Document Type : Biannual Journal
Author
PhD in Transcendent Theosophy, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
One of the most significant issues in anthropology is the relationship between two major aspects of human life: soul and corpus. A review over philosophical texts from the early Greek era to the present time reveals the fact that soul’s relationship with the corpus is and has always been concerning philosophers. However, over time, separation of sciences and their narrowed down branches brought made it particularly interesting for other branches of science like embryology, psychology, parapsychology, etc. The main focus of this study is human genesis since his presence in the material world which is scrutinized through philosophical views of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra and comparing their views with embryological theories of Thomas W. Sadler as a prominent theoretician in the field. Conception and order of formation of body organs, parents’ influence on embryo and their relationship, the time of acquiring soul and the issue of protective and exhaustive are among the points discussed in this study in order to make a better evaluation of the issue under study.
Several theories have been developed on the formation of the first organ by eminent thinkers all of which could be culminated. If veins and nerves are considered as organs, they will be the first ones; otherwise, the heart is the initiator of embryogenesis. Ibn Sina concords with the second part of medical theories; however, regardless of the differences in views of Mulla Sadra on the genesis of the first organ, if the liver is the beginning point for veins and nerves, then, he will go with the first theory. For Ibn Sina, heart is the first organ for he believes that it is the origin of heat. Nevertheless, in some of his works, Mulla Sadra states the heart to be the first organ; yet, if the criteria for his selection is an overall look at his works, brain has to be considered as the initiator of embryogenesis due to its inherent priority and since liver as the origin of veins is formed earlier. Both of these approaches, however, contradict with the ideas Ibn Sina had on this issue. In the case of formation of other body organs, there seems to be almost no difference in views of these two philosophers on chronological order and for both of them, the other one’s first is the second one. Yet, Mulla Sadra’s views are supported more strongly by medical views of the modern world. This is due to the fact that, Ibn Sina puts the formation of veins and nerves two steps behind compared to the findings of modern medicine.
Regarding the method and time of attachment of soul to the embryo, Ibn Sina takes the time when heart is completely formed as the time when embryo gains the intellective soul. Yet, based on his own principles, Mulla Sadra believes that when the embryo is formed, the fetus is of signs of "plant life”. In other words, the fetus at this stage eats and grows; however, it lacks sense and movement as the signs of “animal life” and intellectual perception as the main sign of “human life”. As the embryo evolves inside its mother’s womb, its aptitudes are realized and this gives it an animal soul and later on other human life traits are gradually flourished. Embryology findings of modern medicine reveal that fetus receives the essence of life from its parents and it is the beginning of birth and growth of a new creature. Thus, fetus is a living creature of life right from the conception. This concord well with the trans-substantial motion theory of Mulla Sadra. Accordingly, acquisition of soul from Mulla Sadra’s point of view and medical perspective coordinate well considering their views on the first organ of primary stages of soul and life even in their faintest forms.
Views and ideas of these two philosophers on creation of soul and the protective and exhaustive factor are different. Ibn Sina believes that soul of parents is vicariously protective and exhaustive so that at first, the soul of mother is the collection of elements and creator of nature, then in the middle, mineral face or the born soul is exhaustive and protective with the aid of mother’s soul and finally the born soul becomes independent. Mulla Sadra denies this and believes that delegation in various affairs is in contractual affairs and not in real and inherent ones. For him, exhaustiveness of body organs is neither the souls of parents nor the soul of embryo but is the nutrition substances which collect the necessary and required components in its essence due to the trans-substantial motion and inherent perfection and is even more perfect and transforms as time passes and this is the plant soul of the embryo which protects it until the time comes for it to be qualified to gain the potential to show animal behavior beside above-mentioned deeds and behaviors. At this moment, human body is evolved and becomes legible to acquire intellective soul with which not only mineral deeds are conducted along with plant and animal behavior, but contemplation and perception also occur as the intellectual soul. Modern medical findings solve the problem of exhaustiveness of the embryo since they take fetus as a living creature; however, the concept of protectiveness as it is discussed in philosophy is of no ground in embryology and the only mention of it is made about the role the mother and her body has in protecting the fetus conceived in her womb. Mother’s body acts as a home and a system feeding and protecting the fetus and since it is the site for the nurture of a creature named human, her temperament and spiritual state will have their influence of the embryo.
In conclusion, an overall evaluation of these views reveals that ontological principles of Mulla Sadra to elaborate on embryogenesis and the life of human embryo concord much better with modern findings of embryology as a science in comparison to the ones developed by Ibn Sina.
No study has investigated the relationship between soul and corpus from this point of view. The method utilized in this study was documentary analysis using library resources. The references used in this study were all original texts including The Canon of Medicine, Book of Knowledge for Ala al-Dawla, Soul, etc. by Ibn Sina, The Transcendent theosophy in the Four Journeys of the Intellect, etc. by Mulla Sadra and Langman's Medical Embryology by Thomas W. Sadler.
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