millennia BC based on some archeological diggings in an Iron Age cemetery (which represents a specific age and a region with a rich ancient history and culture). She has also sought to particularly study burial traditions and their changes along with their underlying ideological foundations. In this way, with references to certain archeological studies and discovered artifacts in field excavations, the author hopes to shed some light on Man’s awareness of death and their beliefs in relation to the world after death and analyze the transfer of such thoughts and all their evolving dimensions to the next generations based on rational and logical principles. Manuscript profile

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198 - An Ontological Explanation of the Relationship between the Good and Destiny in Plotinian Philosophy
Seyed Mohammad Naghib Mohammad Akvan

The Good is the first of the three hypostases in Plotinian philosophy and is considered to be the Good in two ways: in the arc of descent as the efficient cause and in the arc of ascent as the final cause of all beings. The Intellect is the first manifestation of the Go More

The Good is the first of the three hypostases in Plotinian philosophy and is considered to be the Good in two ways: in the arc of descent as the efficient cause and in the arc of ascent as the final cause of all beings. The Intellect is the first manifestation of the Good and is, at the same time, the same as both intellection and existence. It enjoys both an ontological and an epistemological aspect. The Intellect supervises the world of being and all its levels; in other words, the world is administered according to the decrees, measures, plans, and programs that the Intellect has devised and determined for it. Man’s fate is no exception to this rule; however, since, based on the Intellect’s pre-destined rules, they enjoy free will, they are not simply passive beings in the order of creation. Rather, relying on their free will and while uniting with the Good, they can achieve eternal happiness. Therefore, in Plotinus’ view, the whole world of being is blessed with the Good as the agent and end of creation. This paper examines the relationship between the Good and destiny and concludes that the Good administers the intelligible and sensible worlds through the Intellect. Manuscript profile

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199 - Survey of Fakhr Al Din Sammki’s paraphrase on Meibodi’s commentary of Hidayat al Hikmah
Taherehsadat mousavi mahdi najafi afra Maghsoud Mohammadi

A necessary research activity in each period is the revival of the works of thinkers and philosophers who have played an essential role in the history of the development and advancement of Islamic culture and teachings but have remained unknown to the world. Fakhr al-Dī More

A necessary research activity in each period is the revival of the works of thinkers and philosophers who have played an essential role in the history of the development and advancement of Islamic culture and teachings but have remained unknown to the world. Fakhr al-Dīn Samākī, known as Muḥaqqiq Fakhrī, is one of these philosophers who lived in the 10th century (AH). He was the student of Ghiyāth al-Dīn Manṣūr Dashtakī. He wrote some important works such as Glosses on Qūshchī’s Sharḥ-i tajrīd and Glosses on Maybudī’s Sharḥ al-hidāyah al-ḥikmah. Athīr al-Dīn Abharī’s Hidāyah al-ḥikmah consists of three chapters on logic, physics, and theology. Maybudī commented on its two chapters of physics and theology, and Samākī wrote glosses only on the first and second sections of the three sections of the chapter on physics of Maybudī’s Sharḥ al-hidāyah al-ḥikmah. Unlike Ibn Sīnā and Suhrawardī, Samākī did not found a specific school of philosophy; however, he managed to play a significant role as a mediator in the development of philosophical thought in general and turn into a source of inspiration for Mullā Ṣadrā in developing his Transcendent Philosophy. He did so through presenting some accurate critiques, conducting thorough investigations, and expressing specific and innovative views regarding certain topics discussed by mutikallimūn, Peripatetic philosophers, Illuminationists, and gnostics within the framework of some of his dependent and independent (commentaries and glosses) works. Among such views, reference can be made to his different interpretation of sollemī (stepwise) argument and the development of three new arguments on demonstrating the finitude of things, which have been discussed in this paper. Manuscript profile

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200 - On the Translation of Aristotle’s Ousia as Substance
Hamid Khosravani Hamidreza Mahboobi Arani Seyyed Mohammad Ali Hodjati

Aristotle’s discussion of the Ousia are diverse and confusing since there are various definition of the term especially in Metaphysics, Physics and Categories. He refers to it sometimes as the underlying layer, sometimes he means something similar to the meaning of bein More

Aristotle’s discussion of the Ousia are diverse and confusing since there are various definition of the term especially in Metaphysics, Physics and Categories. He refers to it sometimes as the underlying layer, sometimes he means something similar to the meaning of being, and sometimes as essence and quiddity. Hence, the difficulty and disagreement among the translators and interpreters on the best equivalent for Ousia in other languages. In the present paper, after a short historical discussion about Ousia, I examine some common equivalents for the Ousia in Latin and English and attempt to discuss the different reasons for and against each equivalent. My argument, in general, goes for the term Substance, and I will bring 8 reasons to establish the argument. Manuscript profile

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201 - The Philosophical-Historical Development of the Equivalents of Aristotle’s Hyle
Hojjatullah Askarizadeh Seyyed Ebrahim Musavi Malek Hosseini

In this paper, the authors examine and discuss the different equivalents of the Aristotelean term of hyle in Latin, Arabic, and Persianin terms of their etymological and conceptual features. Moreover, they try to reveal the relationship between this concept and the conc More

In this paper, the authors examine and discuss the different equivalents of the Aristotelean term of hyle in Latin, Arabic, and Persianin terms of their etymological and conceptual features. Moreover, they try to reveal the relationship between this concept and the concept of mother and female gender in Old Persian. It seems that the early translators of Greek philosophy, because of the conceptual relationships between hyle and mother in the writings of Plato and Aristotle, chose some equivalents for hyle which derived from the meanings of mother and female gender. This is particularly important because the concept of philosophical matter which is rooted in Aristotle’s philosophy and is commonly used today, especially in empirical sciences, is rooted in the concepts of mother and female gender in terms of its historical and philosophical background. This has prompted the early translators of Greek philosophy who were looking for near equivalents for the Greek hyle to consider this relationship and create terms which could transfer the meaning of this word correctly. However, this does not mean that in Aristotle’s philosophy, similar to some mythological beliefs, hyle indicates that the world is the offspring of the intimacy of male and female elements. Rather, it means that among ancient Greeks, including Aristotle and Plato, the female gender has been introduced as the receptacle of form in the birth of human beings and animals. Manuscript profile

