حکمت صدرایی (May 2017)
The Descension of Being in the Worlds of Existence: Emphasis on the Views of Mulla Sadra
Abstract
The human articulate soul is one of the most mysterious things in the world of being; in that it has attracted the attention of several scholars and Muslim philosophers. Muslim philosophers have endeavored to unfold the secrets of its existence and nature. One of the important problems, which the present study by analytical appraisal explores, is whether the articulate soul had located in other word(s) before belonging to the body? And how reduce to the nature? Plato, Aristotle, Avecinna (Ibn Sina), and Suhrawardi gave various answers to this query; however, Mulla Sadra’s answer is unique in this context. In declining (reducing) chain of being, he mentions Transcendental Being, the world of the abstracts (intellects), the world of the ideas, and nature. According to him, the human articulate soul has several existential levels. In the world of the abstracts (intellects), they exist as abstract and collective things, hence devoid of multiplicity. When an appropriate body is created, the soul reduces its level of abstractness and comes down to the level of ideas that has certain characteristics of the material world. This reduction and decline in abstractness continues until it reaches the world of nature and gets incarnated in the body. In the meantime, the abstract (intellectual) existence of the soul in the world of the ideas continues. Despite the novelty of Mulla Sadra’s scheme and interpretation, it is not devoid of any problem. For example, not only accepting an abstract, communal thing lies outside the arena of conflict, but also is same as acceptance of soul’s eternality, which he rejects.
