Document Type : Scientific Research

Author

• Zohreh Tavaziany

Abstract

The ways of achieving knowledge and knowing its obstacles are the most important concerns of scholars like Mulla Sadra, as an Eastern Philosopher, and Francis Bacon, as a Western thinker. According to Mulla Sadra the basis of true knowledge is having faith to God and achieving it through intuition. Also, he considers this knowledge as the key for other sciences and accounts three main obstacles on the way of gaining it. On the other hand, Bacon believes in the necessity of knowing nature for achieving the knowledge of God, and as such considers the mental errors and wrong beliefs as important obstacles on the way of acquiring knowledge. He introduces four so-called idols in this respect. Although the two philosophers belong to two different intellectual systems, there exist similar concerns in their thoughts. So, the writers of this paper are trying to compare their ideas and recognize the similar factors in their thoughts, and through a descriptive-analytic method come to this conclusion that the concept of knowledge and its obstacles are equivocal rather than univocal in their thoughts. Because in Mullasadra's view, the true meaning of knowledge is to know God and His attributes, but according to Bacon knowledge means empirical cognition. In addition, for Mullasadra the obstacles of knowledge are rather referring to religious fields, while for Bacon there is no religious limitation for them.

Keywords

• Knowledge
• Obstacles of knowledge
• Idol
• Mulla Sadra
• Francis Bacon.