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202 - Editor's Note
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Classic Science Modern Science

Classic Science Modern Science Manuscript profile

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203 - An Analytic Account of the Rules and Position of Kingship in Mirṣād al-‘Ibād based on Khosrawani Wisdom
Somayeh Assadi

According to the teachings of Zoroastrianism and Ahuramazda, the position of kingship in ancient Iran enjoys two aspects of religiousness and leadership or wisdom and government, which were both granted to the king in the light of divine power (farr-e īzadī). In Illumin More

According to the teachings of Zoroastrianism and Ahuramazda, the position of kingship in ancient Iran enjoys two aspects of religiousness and leadership or wisdom and government, which were both granted to the king in the light of divine power (farr-e īzadī). In Illuminationist philosophy, too, the light of all lights (al-nūr al-anwār), which illuminates all worlds, is the same khurneh in Avesta, which is referred to as farr (glory) in today’s Persian. In the light of farr, which is an īzadī and divine gift, the blessed person qualifies for the position of kingship. If any knowledgeable and just king deviated from the path of justice, he was deprived of this blessing and glory. Najm al-Dīn Rāzī’s view in Mirṣād al-‘ibād regarding the position of leaders and kings and their duties are very close to ancient Iranian thoughts, Zoroastrian teachings, and Khosrawani wisdom. He calls the king as God’s vicegerent on earth and, through assimilating the king to homā (a fabulous bird of good omen), he confirms God’s attention to this rank and position. Therefore, it can be said that what is called farr-e kiyānī (divine light) in Khosrawani wisdom and Illuminationist philosophy has appeared in Mirṣād al-‘ibād as divine power and heavenly confirmation. Accordingly, Rāzī refers to some specific features for kings which match those appearing in ancient religions and Khosrawani wisdom. The present study aimed to list the features of kings in Mirṣād al-‘ibād while considering the elements of kingship in ancient schools of philosophy, particularly Khosrawani wisdom, and then explain the similarities and differences between the thoughts of Najm al-Dīn Rāzī and the basic principles of Khosrawani wisdom regarding the necessary qualities and features of a king. The findings of the study demonstrate that, given the place of his own gnostic interpretation and the Illuminationist and Zahirite meaning of Khosrawani wisdom, Rāzī considered kingship to be the same as divine guardianship and the philosophical concept of “king philosopher” or, in other words, a wayfarer who has attained God and is now at the stage of “for the created through the Truth”. This individual is a “particular king” who has been granted the position of “people’s king” or the authority to rule people in the light of such characteristics. Manuscript profile

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204 - A Study of the Development of the Subject of Metaphysics in Francisco Suárez
Asghar Fathi Emadabadi Ali Karbasizadeh Isfahani

Fancisco Suárez (1548-1617) was the last great scholastic philosopher of the Western Renaissance. He opened up new horizons for his contemporary Scholars regarding certain philosophical and metaphysical discussions. Although he was an advocate of Aristotelian- Thomistic More

Fancisco Suárez (1548-1617) was the last great scholastic philosopher of the Western Renaissance. He opened up new horizons for his contemporary Scholars regarding certain philosophical and metaphysical discussions. Although he was an advocate of Aristotelian- Thomistic tradition, he believed that metaphysics was in demand of certain fundamental modifications. Aristotle, on the one hand, emphasized the unity of the subject of science and, on the other hand, spoke as if he believed in the existence of multiple subjects for metaphysics. Post-Aristotle philosophers, from Greek and Alexandrian philosophers to Islamic and Christian ones, particularly and most importantly Ibn Sīnā, made great efforts to remove the existing inconsistencies. In his Disputationes Metaphysicae (Metaphysical Disputations), through examining the various ideas that had been propounded in this regard until his time, Suárez presented a new approach and introduced “being qua being” as the subject of metaphysics. In order to further explain his view, he elaborated on certain expressions such as “real being” as opposed to actual being and “mental being” as opposed to formal being. Moreover, he maintained that real being is a “general mental concept of being in its nominal sense”. In this paper, through a meticulous study of the meaning of “real being” in Suárez’s view, the authors intend to investigate and evaluate his place in the tradition and history of philosophy regarding the subject of metaphysics. Manuscript profile

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205 - A Study of Priority and Posteriority through Substantiality and its Historical Background in Islamic Philosophy
Khadijeh Hashemi Attar Saeed Anvari

Priority or posteriority through substantiality or quiddity is considered to be consistent with the theory of the principiality of quiddity, and its application in the system of the principiality of existence has been merely limited to the priority of genus and differen More

Priority or posteriority through substantiality or quiddity is considered to be consistent with the theory of the principiality of quiddity, and its application in the system of the principiality of existence has been merely limited to the priority of genus and differentia to species. Through explaining the meaning of substantiality and its difference from substance, this paper examines the former term in Islamic philosophy and clarifies its process of development and applications. This term was propounded for the first time in Suhrawardī’s works and, later, Mīr Dāmād distinguished the referents of this kind of priority from those of priority by essence and introduced it as one of the three types of essential priority. Priority through substantiality has several applications in the system of the principiality of quiddity, such as the priority of the causes of the rational consistency (genus and differentia) or external consistency (matter and form) of quiddity to quiddity, the priority of quiddity to its quiddative and ontological concomitants, and the priority of quiddity to existence. After Mullā Ṣadrā, because of the dominance of his theory of the principiality of existence, the referents of priority and posteriority by substantiality decreased and were limited to those which were in conformity with the system of the principiality of existence. In contrast, the other referents of this kind of priority have been considered to be among those of priority and posteriority by truth. Manuscript profile

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206 - A Historical Study of the Theory of Induction
Moosa Malayeri

This study is intended to provide an answer to the following questions: Does induction generate certain knowledge or tentative conclusions? Is perfect induction possible or impossible? If it is impossible, could the addition of a supplement to imperfect induction result More

