JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Year:2009 | Volume:11 | Issue:1 (41)|Papers Count:12

The problem with research on al-Ghazali’s works is that one can observe some inconsistency in his utterances. As an example, al-Ghazali’s remarks on ‘reason’ are among those cases. The present writing is going to give the uses of ‘reason’ a logical framework in terms of ontological, psychological, and epistemological applications. To understand al-Ghazali’s main intention, one should perform a thorough investigation into his works so as to find the general spirit dominating them. Here we can consider two meanings of reason used by al-Ghazali: the particular sense is ‘discursive reason’; another meaning is ‘the whole stage of humanity’ in knowing. Reason in the latter meaning consists of different manifestations including the level of reasoning to the prophetic level of knowledge. Such a point is one of the basic principles in al-Ghazali’s system of thought.

The present paper is going to examine the effect of sin on knowledge, whether direct or indirect knowledge, with an emphasis on Allamah Tabatabai’s viewpoint. In the domain of direct knowledge, the paper discusses such an effect in both the direct knowledge of the self and the direct knowledge of God. In the domain of indirect knowledge, it goes on to discuss it in terms of theoretical and practical reason. In fact, as the Koranic verses and the Islamic traditions have specified, God fearing results in increasing knowledge; moreover, it expresses itself in the form of self-controlling and in the acquisition of moral virtues. So, Allamah Tabataba'i holds that there is a concomitance between God fearing and the power of intellect in discursive discernment. This means that there is a mutual interaction between the power of reason and the observance of divine commands.

In their works, a great number of Islamic thinkers have differentiated between ethical judgments and juristic judgments, while they agree on the sameness of their origin, especially in regard to the question of ‘obligation’. By inquiring into the origin of ‘obligation’ in Islamic jurisprudence and ethics as well as demonstrating the sameness of its origin, the present essay attempts to show the non-differentiation of obligation in some juristic and ethical propositions. In both ethical and juristic propositions, obligation based on innate things which can be revealed by reason, and which are established by the divine will; both the propositions can regulate the human behaviors; promote the spiritual manners; and ensure the social order and prosperity; and at the same time, both enjoy sanction. However, the sanction norms of the ethical judgments are different from those of juristic judgments. Nevertheless, there can consider the ways suggested by religious jurisprudents to be valid for fulfilling the ethical judgments as well.

The present paper is going to comparatively investigate into Kant and Hegel’s views on the essence of ‘category’, giving up the issues such as the number of categories and other detailed discussions. So, to begin with, having mentioned the differences between Kant and Aristotle viewpoints on the categories, the paper inquires into several points such as Kant’s influence on Hegel regarding the categories, Hegel’s criticisms of Kant in this regard, their differences on the category and so on. In other words, the paper inquires into the similarities and contrasts of the two viewpoints on such things as the relationship between the category and noumenon, subjectivity and objectivity of the categories, and critical views on Hegel.

This paper is going to re-read Imam Mohammad al-Ghazali’s moral ideas in order to find the responses to the questions of moral psychology. Al-Ghazali, following the Greek and Islamic philosophers, relates each virtue or vice to a particular faculty in man’s soul.Moreover, following the Asharites, he considers the basis of moral good and badness to be religious. Furthermore, having mentioned al-Ghazali and Hume’s opinions as well as their similarities, this writing explains why al-Ghazali’s view on the moral motivation has not encountered Hume’s objections. And finally, it presents the differences between al-Ghazali and the Greek philosophers’ views on virtues and vices as well as evaluates al-Ghazali’s psychological opinions in ethics.

Afzal-od-din Kashani, great Iranian Muslim sage in the second half of the sixth century and the early seventh century is well-known by a number of his works on logic and philosophy. He has expressed new doctrines and views, especially in philosophy, giving him a prominent status among other philosophers and mystics. One of his important works is Javdan-Nameh, a mystical-philosophical treatise which contains lofty ideas about man and the world. This treatise had a deep influence on Mulla Sadra so that he wrote the treatise Eksir al-‘arefin (“The Elixir of the Gnostics”) composed after writing the Journeys (Asfar). Given the structure and content of Eksir al-‘arefin, one can clearly observe such influence. The present paper is going to introduce Javdan-Nameh and its influence on Mulla Sadra’s Eksir al-‘arefin.

