JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Year:2017 | Volume:19 | Issue:1 (71)|Papers Count:12

Spiritual intelligence has been of interest to psychologists in recent years. The loss of life and a sense of despair and frustration in people living in the age of technology have led psychologists to identify instrument useful for people that is known as spiritual or existential intelligence, which is regarded to be the highest IQ and the strongest type of an individuals’s adaptation to the environment. The spirituality is one of the important pillars of Mulla Sadra's philosophy and although spiritual intelligence has not been used in transcendental philosophy, this important construct, its features and components, principles, main structure and growth barriers can be inferred from Mulla Sadra’s viewpoints. This study shows that with regard to Mulla Sadra’s doctrine, spiritual intelligence construct can be embedded in a more realistic and effective form. Therefore, every human being can not only become closer to the criteria that psychologists set for a healthy person but also approach to their truth that is becoming a perfect.

Mullah Sadra was the first philosopher who separated essential possibility from existential possibility in philosophy. He did not propose such separation in logic because logic is needless of it. Based on this separation, he founded the philosophical system of transcendent philosophy which completes peripatetic philosophy. Essential possibility means negation of necessity through negation and affirmation, that is, negation of necessity of existence and non-existence which is the very special possibility. Existential possibility means pure connection and attachment of the caused, such that it has no independent essence and existence. Invalidating essential possibility and proposing a new delineation for the issue of tripartite division of existence, substituting existential poverty for essential possibility in the criterion of dependence of the effect on the cause and revision of the principle of causality, completing and transcending the proof of the righteous to prove the existence of God centered around the creatures' indigence possibility, and attributing the evils to the existential deficiency of the contingent entities and purifying the essence of God from them are among the important benefits of this separation in transcendent philosophy.

The present paper holds that dialogue between Islam and Christianity is an inevitable necessity, but it will be fruitful if the interior and spiritual aspects of Islam are taken into consideration. In this regard, it first proves why mysticism and spirituality of Islam should be taken into consideration in the dialogue and at the same time they are not distanced from their authentic sources and documents, because otherwise it would be difficult to recognize an essential and strong relationship between them and Islam. Trying to correct some misunderstandings about Shia, the paper seeks to explain its unique spiritual sources, particularly those related to mystical esoteric exegesis of temple and worship. Therefore, spiritual exegesis of church is specifically compared and contrasted with esoteric exegesis of stations and sacred rites of Hajj, particularly al- H ajar al-Aswad "Heavenly Black Stone", from Ghazi Sa'eed Qomi's view. The paper proves that Islamic spirituality is not only superior in these issues, but also provides a proper ground for correct understanding of Christian spirituality.

Contrary to Sunny scholars, Shia scholars believe that infallibility and immunity of Holy Prophet's successors (peace be upon him and his progeny) from any mistake, sin, error, and fault is a necessary and essential condition. Therefore, Imams (peace be upon them) must be infallible and immune from any sin and error. Shia theologians and scholars, particularly Khawja Nasir al-din Tusi, have provided several transmitted and rational arguments for the necessity of infallibility of Imams (peace be upon them) who are the successors of Holy Prophet. Therefore, any neglect of divine injunctions and commands, whether intentionally or unintentionally, overt or covert, is inconsistent with taking the position of Imam and succeeding Holy Prophet. Fakhr Razi and his followers, however, cast doubt on and even denied the necessity of the condition of infallibility for Holy Prophet's successors and finally reduced infallibility into justice. The present paper elaborates on the most important arguments of Muslim theologians, particularly Mohaqqeq Tusi, for the necessity and exigency of infallibility of Imams, criticizes and rejects Fakhr Razi's most important doubts and objections, and finally concludes that infallibility is a necessary and essential condition for Holy Prophet's successors.

There are four different models to explain the language of mysticism and its effability: (1) the model of memory (stating the experience of intuition); (2) the model of intuitive intellect; (3) the model of anthropomorphism; and (4) the model of manifestation. The first model negates explaining while intuiting, but states that explaining the experience of intuition is possible after the intuition because it is possible to classify and conceptualize it. By accepting a function of intellect called intuition, the second model states that intellect functioning as heart and intellectual intuition in the context of intuition by heart is possible, which results in the direct involvement of intellectual explanation. The third model states that "effability" of mysticism means explaining the reality of existence (individual unity) through words and concepts, and illusion whose function is image-making is in charge of anthropomorphism and assisted by intellectual purification, which results in understanding anthropomorphizing while purifying. The forth model states that explanation is the very manifestation of divine names in the form of words (manifestation of the name of names) and since the divine names are themselves the manifestation of Truth, explanation or the name of name is the manifestation of divine essence and its explanation. By comparing these models and reviewing their merits and demerits, it can be said that possible effability is justified and is an intellectual method.