This study is intended to provide an answer to the following questions: Does induction generate certain knowledge or tentative conclusions? Is perfect induction possible or impossible? If it is impossible, could the addition of a supplement to imperfect induction result in certain and absolute judgments? In order to provide some answers to the raised questions, the writer has explored the historical development of the theory of induction and then discussed the theory adopted in this paper. This theory has not undergone many fluctuations in the history of Muslim thinkers’ logical thoughts and can be studied in three historical phases or periods. In the first phase, the greatest player of which was Fārābī and, more than him, Ibn Sīnā, induction was divided into perfect and imperfect types. At the same time, Fārābī explicitly stated that perfect induction is impossible and emphasized that imperfect induction results in uncertain conclusions. In order to compensate for the defects of induction, Ibn Sīnā demonstrated how the conclusions of an imperfect induction can be promoted to the level of an empirical judgment through using a compound syllogism and benefitting from the chance principle so that it would turn into an ensuring and certain conclusion. The main player of the second period is Fakhr al-Dīn Rāzī. He maintained that imperfect induction does not yield certain results, and what has been interpreted as empirical judgment and placed within the category of certainties and even axioms is not anything more than an analogy. The third phase is characterized by the efforts and ideas of Muhammad Baqir Sadr, who believed that, although imperfect induction results in certain conclusions, the mentioned certainty, in contrast to Ibn Sīnā’s view, does not result from the mediation of a compound syllogism and the chance principle. He, rather, acknowledged that the certainty of inductive judgments arises from a specific feature of human intellect which persuades it to ignore fewer possible instances in the face of numerous possible ones. He calls this kind of certainty subjective certainty. The present paper, after reporting and analyzing the three- fold periods, demonstrates that the only defensible and justifiable standpoint regarding the theory of induction belongs to Fakhr al-Dīn Rāzī and concludes that induction, whether by itself or with the help of a syllogism, yields nothing more than a tentative conclusion. Manuscript profile

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207 - Place and Time of Mullā Muḥammad Kaẓīm Hezārjarībī in the History of Rational Sciences with an Emphasis on the Content of Theological Manuscripts
Ali Ghanbarian Abbas Bakhshande Bali

One of the Shi‘ite thinkers whose scientific contributions have rarely been explored is Mullā Muḥammad Kaẓim Hezārjarībī Astarābādī (died in 1234 AH). He was one of the Shi‘ite scholars of the late Zand and early Qajar periods who conducted several scientific studies in More

One of the Shi‘ite thinkers whose scientific contributions have rarely been explored is Mullā Muḥammad Kaẓim Hezārjarībī Astarābādī (died in 1234 AH). He was one of the Shi‘ite scholars of the late Zand and early Qajar periods who conducted several scientific studies in different fields of theology, particularly on Islamic beliefs. Hezārjarībī’s works have never been published; however, a great number of his manuscripts in Persian and Arabic are available today. His writings and translations have played a significant role in the dissemination and expansion of the Shi‘ite culture and philosophy. When composing, he always paid attention to the point that his writings should be readable by all the people interested in the field of theology, and that is why most of his works are written in Persian. Following a descriptive-analytic method and relying on library resources, particularly, a number of critically corrected manuscripts, the authors of this paper aim to investigate the nature and content of Hezārjarībī’s most important discussions regarding theology. The findings of this study demonstrate that, in his view, theology is intrinsic while Islam is not. In order to prove the existence of God, he resorted to a variety of proofs such as possibility and necessity, order, and fiṭrah (human nature) arguments. Moreover, he tried to provide the correct meanings of some divine attributes such as will, justice, and wisdom to remove some theological ambiguities. Manuscript profile

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208 - Concept of “Perennial Essence” and the Problem of “Revival or Establishment” in Suhrawardī’s Philosophy
Ali Babaei

The concept of “perennial essence” and its relationship with “Khosravani wisdom” in Illuminationist philosophy has prompted some researchers, such as Henry Corbin, to consider the purpose of Illuminationist philosophy and Suhrawardī’s “huge lifelong project” to be the r More

The concept of “perennial essence” and its relationship with “Khosravani wisdom” in Illuminationist philosophy has prompted some researchers, such as Henry Corbin, to consider the purpose of Illuminationist philosophy and Suhrawardī’s “huge lifelong project” to be the revival of the philosophy of ancient Persia known as Khosravani wisdom. The present study reveals that several pieces of evidence in Illuminationist philosophy indicate that his goal was to establish a new school of philosophy rather than merely reviving a traditional one. An analysis of the concept of “perennial” and the related concepts and the attention to the newly emerged referents of perennial essence in various civilizations disclose the truth of Suhrawardī’s view. There are several differences between the concepts of “establishment” and “revival”; revival is a secondary, dependent, and imitative job, while establishment is an original, fundamental, and innovative endeavor which can also be followed by revival. Moreover, revival is consistent with historical changes, while pre-eternity is not a historical entity and is, rather, metahistorical, and any reception from perennial essence means receiving from a metahistorical source. Hence, discovering the relationship between ancient Persia and Suhrawardī’s Illuminationist philosophy could never be Suhrawardī’s main purpose. If he considers Khosravani wisdom to be a manifestation of the perennial essence, his view of Pythagorean philosophy and other schools of philosophy in some civilizations such as those of India and Babylonia should be the same. As a result, the advocates of the idea of the revival of Persian wisdom should repeat exactly the same views regarding the revival of Greek philosophy and other philosophical schools, while this is not the case. Therefore, Suhrawardī’s main purpose, unlike what some researchers claim, was to establish the Illuminationist philosophy and not to revive Khosravani wisdom. A careful scrutiny of the content of the theory of perennial essence and its concomitants nullifies any claim as to Suhrawardī’s being a Shu‘ūbi philosopher or the dominance of neo-Shu‘ūbism over his philosophical thoughts. Manuscript profile

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209 - An Approach to the Concept of Knowledge in Pahlavi Texts and its Connection with Morality and Education
Sheyda Riyazi Heravi Masud Safaei Moghaddm Mohammad Jafar Pakseresht Shahram Jalilian