Sheikh Najm-od-din Razi (573/1177-654/1256) has written on mystical questions several works, among which is Me’yar as-Sedq fi Mesdaq al-Eshq (“The Criterion of Veracity Concerning the Touchstone of Love”). This treatise, in fact, deals with some questions of Razi’s friend. Having explained the point of contention, Razi specifies the meanings of reason and remarks on the scope of its function. Next, based on the Prophet’s utterances, he draws the relationship between more reason and more elegant love. And then, he opposes reasonably the theory of ‘union of the intellect, intelligent and intelligible’.In this treatise, when discussing reasonably, he argues in an elaborate way similar to theologians and philosophers; and when expressing mystical intuition, he espouses love to the extent of an anti-philosophical mystic, using metaphor, allusion, and allegory.The present article, while enquiring into the treatise and his other works in this regard, is going to analyze critically Razi’s views.

Having Analyzing the concepts of ‘intrinsic value’ and ‘instrumental value’ in the domain of natural environment, the present essay deals with the major approaches in the philosophy of environment and ethics of environment as well as discusses the approaches in the domain of law, especially in relation to the environmental damages.The basic assumption of this writing is that the orientation of the laws and approaches is still anthropocentric, neglecting the biocentric approaches which include man as one element.In the end, while inspired by the Islamic doctrines in the philosophy of environment and the law of environment, the essay emphasizes on the anthrobiocentric approach.

Monotheism, as the pivot of religion and the cornerstone of all religious doctrines, possesses theoretical as well as practical dimensions; one important dimension is the inclusive sovereignty of unitary God. However, such a sovereignty is fulfilled in a religious society through Imamate and authority of the infallible; indeed, such an authority is the only means of realization of divine sovereignty. This article is going to demonstrate that monotheism is the underlying foundation in connection with the infallible’s authority as well as to explicate the reality of such authority.

During human life, ethical criteria and the formulation of ethical code have been a concern existed a long time, having various dimensions and components. So, for such a subject matter, there have been suggested a great number of theoretical views and practical procedures, which for a long time have been disputed by the experts in the fields of religion, philosophy, ethics, psychology and management. The present essay initially considers ethical action and its psychological roots. Next, it focuses on different theories concerning criteria for the evaluation of ethical action such as altruism, essential good and badness, and inspiration of consciousness as well as on the factors affecting ethical and non-ethical behaviors. Then, based on Islamic traditions, it points out the four principles of the normative ethics, i.e., commitment, monitoring, evaluation, and reprimand.And, finally, it analyzes the global backgrounds of formulating ethical code for organizations and its criteria including the principle of moral honesty, of ownership, of trust, of equity, and of citizenship, presenting the extensions of the studied dimensions.

Without doubt, Rene Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician, is one of the main characters influencing not only on the process of the Western philosophy development but also on the modern civilization in the west. As a result, to attain a worthwhile understanding of the western philosophy and civilization, one should gain a proper knowledge of such a prominent thinker. In the Renaissance, whose essence is humanism, the ladder which previously in the Middle Ages had been put towards the heaven, inverted towards the earth. The assumption of this writing is that although Descartes didn’t consider himself as a humanist but there are in his philosophy certain humanistic aspects which are rooted in the Renaissance humanism. Among these aspects are such opinions as Cartesian subjectivity, his doubt in authority of the ancients, rationalism, and mathematical, mechanical interpretation of the world. The present article first refers to the concept and significance of the Renaissance and humanism; then, it enumerates the indicators of the Renaissance; finally, it investigates into the harmonies and dialogues between Descartes’ viewpoints and the Renaissance humanism.

The present article which is an investigation into the essays of 30 issues of Philosophical-Theological Researches quarterly seeks to explicate the behavioral pattern of the researchers in this field. The method used in this survey is citation analysis; and the data have been analyzed by means of statistical package for social science (SPSS).The research findings suggest the following points: in 30 issues published from 1989 to 1999, there are 180 compiled and translated papers whose average is 6 essays in each issue.Among 164 authors of the complied papers, there are 154 male writers and 10 female writers; only 7 essays is multi-compiler and only 27 authors are not faculty members.Among the information media, books have been relied on more than other sources and among the books, Qur’an, al-Mizan, Behar 'l-Anwar as well as the writings of Mulla Sadra and Ibn Sina, more than others. Also, the references in Arabic are much more relied on than the Persian and English sources.