Seyed Mehdi Mirhadi
Abstract
The history of topics related to action can be clearly documented in the history of philosophy and its various periods from ancient Greece to the present, as well as in the history of Islamic philosophy. In the Greek philosophy, Aristotle has put forward his own views one practice in his book “On ...
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The history of topics related to action can be clearly documented in the history of philosophy and its various periods from ancient Greece to the present, as well as in the history of Islamic philosophy. In the Greek philosophy, Aristotle has put forward his own views one practice in his book “On the Soul”. In the medieval philosophy, Aquinas, and in western contemporary philosophy, Hobbes, Hume, Anscombe, and Davidson, in particular, have focused on the action. Also, Islamic philosophers have paid attention to the issue of action, in particular Mulla Sadra, who has a special position due to discuss issues such as the quiddity of the action, and the why of and the quality of the action effects on the soul. Using five main questions, this paper seeks to present a preliminary plan for the philosophy of action in the Transcendent Philosophy of Mulla Sadra. The first question is the philosophy of human presence in the world and the role of action at the end of such a presence. In the second question, the relationship between action and body and the preparative role of the body (the creation of physical action) is described as the essential condition for the creation of the inner form of action in the soul. The quiddity of the action, the why and effects of action, and the quality of the action influence on the soul, as well as other questions are explained by the philosophy of action in the Transcendent Philosophy. In general view, Mulla Sadra's perception of the action can be paid attention as the basis of his theory about quiddity and quality of action and its relation with the soul. In this perception, the action, as an external existence similar to other external realities and objects, in order to associating with the soul, is required to unify with the soul by its immaterial form. Methodology The method of analysis and deduction was used according to the issue. Results and Discussion Human being is the only creature whose capacity to acquire new abilities is unlimited. Actualizing (becoming existence) this capacity and disposition can be a good reason for our entry and presence in this world, since the initial actuality is just a factuality and pre-disposition, and if it remains at this stage, there will in fact be nothing. In Mulla Sadra's view, the action is the incipience of the formation of attributes, and attributes is the incipience of the acquisition of knowledge and science. Thus, for example, the repeated fulfillment of the acts of kindness leads to the establishment of the attribute and the habit of kindness in us. In his view, it is important that, because of our kindness, we have a different perception of existence as compared to someone who is unkind. We act (having good behavior with others) through the body that is realized and actual, so that what is in potency in us (the potentiality of human being kindness) but not actual at the beginning of our birth, is realized and we are attributed. For him, the good and evil of action relate to an aspect of action (the effect on the soul) that has survival and stability, and an aspect of action (combination of moves that creates the appearance of an action) that does not remain and does not exist in ourselves lacked identity and attribution to goodness or evil. Actions are effects of our existence, and we are the subject and the cause of them. For Mulla Sadra, intention is the identity of action. The intention of action is of mode of soul and determining the degree of perfection of action. Human beings have the ability to become species with different intentions and actions. Mulla Sadra introduces the action as planting seeds in the earth of the heart, and the intentions as seeds. He believes that "each of us (his being) is his intention." Mulla Sadra has paid a special attention to the effects of the action arising from the fact that action makes the identity. In his view, "Anyone who does something, an effect of it (action) is occurred in the soul, and as the effects are repeated in the soul, the habits are formed." The formation of habits, as the moral attributes, the acquisition of knowledge, and the formation of human essence (existence), are all the most important effects of human action. When someone observes something by the camera, nobody says that the camera is looking and it is clear that we watch ourselves. Similar to this example, in terms of Mulla Sadra, the soul has the same relationship with its perceptual faculties (senses, imagination, intellect), and the faculty of motion and senses. The true subject of all acts is the soul. In this way, for example, violence against others by hand is the action of the soul (not the action of hand); therefore, its effect will also belong to the soul. Conclusion The action is the unique human facility to build one’s own religion and world, and the world is a glancing opportunity to act. The human body is the means of providing the possibility of action. The body is the servant of the soul (nafs) in order to realize our eternal life by depreciating itself under the will of the soul during our lifetime. The formation of humanistic or inhumanistic habits, the acquisition of knowledge, the progress or obstruction of the hearts into the path of intuition of the existence facts, the realization of human entity, and the acquisition of happiness or adversity for the human soul are become possible by the action. The action has an external existence that is the motion of bodily organs and limbs. Also, the action has an inner existence which is the inner form (immaterial and unified with soul) of action. In this way, as actions are different outside of mind, the inward form and the soulful existence of actions will also be different. The difference of the inward forms actions means that every external actions, after being transformed into an esoteric form and unified with soul, leads to a special and distinct effect from the other acts. Gradually, by the repetition of actions, the habits (humanistic or inhumanistic attributes) and the identity of human beings are formed, and the human souls are distinguished from each other.