Knowledge has been manifested in Pahlavi texts, such as Avesta, in the word “wisdom”. In such texts, Ahura Mazda is the origin of wisdom and knowledge and controls the beginning and end of creation in the light of His Omniscient wisdom. In Pahlavi texts, Bahman or good More

Knowledge has been manifested in Pahlavi texts, such as Avesta, in the word “wisdom”. In such texts, Ahura Mazda is the origin of wisdom and knowledge and controls the beginning and end of creation in the light of His Omniscient wisdom. In Pahlavi texts, Bahman or good thought is the first Amoša Spenta that Ahura Mazda created and, in this way, actualized His role in creation. Moreover, Bahman is the symbol and manifestation or Ahura Mazda’s Omniscient wisdom of His created things through which Man attains the knowledge of religion and Ahura Mazda Himself. Additionally, moral life, as the ultimate goal in Zoroastrianism is realized in Pahlavi texts in the word pledge or moderation. This moral virtue is based on knowledge. In Pahlavi texts, training is also the foundation of developing asn kherad (intrinsic wisdom), wisdom, and adopting moral virtues; therefore, it is considered to be one of the different types of perennial wisdom). Following a descriptive-analytic method, the present study investigates the concept of knowledge and its different types in Pahlavi texts and analyzes the quality of its unity with morality and education. Manuscript profile

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210 - Substance and Essence of Aristotle’s Ousia and its Translation into Substance and Reality
Hamid Khosravani Hamidreza Mahboobi Arani

Aristotle’s ousia suffered the same fate it had in the West when it arrived in ancient Iran and the world of Islam. Among all the existing appropriate equivalents, the term “substance” was chosen as its nearest equivalent in western philosophical texts. Similarly, the t More

Aristotle’s ousia suffered the same fate it had in the West when it arrived in ancient Iran and the world of Islam. Among all the existing appropriate equivalents, the term “substance” was chosen as its nearest equivalent in western philosophical texts. Similarly, the term “jawhar”, which is the Arabic for “gawhar” in Persian and a close equivalent for substance, was accepted by all philosophers in the world of Islam. In previous translated works before and after the translation movement in Baghdad’s Dar al-Tarjumah (Translation House), there were some words such as ayn, inniyyat, huwiyyat, and budish which implied almost the true meaning of ousia as intended by Aristotle. This was because this term has been derived from the verb to be and basically means existent, essence, or being; however, jawhar and substance were the ultimate choices of translators. The dominance of this substantialist view, both in the West and in the East, was partly because of the early translations of Aristotle’s works. This paper aims to, firstly, examine the fate of Aristotles’s ousia upon its arrival in Iran and the world of Islam and, then, discuss the relationships between the meanings of the chosen equivalents in the Islamic world with those of their western equivalents. Manuscript profile

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211 - Challenges of Aristotelian Matter and Potency in Muslim Philosophers’ Discussions
Hojjatullah Askarizadeh Seyyed Ebrahim Musavi Malek Hosseini

In the modern period, contemporary researchers of Aristotle’s philosophy have paid greater attention to the concept of prime matter, which is surrounded by a number of challenging discussions. In this paper, the authors have compared the two concepts of matter and poten More

In the modern period, contemporary researchers of Aristotle’s philosophy have paid greater attention to the concept of prime matter, which is surrounded by a number of challenging discussions. In this paper, the authors have compared the two concepts of matter and potency, which are very close to each other, in Aristotle’s philosophy. Researchers have generally ignored the duality and separation of these two concepts from each other, while attending to their differences makes the explanation of the challenging issues in relation to Aristotelian prime matter much easier. One of such distinctions is the hypokeimenon or substratum nature of Aristotelian matter which prevents its confusion with the concept of potency due to its independence. In Aristotle’s writings, the terms hyle and dunamis (matter and potential) have always been used alongside each other, which has made it difficult to distinguish them from each other. However, it must be taken into consideration that this distinction plays a fundamental role in understanding prime matter and the related challenging problems, such as the quality of the combination of matter and form and the identity of new substance. Some philosophers, such as Ibn Sīnā, have paid attention to the various features of matter and differentiated them from each other. Among contemporary philosophers, Murtaḍa Muṭahharī has also posed some discussions in this regard, which are emphasized in this paper. An analysis of such views demonstrates that prime matter cannot be merely the same as absolute potency; rather, it is also a loci for receiving form. Hence, based on Aristotelian principles, the survival of prime matter is necessary. Manuscript profile

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212 - Socio-political Roots and Consequences of Gandhi’s View of God and God’s Relationship with Truth
Ali Naqi Baqershahi

The present paper investigates the socio-political roots and consequences of Gandhi’s view of God and God’s relationship with truth. His idea of God and truth is rooted in Vedanta School of philosophy, Vaishnavism, and his studies of Islam and Christianity. Based on Ved More

The present paper investigates the socio-political roots and consequences of Gandhi’s view of God and God’s relationship with truth. His idea of God and truth is rooted in Vedanta School of philosophy, Vaishnavism, and his studies of Islam and Christianity. Based on Vedanta philosophy, truth is discussed at two levels of nirguna (a truth without attributes or station of essence) and saguna (a truth with attributes or the station of names and attributes). In Vaishnavism, reference is made to Vishnu, who is one of the Vedic deities, as a personal God and the preserver of the world. Because of his philosophical interest in Vedanta and his family belief in Vaishnavism, Gandhi believed in both impersonal (Vedantic) God and personal (Vishnu) God. At the beginning of developing his philosophical thoughts, for several reasons, he concluded that God is the same as the truth for he believed that one can only refer to God as the truth. In his view, truth is not an attribute of God and is, rather, the same as God. In Indian philosophical texts, the term satya is used to refer to the truth. The root of this word is /sat/ (is) meaning that God is the same as the truth and being. Later Gandhi decided that, instead of saying, “God is the truth”, he should say, “the truth is God”. In his view there is a subtle difference between these two statements. Gandhi states that the only way through which one can attain the truth is ahimsā (non-violence) and, in order to clarify this term, he refers to the concept of satyagrah (holding to the truth), which, he believes, is the technique of using ahimsā. This mainly focuses on the great influence of Gandhi’s approach to God and the truth over the quality of his socio-political campaigns against British colonists. Manuscript profile