One of the most important philosophical, theological and mystical issues which has an effective training function, especially in monotheistic training, is the effect of non-cognitive factors such as will, spiritual dispositions, behavioral patterns, desires, affections, and intentions on the process of man's perceptions including his anthropological, theological, cosmological attitudes, and his understanding of the meaning of life and the pure life, etc. The issue is regarded as a bridge between epistemology and ethics. The aim of present paper is to review the claim more carefully and find out Mawlawi's view in this regard. The most important point of the paper is that Mawlawi also believed in the effect of non-ideological realms on the realm of ideas and beliefs. Therefore, the most important instances of non-cognitive factors that cause the transparency or opacity of human cognition are introduced and the importance of non-cognitive factors in man's cognitive foundations is discussed, having understood Mawlawi's views in this regard.

Reflection on Mulla Sadra's philosophy helps us to find out that man has unlimited capacities which take on meaning in the world through realization. Since man as a limited being is existentially dependent upon infinite being, he tries to realize his existence and make a meaning for it. Therefore, we can understand the relationship between man and the world and his motion toward the Most High God, which is final end of all his motions, by taking into consideration man's belonging existence and the role of the world in making a meaning for his existence. However, "subjectivism" and confrontation between man and the world as one of its most important outcomes in western philosophy was developed as the result of Descartes's use of "self" as "subject" and "the world" as "object". The aim of present paper is to elaborate on the relationship between man and the world, given his mode of belonging existence in Sadrian philosophy contrasted with duality of man and the world which is an inevitable result of "subjectivism". Finally, it concludes that man's attachment and belonging to God in substantial motion and consequently his essential poverty is the factor that makes Sadrian man superior to the man in subjectivism and any kind of subjectivist thought.

In religious teachings of Imamiyyah, both overstatement and understatement about Imams are forbidden, which are rooted in incorrect knowledge of states of Imamate and Imam's existential position in the creation. The present paper criticizes a part of the book "School in the Process of Perfection" in terms of its methodology, in which the author understates about Imams when introducing them. The author believes that some of the intellectual foundations of Imamiyyah (such as foreknowledge and infallibility of Imams) were not discussed in the first century after Hijra, that Imams were introduced as pious religious scholars, and that these attributes were proposed by companions and perfected, evolved, and popularized among the followers of Imamiyyah in subsequent centuries, while they were regarded as the cases of overstatement at the age of Imams themselves. The paper, however, proves how the honorable author reasons fallaciously and fails to understand the evidence and documents correctly and directly due to his semantic errors, lack of a comprehensive understanding of narrations, and misunderstanding them.

Having deprived the principle of causality as existence-giver from the position of existing agents in natural world, Avicenna used the construction of motive agent to justify their effects. However, careful reflection on how motion exists and its meaning implies that in Avicenna's system of thought motion is a possible fact and consequent accident, so it needs an independent cause in its creation to create it. Thus, natural agent which was first supposed to be the donor of motion is now considered existence-giver, given the above explanation. This poses the following questions: what is the role of natural agent at the end? What does it mean when it is said that natural agent bestows motion? Is there any difference between creating motion and creating other creatures, which allows Avicenna to attribute causality as motion-creator to natural agent? The present paper discusses and analyzes Avicenna's view in two parts of creative cause and motive cause while referring to superficial inconsistency in his words, and tries to use his "theory of inclination" to remove this inconsistency.

According to the doctrines of great monotheistic religions, God will fairly judge on the deeds and intentions of all people on the Day of Judgment in hereafter. He will reckon all deeds, even the tiniest ones, will do justice to everyone according to their acts, and will condemn some sinners to eternal punishment. There seems to be at least two important problems about this religious doctrine: First, the eternal punishment is inconsistent with divine justice; second, eternal punishment is inconsistent with divine love. Theologians and thinkers such as Anselm and Jonathan Edwards have tried to prove the consistency of eternal punishment with divine justice. Aquinas has also provided some arguments for the consistency of divine love with eternal punishment. There have also been endeavors in Islamic tradition to argue that the eternal punishment is consistent with divine justice; among the main and recent examples is Motahhari’s view in his book "Adl-e Elahi" (Divine Justice). Examining and comparing the main arguments presented against the two mentioned problems, the present paper argues that all of these arguments fail to provide justified moral answers to the problems, though they differ in terms of their merits and demerits.

Given its depth and width, Allamah Tabatabaii's socio-political thought can solve many current political problems in different societies. The theory of constructional perceptions is one of the most important foundations of his philosophical thought, which has exerted influence on his socio-political thought and somehow determines the orientation of his views. Considering the importance and necessity of discussing Allamah Tabatabaii's socio-political thought and its foundations, the present paper seeks to study the foundations and cognitive hypotheses of his political thought, one of the most important of which is the theory of constructional perceptions on the one hand, and the function of such an approach in socio-political thought, that is, how Allamah Tabatabaii views different political problems in the society including the origin of socio-intellectual difficulties, man, society, government and its ideal form, rule, justice and economy, on the other hand. It concludes that Allamah Tabatabaii's socio-political thought influenced by the theory of constructional perceptions has some capabilities based on which it opens a new space in the world of politics while being distinctive from relativistic thoughts, and has some results and functions which provide solutions for many current problems based on accepting multiplicity and change while being committed to the essential principles of Islam.