Philosophical Foundations of Sadr Al-Motaalehin in the Face of Belief Contradiction in the Unity of Being

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 M.Sc., Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Prof, Faculty of Theology, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Mullā Ṣadrā’s attempt to reconcile philosophy and mysticism has faced him with several difficulties, of which some are noticed by him and some could be explained according to his taste and principles. One of the difficulties is the incompatibility of the mystical theory of Unity of Existence with the law of contradiction. This perception of presence, which claims the oneness of creatures with the Creator and at the same time their duality, challenges the logical-philosophical law of noncontradiction.
The purpose of this paper is to answer the question of what solution could Mullā Ṣadrā have for such a problem. Although he has emphasized on the theory of Personal Unity of Existence in his late works, it seems that the theory of Analogical Unity of Existence –despite Ṣadrā’s lack of clarification– was a solution from his side to get rid of this problem. The authors’ descriptive method and critical analysis, however, indicates the insufficiency of this theory for solving this paradox. The logic of belief, also, cannot be a a solution for this problem. The authors, finally, have shown that on the basis of Mullā Ṣadrā’s principles in the issue of mental existence, the rule of impossibility of coexistence of two contradictories in immaterial worlds has been narrowed down and the possibility of coexistence of some incommensurable things is available in that arena. This way, he can solve the paradox of the unity of existence. All in all, it is clear that Mullā Ṣadrā neither wanted nor - –considering his intellectual foundations– was capable of accepting dialetheism and the violation of the law of noncontradiction.

Keywords

References

Ahl-Sarmadī, N.; Šānaẓarī, Ǧ. (2017). “Ibn ʿArabī wa Iǧtimāʿ Naqīqayn dar ʿArṣe-ye Khiyāl (Ibn ʿArabī and the Law of Noncontradiction in the Arena of Imagination),” Paghūh󠅡eš-nāme-ye Irfān 9(17): 67-85.
Al-Šīrāzī, Š. (1981). Al-Ḥikma al-Mutaʿāliya fī al-Asfār al-Arbaʿa al-ʿAqliyya (The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys of the Intellect). Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī.
Al-Šīrāzī, Š. (1981). Al-Šawāhid al-Rubūbiyya fī al-Manāhiǧ al-Sulūkiyya (Divine Witnesses along the Spiritual Path). Al-Makaz al-Ǧāmiʿī li-l-Našr.
Al-Suhrawardī (2004). Ḥikma al-Iṡrāq (The Philosophy of Illumination). Muʾassese-ye Muṭāliʿāt wa Taḥqīqāt-e Farhangī.
ʿAẓīmī, M. (2019). Manṭiq wa Maʿrfat dar Andīše-ye Suhrawardī (Logic and Knowledge in the Thought of al-Suhrawardī). Muʾassese-ye Paghūhešī-ye Ḥikmat wa Falsafe-ye Iran.
Ǧašān-neghād, ʿA.; Ǧawāriškiyān, ʿA. (2015). “Barrasī wa Muqāyese-ye Mabānī-ye Ithbāt-e Waḥdat-e Wuǧūd dar Andīše-ye Mullā Ṣadrā wa ibn Sīnā (Inspection and comparison of the foundations of the Proof of Unity of Existence in the Thoughts of Mullā Ṣadrā and Avicenna),” Ḥikmat-e Muʿāther2: 15-42.
Hāšemīfar, Ġ.; ʿAẓīmī, M. (2022). “Muwāǧehe-ye Mullā Ṣadrā bā Tanāquḍ-bāwarī-ye ʿĀrefāne (Confrontation of Mullā Ṣadrā with
Mystical Dialetheism),” Manṭiq-Paghūhī 13(1): forthcoming.
Ibn ʿArabī (2006). Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Revelations). Dār al-Fikr.
Kākāʾī, Q. (2020). Waḥdat-e Wuǧūd be Rawāyat-e Ibn ʿArabī wa Meister Eckhart (Unity of Existence by the Narration of Ibn ʿArabī and Meister Eckhart). Hermes.
Muḥaqqiq Dāmād, S. M.; Āqā-Muḥammad-Riḍā, M. (2016). “Naqd wa Barrasī-ye Waḥdat-e Šaḫsī-ye Wuǧūd bar Asās-e Taqrīr-e Mullā Ṣadrā (Critique and Inspection of the Unity of Existence on the Basis of Statement of Mullā Ṣadrā),” Ḥikmat-e Ṣadrāʾī 5(1): 113-128.
Muṭahharī, M. (1970). “Aṣl-e Tanāquḍ dar Falsafe-ye Islāmī (The Law of Noncontradiction in Islamic Philosophy),” Maqālāt wa Barrasīha 1: 9-28.
Stace, W. T. (2019). Mysticism and Philosophy. Transl: Bahāʾ al-Dīn Khorramšāhī. Surūš.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 08 October 2023
  • Accept Date: 08 October 2023

Share

How to cite

Statistics