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213 - Editor's Note
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Terorism USA Solaimani

Terorism USA Solaimani Manuscript profile

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214 - A Comparison of the Views of Suhrawardī and Mullā Ṣadrā on Khosravani Perfect Man
Zahra Lotfi’ Abdollah Salavati

Suhrawardī’s light-oriented philosophy interprets spiritual wayfaring as the intuition of Nūr al-anwār (Light of all lights) within the framework of different levels and luminous realms. Nūr al-anwār illuminates the world and rules a kingdom. It is referred to as khvare More

Suhrawardī’s light-oriented philosophy interprets spiritual wayfaring as the intuition of Nūr al-anwār (Light of all lights) within the framework of different levels and luminous realms. Nūr al-anwār illuminates the world and rules a kingdom. It is referred to as khvarenah (divine mystical force) in Avesta and as Farr (glory and splendor) in Persian. Farr is a divine gift that makes the individual who is blessed with it worthy of caliphate and kingship. Suhrawardī stipulates that the perfect man, who has been called with names such as Espahbodi Noor, Minavi (spiritual) Lights, Chief of Elements, Avarman Aspahr Angel, and Ravanbakhsh (Soul Giver), enjoys the station of royal glory, kingship, and charisma. He also believes that the highest position belongs to those kings whose existential realm is the locus of a collection of divine lights, glory, and beauty. In fact, they are the manifestation of divine perfection on Earth. In contrast, Mullā Ṣadrā follows an ontological approach to the features of perfect man. He believes that the perfect man is the all-showing mirror of the Truth and divine names and attributes and maintains that it is their nominal comprehensiveness which makes them worthy of divine vicegerency. Given the different basic principles of light and existence in these two philosophical schools, the present paper mainly aims to provide an answer to the questions of who a perfect man is and what their referents are. Mullā Ṣadrā considers existence to be principial and examines the whole being and place following an ontological approach and, thus, sees a perfect man as an individual who has reached the supreme level of existence and perfect intellectual immateriality. However, Suhrawardī holds that a typical perfect man could be any individual who has reached the level of royal glory and intuition. Manuscript profile

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215 - Place of the First Cause in Francisco Suarez’s Metaphysics
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

In the history of philosophy and philosophers’ thoughts, God has been discussed differently as the unmoved mover, thought of thought, cause of causes, and the first cause. One of the philosophers who greatly influenced the reformist movements of the church in the 16 and More

In the history of philosophy and philosophers’ thoughts, God has been discussed differently as the unmoved mover, thought of thought, cause of causes, and the first cause. One of the philosophers who greatly influenced the reformist movements of the church in the 16 and 17 centuries was Fancisco Suarez. His book of Metaphysical Disputations, which comprises 54 disputations on some topics such as general ontology and causes and particular ontology and types of cause, holds a supreme place in the history of philosophy. The present study aims to provide an answer to the questions of what place Suarez has allocated to the discussion of God, and which approach he follows in discussing Him. Another question here is whether one can conceptually reduce all the various names that he has chosen for God based on his own philosophy to a single concept. The findings of the study reveal that Suarez considered three places for God: God as the Efficient Cause, God as the Final Cause (in the first volume of Metaphysical Disputations), and God as Being (in the second volume of the same book). Given Suarez’s definition and explanation for each of these titles, all of them can be explained in terms of an ontological concept and meaning. He follows a philosophical approach to all three stations; however, he also adopts a theological approach to discussing God in the third one and connects the discussion of God to the text of the Holy Book. Manuscript profile

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216 - Methodology of Great Muslim Philosophers’ Encounter with the Translation Trend of the Abbassid Period
Seyyed Mohammadali Dibaji

Researchers in the field of Islamic studies in the West have chosen the name of “Translation Movement” to refer to the trend of the translation of the books of different nations into Arabic during the Abbasid period. This trend, which continued for two centuries in diff More

Researchers in the field of Islamic studies in the West have chosen the name of “Translation Movement” to refer to the trend of the translation of the books of different nations into Arabic during the Abbasid period. This trend, which continued for two centuries in different spontaneous or guided forms, received some reactions from the Islamic society. One of the important questions in this regard is what the attitude of the distinguished Muslim philosophers of that period, particularly al-Kindī, Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā, was to this movement. The present study indicates that, unlike the common response in the historiography of the translation trend, instead of a translation movement, during this time we are faced with a philosophical movement alongside a scientific one in the history of Islam. The philosophers mentioned above separated their judgments of three problems, namely, translation, translators and interpreters, and translated and interpreted works, from each other. Based on their own philosophical movement, which was in conformity with the principles of Islamic thought, they had three methodological, reformist, and critical reactions to this trend. They evaluated the translated works based on Islamic philosophical theorems and benefitted from them with some innovations in their own philosophical systems. Manuscript profile

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217 - Principle of the One in the View of ‘Alī Qulī Ibn Qarachāqāy Khān
Mansour Nasiri Yousef Daneshvar Nilu Mahdi Askari

The al-Wahid principle has been constantly drawing attention from Muslim philosophers and theologians throughout the history of Islamic thought, while some have sought to substantiate this principle and some others have attempted to criticize and reject it. It was not o More

The al-Wahid principle has been constantly drawing attention from Muslim philosophers and theologians throughout the history of Islamic thought, while some have sought to substantiate this principle and some others have attempted to criticize and reject it. It was not only theologians who challenged the principle, it also did not sit well with some philosophers who were critical of it. One of these philosophers was Aliquli Bin Qarachghai Khan Torkamani, a Safavid era philosopher and pupil to Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi. He challenges Ibn Sina’s arguments for the al-Wahid, believing that if we consider the Necessary Existent as a pure simple entity that is aware of oneself and others and is also able to create others, then, knowing that knowledge and power are identical with His essence, we can say that the emanation of the multiple from the Necessary Existent will not require existence of multiple aspects within Him. Accordingly, we can accept the emanation of the multiple from the one. In this article we undertake an explication and critique of Aliquli Bin Qarachghai Khan’s view of the al-Wahid principle. In brief, this article argues that although to some degree his critiques of Ibn Sina’s proofs are successful, he fails to take an all-inclusive approach to the issue. Manuscript profile

