makek abiyan; gholamhossein khedri; jalal peykani; alireza parsa
Abstract
The “argument of the sincere” (burhān al-ṣiddīqīn) was first introduced by Avicenna as andirect proof for a creator. He tried to provide a nearly ideal and direct version of the proof for God’s existence. The argument from possibility and necessity found its way to the Western ...
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The “argument of the sincere” (burhān al-ṣiddīqīn) was first introduced by Avicenna as andirect proof for a creator. He tried to provide a nearly ideal and direct version of the proof for God’s existence. The argument from possibility and necessity found its way to the Western philosophy through translations, and then Thomas Aquinas made tremendous efforts to refine and supplement it as a proof for the source of the world. This paper seeks to provide a more clear account of Avicenna’s argument of the sincere in the Islamic world and Aquinas’s argument from possibility and necessity in the Western world as proofs for the creator. It will then be argued that, first of all, these are two different arguments, and despite their shared foundations, they have different structures. It seems that Aquinas’s argument is like the argument from possibility and necessity in Islamic philosophy and theology. Secondly, regardless of how persuasive it might be to the public, Thomas’s argument rests upon controversial philosophical assumptions and involves lengthy premises, whereas Avicenna’s argument has solid rational foundations and structure, achieving its goal through fewer mediating premises.
Gholamhosein Khedri
Volume 5, Issue 4 , February 2015, , Pages 67-86
Abstract
From Allameh Jafari’s point of view, the real meaning of human life will be obtained by the progression and reach to intellectual life. This issue is directly related to human cognition and attending to his/her place as the pivot of existence and the substitute of GOD in the world. Human ego is ...
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From Allameh Jafari’s point of view, the real meaning of human life will be obtained by the progression and reach to intellectual life. This issue is directly related to human cognition and attending to his/her place as the pivot of existence and the substitute of GOD in the world. Human ego is a lawful existence which is improved based on these laws and also in accord with the whole of the meaningful existence. The origin of these laws and human forces is ‘self’ which is more valuable than natural existence of human being. Then mere attention to natural existence of human being will deprive him/her from attention to Transcendental valuable capacities; because with the actualization of the celestial and spiritual forces of human, he/she can make his/her life meaningful and also can be improved. This article will try to investigate the meaning of life based on the Allameh Jafari’s point of view
Gholamhossein Khedri; Ali Heidari Faraj
Volume 4, Issue 1 , October 2013, , Pages 65-85
Abstract
Immortality of the soul has always been one of the crucial concerns of deist philosophers. Regarding to significance and status of this problem, it would be accurate to say that all philosophical attempts proving the existence of the soul, have been dealing with setting fourth an explanatory definition ...
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Immortality of the soul has always been one of the crucial concerns of deist philosophers. Regarding to significance and status of this problem, it would be accurate to say that all philosophical attempts proving the existence of the soul, have been dealing with setting fourth an explanatory definition of it. As two major figures in this tradition, Avicenna and Aquinas, following Aristotle, got substantially involved in giving a religiously and philosophically valid basis to support the existence of the soul. They both elaborated this concept on the Aristotelian understanding and further developed their own theories, viewing immortality as one of the pivotal features of the soul. For this reason, a succinct explanation of Aristotle’s idea of the soul should be inevitably presented. This essay consists of two parts. The first part concerns explaining the concept of the soul, its abstractness and in corporeality and the way it is affiliated to the body, introductory to prove immortality of the soul. In the second part, I try to elaborate the explanation analysis and researching of the soul and its immortality in philosophy of Avicenna and Aquinas.
Gholamhossein Khedri; Mastaneh Kakaii
Volume 3, Issue 1 , September 2012, , Pages 75-96
Abstract
The Agent intellect of Aristotle has different position in later philosophers’ thoughts. Each, according to their need and the vacuum in their philosophy would determine the position of the agent intellect. Plato considered ‘Universals' as self-subsistance, immaterial and permanent which ...
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The Agent intellect of Aristotle has different position in later philosophers’ thoughts. Each, according to their need and the vacuum in their philosophy would determine the position of the agent intellect. Plato considered ‘Universals' as self-subsistance, immaterial and permanent which were not in the sensible world. He had not felt that there would be a need for agent intellect; however Aristotle, contrary to his master put ‘Universals' in sensible things, and to be able to explain the concept of universals, required intellect. Since Aristotle discussed vaguely about the intellect and compared it with the sense, after him, exponents and commentators, extracted agent intellect from his philosophy, or like Alexander of Aphrodisias who considered it as a transcendent and supernatural being or put it beyond the human soul like, Muslim philosophers, Al-Farabi and Avicenna to resolve the issue of the relationship between plurality and unity as well as Knowledge. In contrast, some philosophers in the medieval age, like Thomas Aquinas despite the influence of these Muslim thinkers, regarding agent intellect took a different position and offered another explanation about Aristotle and put Intellect as part of the ‘soul'. Avicenna's agent intellect has the same position in Plotinus’ intellect. In the ontological realm, the link between separable intellects (tenth) and sensible things is offspring of emanation of the plurality of the material world. And in the epistemological realm, diffusion of the universal forms and ‘intelligible' on ‘rational soul’ and transformation from potentiality to actuality is one of its functions. Agent intellect for Thomas, according to him, is more Aristotelian and merely has epistemological position. Agent intellect for him is abstractive agent; it abstracts the intellectual forms from sensible things and actualizes them. In the ontological realm, agent intellect located in human soul and has no ontological and causal functions.
Gholam Hossein Khedri; Mohammad Hadi Tavakkoli
Volume 2, Issue 2 , October 2011, , Pages 35-52
Abstract
In Western and Islamic philosophy, one of the most complex and controversial ontological topics has do with the relationship between mind and phenomenal objects, that is the relationship between the form in the mind and the material and objective form. This issue has stirred great confusion for philosophers ...
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In Western and Islamic philosophy, one of the most complex and controversial ontological topics has do with the relationship between mind and phenomenal objects, that is the relationship between the form in the mind and the material and objective form. This issue has stirred great confusion for philosophers seeking to explain the relationship of knowledge and the "outside world". In this article we present and compare Kant and Mulla Sadra's philosophical solutions to this problem. Although in Mulla Sadra's philosophy, mind and phenomenal objects do not stand on the same ontological levels, however according to the "primacy of existence" (Aṣālat al-wujūd) principle, the two are alongside each other. Knowledge is not separate from ontology and relies on the outside world in its process of perception occurring through the help of the senses, the imagination, reason, and intuition. What occurs between the outside world and the mind is called by Mulla Sadra the construction of quiddity. Quiddity is neither bound to the mind or the outside world; however it is necessary on every ontological level and participates in all the levels of perception. Mulla Sadra can explain the relationship between the intuitions of the mind and the outside world first by positing a soul which creates forms and elements related to perception and secondly, by filling the gap between mind and phenomenal objects by postulating a division of ontological levels. According to Kant, knowledge requires two things: a) observation, which is given to us in space and time and b) the reception of an intelligible upon what has been observed. For the process to occur the phenomenal object and the intelligible must share a similarity. Some intelligibles have no similarity with anything from the experiential level. Kant, in trying to reconcile mind and the phenomenal objects uses the concept of Transcendental Schemata, that is forms produced in time by the imagination. By arguing for a direct reciprocity between the phenomena and the intelligible, Kant is bound to uphold the reciprocity between phenomena and transience.
