Ma`rifat Falsafi
Year:2009 | Volume:6 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

So far, at least seven theories regarding the temporality/eternity of the soul have been proposed. Most of Muslim philosophers, however, agree that soul is temporal, and its existence does not precede the creation of body. Ibn Sina and his followers consider soul to be spiritual in both its origination and its continuation, while the followers of Hikmat Muta' āliyah (Transcendent Philosophy) deem it physical in origination, but spiritual in continuation. Ibn Sina, especially in Shifa, offers at least two arguments for the theory of the origination of soul along with body. Mullā sadrā, on the other hand, criticizes three arguments put forward for the eternity of soul, and cites ten proofs for the temporality of soul, accepting some of them and rejecting some others.Since many religious narratives appear to side with the precedence of soul over body, the authors in this article scrutinize philosophers' arguments for the origination of soul along with, or after, body in order to remove the apparent disagreement between the two.

Philosophers of Shiraz School, who lived after Khadjeh NasĪr al-dĪn Tusi and before MĪr Dāmād, had a great impact on Mullā sadra' s ideas and innovations, and his Transcendent Philosophy. However, this influence has remained un-noticed ever since. The author in this article reviews the issue of "mental existence" in the philosophy of Mullā Sadra by referring to the manuscripts of the philosophers of Shiraz School, including sadr al-dĪn Dashtaki, GhĪyath al-dĪn Dashtaki, and Jalāl al-dĪn Dawani. This issue had been raised in the discussions between Dashtakis and Dawani which contained valuable points, and led to Mullā Sadrā's innovative idea about mental existence.

"The best arrangement" (Nizām-i Ahsan) plays an important role in the Islamic philosophy as a whole, and in Mullā sadrā's philosophical system in particular. At the first glance, it may seem that a flawless system is the best arrangement of things, and therefore, the question arises as to why the existing world contains some evil and imperfection. On the other hand, as science progresses more and more secrets of the natural world are revealed, and scientists and philosophers realize that the world order is very accurate and complicated. By discussing "the best arrangement", philosophers try to solve this dilemma.Mulla sadra, based on his transcendent philosophy, considers the existing world as a product of the Divine arrangement, and hence, it is formed in the best possible order. This article inquires into this issue by referring to Mullā sadrā' s magnum opus, al-Asfār al-Arba'ah.

The main question in this article is whether it is possible to prove the existence of the materially objective world. The author first reviews different Muslim philosophers' ideas on this topic, including those of Fārābi, lbn Sina, Bahmanyār, Shaykh lshrāq, and Muhaqiq Tūsi. Then he focuses on Mullā sadrā and peruses various aspects of his viewpoint.The methodology of the author is analytical-rational, in which all the premises, whether explicit or implicit, are brought to the fore, and discussed.

This article is an attempt at explaining the phases of understanding, and it takes the following points as for granted: a) entities of the world are real and objective entities; b) every individual unit has its unique particularity; c) what we understand corresponds to what is there in the objective world.The author, in this article, suggests five stages for understanding the reality, two of which are non-cognitive stages and precede any mental activity to employ words and adjectives for explaining general characteristics of realities. He argues that the first thing understood is mere existence of a phenomenon, and the identity of what is perceived through knowledge by presence with the objective reality. Such a presence before soul (nafs) resembles one's understanding of reality before being able to use any language except body language. Further steps include classification, language and logic which facilitate retrieval.

This article deals with the influence of pragmatism and postmodernism on the formation of Richard Rorty's neo-pragmatism. Naturalism, Darwinism, and instrumentalism are among the foundations of the classical pragmatism which had also influenced Rorty's neo-pragmatism. Dewey and James have had great impact on Rorty. Postmodernism and its basic ideas, such as the death of the subject, irrationalism, and the denial of reality, can be seen as active players in the making of Rorty's ideas. This is why he sympathizes with most of postmodern thinkers, such as Derrida, the latter Wittgenstein, and Lyotard in their critique of modernism.

The stance one takes in the discussion of truth has its effect on different fields of knowledge, such as religion and theology. Post-liberal theology is one of the new approaches, emerged in the postmodern era. This type of theology suggests a third way vis-à-vis traditional and liberal approaches. It criticizes the foundations and basic ideas of both foundation lists and empiricists, and puts forward new principles for the sake of ecumenicalism. The author in this article deals with George Lindbeck's idea about truth. Lindbeck is one of the most important figures of post-liberal theology whose The Nature of Doctrine played a significant role in explicating this type of theology. One of his strategies for attaining the ecumenical goal is an intra-systematic and categorial approach to truth. This article concentrates on this dimension of Lindbeck's work, and tries to present a critical analysis of this epistemological theory.