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218 - The Discussion between Abū Bishr Mattā and Abū Sa‘īd Sirāfī on Grammar in the Cradle of History
Atefeh Ranjbar Darestani Morteza Mezginejad Mohammad Fazlhashemi

An important part of disagreements with Greek sciences in the world of Islam pertains to their opposition to the field of logic. The discussion of Abū Bishr Mattā (died in 328 AH) with Abū Sa‘īd Sirāfī (died in 368 AH) over logic and grammar is among the first manifesta More

An important part of disagreements with Greek sciences in the world of Islam pertains to their opposition to the field of logic. The discussion of Abū Bishr Mattā (died in 328 AH) with Abū Sa‘īd Sirāfī (died in 368 AH) over logic and grammar is among the first manifestations of such disagreements. The studies focusing on this discussion mainly emphasize Sirāfī’s attempts at proving the superiority of syntax over logic, which, by itself, has resulted in the dominance of a linguistic approach over this debate. As a result, the whole discussion has been reduced to a number of linguistic debates in the mentioned studies. Nevertheless, this debate enjoys some hidden and profound methodological and epistemological aspects which could play a significant role in the correct recognition of the historical context in which it has taken place. In the present paper, the authors not only refer to these almost forgotten methodological and epistemological aspects but also demonstrate their central role through identifying them in the structure and texture of the words of the two scholars. Finally, they connect such aspects to a much vaster historical context. Manuscript profile

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219 - Epistemological Functions of Mimesis in Thomas Aquinas
Afra Khakzad Hadi Rabiei Mohammad Akvan

Thomas Aquinas, who was inspired with Aristotle’s philosophy in developing some of his views, followed his path in considering art as a kind of imitation. However, the concept of imitation for him was not a purely Aristotelian one; rather, it was also influenced by the More

Thomas Aquinas, who was inspired with Aristotle’s philosophy in developing some of his views, followed his path in considering art as a kind of imitation. However, the concept of imitation for him was not a purely Aristotelian one; rather, it was also influenced by the viewpoints of some thinkers such as Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite. He employed mimesis in the texture of Christian theological discussions as well as in relation to the issues related to the metaphorical language of holy texts. Therefore, the concept of mimesis in Aquinas’ view was faced with an epistemological dilemma. On the one hand, it could result in both anxiety and relaxation in addressees or perhaps, through affecting their imagination, distract them from the path of rationality. On the other hand, it seems that the language of the Holy Book, which has been written for leading its addressees to the path of intellection and religiosity, shares the same features of the language of artistic works. Different types of mimesis have been used in the Holy Book and, more importantly, the relationship between the world of being and God is explained there on the basis of the concept of mimesis or imitation. In this paper, through analyzing the views of Aquinas and his references to such philosophers as Aristotle, Augustine, and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the authors try to provide a clear explanation of the concept of mimesis and the epistemological functions of artistic imitation in Thomism. Manuscript profile

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220 - Avestan Sīmurgh, Ishraqi Sīmurgh (A Historical Etymology of Sīmurgh in Islamic-Iranian Philosophy)
Hasan Bolkhari Qehi

Undoubtedly, Sīmurgh is one of the most important and attractive Ishraqi (Illuminationist) and gnostic symbols in the Islamic-Iranian civilization. The traces of this mythical bird can also be found in Avestan and Pahlavi texts as a near-stationed and heaven-residing bi More

Undoubtedly, Sīmurgh is one of the most important and attractive Ishraqi (Illuminationist) and gnostic symbols in the Islamic-Iranian civilization. The traces of this mythical bird can also be found in Avestan and Pahlavi texts as a near-stationed and heaven-residing bird as well as the name of a prominent philosopher in Zoroastrian philosophy. The correct pronunciation of the world Sīmurgh is mərəyō saēnō in Avesta, sēnmurw and saeno muruk in Pahlavi language, and siræng in some Persian texts. Orientalists have translated this word into eagle and royal falcon in English. Perhaps the translation of Sīmurgh into eagle is rooted in translations’ focus on the word syena in Sanskrit, which means eagle in this language. Admittedly, this Sanskrit word is quite similar to the Avestan saena. Suhrawardī has talked about sīmurgh in different parts of his works such as in the treatises of Ṣafīr-i Sīmurgh, ‘Aql-i surkh, and Fī ḥālat al-ṭufullīyah. In ‘Aql-i surkh, following an innovative approach and method of interpretation, he discusses sīmurgh’s support of Rostam in his war with Esfandiar; in Ṣafīr-i sīmurgh he explains the virtues of sīmurgh in the Introduction to the treatise, and in the last treatise he elaborates on sīmurgh’s living in heaven. Suhrawardī’s method of discussion in these works reveals the place and holiness of this bird in his mind and language and, most importantly, the depth of his knowledge of ancient Iranian philosophy. In this paper, the author discusses the place of sīmurgh in Avestan and Pahlavi texts and Illuminationist philosophy. Manuscript profile

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221 - Historical look at the phrase “Political by nature” in the Middle Ages of the Islamic world
Sajjad Hejri Azartash Azarnoush

Being political for/Politicalness of human beings is one of the topics which philosophers have been discussing from ancient times until now, and it is the basis/foundation of some branches of practical philosophy, especially the philosophical principles of social scien More

Being political for/Politicalness of human beings is one of the topics which philosophers have been discussing from ancient times until now, and it is the basis/foundation of some branches of practical philosophy, especially the philosophical principles of social sciences. Although the necessity of "social life" or Being political/Politicalness for all human beings is more or less obvious; it was Greeks who scrutinized this phenomenon in their philosophical works, and what we know as being political by nature (of/about human beings) from the past to the present in the Islamic world has its roots in Greece and the age of translation. This phrase was created/emerged/coined by Isḥāq ibn Ḥunayn’s translation of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics in the third lunar century in the Islamic world, and the ground for its development was laid by Miskawayh’s Ethics. Although most contemporary translators of Aristotle's ethics into Persian and Arabic did not use this phrase, it's still prominent. The doctrine of Being political for/Politicalness of human beings became the basis/foundation of the demonstration of philosophers like Avicenna/ Ibn Sina to prove prophecy, and Fakhr al-Din Rāzi introduced it, which later became known as the way of philosophers, into theological works. By inquiring/studying/looking into available Persian and Arabic written heritage, this article tries to follow the development/pathway of the phrase “Political by nature”, which has turned into a term and model/form in the Islamic world, in middle ages and is still used today and in some aspects/somehow fill the gap of historical inquire about it in current literature. Manuscript profile

