Sadr al-Mutallihin’s Viewpoint on The compatibility of the doctrine of the Individual Unity of Being with the Realization of Multiplicity

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Khwarami University, Tehran

Abstract

One of the major criticisms of the individual unity of being (wahdat shakhsi wujud) is that it’s acceptance leads one into sophistry or contradiction. By illustrating the dependent existence (bil-araz) of multiplicity, this study aims to respond to some of the issues, proposed by current scholars, on the aforementioned topic. The approach of the present research will be expressed in two modes. Initially, a reading of the doctrine of the individual unity of being will be made with attention to the understanding and distinction between intellectual trope (majaz ‘aqli) and linguistic trope (majaz itibari). Secondly, a thorough analysis on all modes (haysiat) will be made on the subject of unity of being (wahdat al-wujud) in order to express the hypothesis that the true existence (not essential) of multiplicity is due to its quality of limited mode (haysiat taqidi sh’ani) of the Divine. Thus, multiplicity, in truth, in and of itself (nafs al-amr) is dependent in its mode of existence. That being said, it should not be confused with being pure nonexistence (ma’dum mahz) or nothingness. With this finding, it appears that the mentioned conflict has been addressed and it has been proven that the acceptance of the dependent existence of multiplicity, does not pose any faults towards the theory of the individual unity of being. Moreover, a reasonable explanation of the stated theory is deemed possible only from such pursuit.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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