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222 - Editor's Notes
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

Kovid 19

Kovid 19 Manuscript profile

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223 - A Critique of Innate Ideas in Descartes’ Philosophy Based on Sadrian Principles
Maryam Samadieh عبدالرزاق حسامی فر

20.1001.1.20089589.1400.12.1.1.7

Descartes believed in the existence of innate ideas in human beings. He maintained that the idea of God is the most important of such ideas which He, similar to a dexterous craftsman, has imprinted on our primordial nature (fitrah). The interpreters of Cartesian philoso More

Descartes believed in the existence of innate ideas in human beings. He maintained that the idea of God is the most important of such ideas which He, similar to a dexterous craftsman, has imprinted on our primordial nature (fitrah). The interpreters of Cartesian philosophy have adopted various methods to interpret the place of innate ideas in Descartes’ philosophy. Based on one of these interpretations, these ideas potentially exist and are present in the soul prior to experiencing them, and their appearance and actuality comes after their sense perception. However, based on another interpretation, the innateness of ideas does not necessarily indicate their permanent presence in the mind as, in this case, no idea can ever be innate. Rather, it means that we are capable of creating such ideas and can perceive their truth through sufficient mental and rational contemplation and needless of the knowledge acquired through the senses. It seems that the first interpretation conforms more to Descartes’ own view as to the potential existence and presence of such ideas. Accordingly, it is inferred that the existence of innate ideas in its Cartesian sense is not consistent with Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophical principles because he denies the existence of any kind of concept and judgement prior to experiencing them in the mind. Moreover, based on Sadrian principles, the human soul is a corporeal substance void of any kind of concept and judgement at the beginning of its creation, but it gradually develops through its trans-substantial motion until it reaches the level of intellectual immateriality. Manuscript profile

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224 - Hume’s and Kant’s Epistemological Critique of Metaphysics
حامد احتشامی SSeyyed Mohammad Hakak

Metaphysics is a term which was used by the compilers of Aristotle’s works for a part of them that appeared after the book of Physics. Later it was used as the title of the science which Aristotle dealt with in that section; a science that discusses the principles of ex More

Metaphysics is a term which was used by the compilers of Aristotle’s works for a part of them that appeared after the book of Physics. Later it was used as the title of the science which Aristotle dealt with in that section; a science that discusses the principles of existent qua existent. Since it delves into some of the fundamental problems of human beings such as God, self, and free will, this discipline has always been the main representative of philosophy. It is, in fact, only in the modern era that epistemology has gained more importance than metaphysics; moreover, some philosophers such as David Hume and Emanuel Kant have questioned its validity. In Hume’s view, metaphysics is an absurd field of science because its concepts are meaningless. In Kant’s view, metaphysical concepts and, thus, the related propositions are meaningful; however, it is impossible for theoretical wisdom to tackle them, and the solutions for metaphysical problems should be sought in the realm of practical wisdom or ethics. This paper reports and evaluates the viewpoints of these two philosophers in relation to metaphysics. Manuscript profile

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225 - graduteness in whatness a critical study of Mirqavamuddin Razi's view
Mahdi Askari Mansour Nasiri

Muslim philosophers consider any contingent being to be a combination of nature and existence. Since Mirdamad, the question has been raised as to which of the two is the fundamental/objective (Asill). Following the discussion of the fundamentality of the existence and w More

Muslim philosophers consider any contingent being to be a combination of nature and existence. Since Mirdamad, the question has been raised as to which of the two is the fundamental/objective (Asill). Following the discussion of the fundamentality of the existence and whatness, the question of Graduate, the question was whether the existence is graduated or the whatness. Those who believed in the fundamentality of existence believed that graduteness is of that existence. On the other hand, those who believed in the fundamentality of whatness believed that graduteness is of that whateness. In the meantime, Mir Qawam al-Din Razi has taken a third promise. He believes that graduteness in whatness means inherent presuppositions are impossible and in transverse presuppositions whose derivation is not documented in the essence and essence of the subject is also impossible, but in transverse presuppositions whose derivation is documented in the essence and essence of the subject, graduteness occurs. The main issue of this article is to examine Mir Qawamuddin Razi's view on graduteness in transverse shipments. The purpose of this study is to show the third promise in this issue that has been neglected so far and the research method is descriptive-analytical and to some extent with a historical approach. The conclusion of this study is that the words of Mir Qawamuddin Razi can be correct and defensible according to the words of Mashaei philosophers such as Aristotle. Manuscript profile

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226 - Analytical Study of traversal and cutting movement in the View of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra
Ahmad Shakibaie Mansur Imanpour

Ibn Sina's and Mulla Sadra's use of traversal & cutting movement led to ambiguity in the movement existance. In this research, in order to eliminate this ambiguity, we have addressed the following: One, Ibn Sina's arguments for introducing two definite meanings of motio More

Ibn Sina's and Mulla Sadra's use of traversal & cutting movement led to ambiguity in the movement existance. In this research, in order to eliminate this ambiguity, we have addressed the following: One, Ibn Sina's arguments for introducing two definite meanings of motion, which are the responses to the bugs inflicted on the existence of motion and the reason for the very nature of motion; His arrangements have been explained in that they are the separation of the first perfection from the second, as well as the separation of the connection from the movement. After answering the problems raised by Ibn Sina's point of view it is clear that Mulla Sadra has succeeded in completing Ibn Sina's method by bringing forward the discussion of the Transcendent Philosophy, but Mulla Sadra has not explicitly proved the existence of a definite existence by justifying it on the basis of the principiality of existence Manuscript profile

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227 - Editor's Note
Hossein Kalbasi Ashtari

human rights Liberalism Capitalism

human rights Liberalism Capitalism Manuscript profile

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228 - Zayn al-Dīn Kāshī: The First Illuminationist Figure after Suhrawardī
Aliasgar Jafary Valani

In the history of Islamic Philosophy, Shahrzurī has been introduced as the first and perhaps most important commentator of Ḥikmat al-ishrāq and Suhrawardī’s school of philosophy. This could be correct provided that no philosopher had ever paid any particular attention t More

In the history of Islamic Philosophy, Shahrzurī has been introduced as the first and perhaps most important commentator of Ḥikmat al-ishrāq and Suhrawardī’s school of philosophy. This could be correct provided that no philosopher had ever paid any particular attention to Illuminationist philosophy in the time interval between Suhrawardī and Shahrzurī. If we learn that Shahrzurī himself was influenced by another philosopher, we need to revise the common view in this regard. This philosopher was Zayn al-dīn Kāshī, the author of Ḥadā’iq al-ḥaqāyiq, who studied the teachings of Illuminationist philosophy prior to Shahrzurī. Suhrawardī’s influence over Kāshī, in addition to the order of the chapters in Ḥadā’iq al-ḥaqāyiq, is clearly visible particularly in an independent chapter on the types of light (nūr). This chapter is in fact a summary of all the discussions in Ḥikmat al-ishrāq. Through a study of the order of the discussed problems in Ḥadā’iq al-ḥaqāyiq and a comparative analysis of some of the chapters of the book, the present paper reveals that Zayn al-Dīn Kāshī paid attention to Suhrawardī’s philosophy before Shahrzurī. Therefore, he must have adopted this approach prior to Shahrzurī and must have been the first Illuminationist thinker after Suhrawardī. Manuscript profile

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229 - Subsistence of the Soul in School of Khorasan: Self-Knowledge in Mīrzā Mahdī Isfahānī, Shaykh Mujtabā Qazvīnī, and Ayatullah Murvārīd
Ibrahim Alipour Ghorbani Ghomi

The School of Khorasan follows an anti-philosophy approach and believes in the separation of the fields of revelation, intellect, and gnosis from each other. It also attends to the surface meaning of religious texts and has a different view of the soul and its subsisten More

The School of Khorasan follows an anti-philosophy approach and believes in the separation of the fields of revelation, intellect, and gnosis from each other. It also attends to the surface meaning of religious texts and has a different view of the soul and its subsistence. The advocates of this School believe that the soul is a delicate body which is different from the soul only in terms of its accidents. They also maintain that it receives certain perfections such as knowledge and intellect, which are luminar (nūrī), immaterial, single, and external realities, merely through Almighty’s blessing. Man will always remain a corporeal being not only at the moment of creation but also to the end of what they unite with. In the School of Khorasan, self-knowledge is a necessary introduction to demonstrating the subsistence of the soul so that immortality is considered to be secondary to the knowledge of the truth. The soul, which lives with the body in worldly life, continues its life in the intermediate world needless of the body and independently in a body-like form. However, it is returned to the worldly body in the Hereafter and is rewarded or punished alongside it. This view suffers from some problems as follows: 1) equating the soul with body requires spiritual and corporeal resurrections to refer to the same process; 2) the approach of this school lacks internal consistency at times, and some diversity and conflict of ideas can be observed there, and 3) some of the concepts and related problems have not been explained correctly. Following an analytic library method, the present study explains and evaluates the views of three prominent figures of this school regarding the truth of the soul and its subsistence. Manuscript profile

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230 - Challenges of two genres of tragedy and comedy from Avicenna's point of view according to Aristotle's poetic view
Farideh Daliri Esmail BaniArdalan Amir Maziyar

Aristotle's theory of poetry entered the realm of Iranian thought with the theme that the genres of tragedy and comedy seek to imitate and mimesis virtues and vices. Aristotle's treatise on poetry, despite its role in shaping Western theater, had no effect on the worl More

Aristotle's theory of poetry entered the realm of Iranian thought with the theme that the genres of tragedy and comedy seek to imitate and mimesis virtues and vices. Aristotle's treatise on poetry, despite its role in shaping Western theater, had no effect on the world of Persian poetry. It is necessary that the theater comes from the heart of Greek ontology is a reminder of the need for Iranian drama to have a poetic outlook on Iranian culture. This book has been translated and adapted many times as a reference treatise, and one of the most prominent adaptations is Avicenna's poetry. Although the Avicenna's poetry is a report on Aristotle's poetry, he did not merely suffice to summarize it. The fundamental feature of his work is dealing with the essence of poetry, imitation or imagination. His poetry has new features, points and theories. The fundamental motive of this research is to read Avicenna's approach to the Greek sage Poetics and to study his poetry based on the main genres of Aristotle's Poetics treatise. The passage to this goal with an analytical-descriptive approach and data collection method is a library in which the researcher has achieved the theories of two Greek and Iranian scholars with the intention of Avicenna in writing iranian poetry poetics Manuscript profile

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231 - Explanation of the causes of the earthquake in Avicenna’s works and his impact on Qutb-al-Din Shirazi and Shirvani
Mir Hamid Hashemi Lashenloo Arash Mousavi

Some of the Iranian-Muslim scholars, including Avicenna, have written about the earthquake and what causes it to happen. The study is attempted to explain the views of Avicenna, Qutb-al-Din Shirazi and Mohammad Hassan Shirvani on why and how the earthquake would happen. More

Some of the Iranian-Muslim scholars, including Avicenna, have written about the earthquake and what causes it to happen. The study is attempted to explain the views of Avicenna, Qutb-al-Din Shirazi and Mohammad Hassan Shirvani on why and how the earthquake would happen. Following the Aristotle, Avicenna and even his followers, provided natural explanations for the earthquake. To explain the main cause of the earthquake, These books referred to a natural breath within the earth pushing the surface out. The study concluded that most Muslim scholars, following Avicenna, tended to use the natural factors on explanation of the natural phenomena, including earthquake; Thus they used a so-called scientific methodology to explain it. Manuscript profile

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