Mohammad Sadegh Ardestani on the Eternity and the Unity of Soul

Abstract

Ibn Sina believes that soul is ‘spiritually and bodily originated’, while Mulla Sadra claims that it is ‘bodily originated but spiritually eternal’. Mullah Mohammad Sadegh Ardestani in al-Hikmah al-Sadaqiyah believes that originatedness of the soul is neither consistent with its abstraction nor with its survival. He believes in the eternity and unity of Soul. From the perspective of Ibn Sina and other scholars, saying that soul is united and eternal is faced with two basic problems: 1. If soul has not been multiplied after its incarnation in the body, all human beings should be identical in all traits; 2. If soul has been multiplied after its incarnation in the body, the abstract entity are divided potentially and actually. In al-Hikmah al-Sadeqiyah, Ardestani has explained his claim in such a way that he would not face with the two mentioned issues. Using the philosophical works of Ardestani, we explain his viewpoint about soul.

Keywords

• Ibn Sina
• Ardestani
• originatedness
• eternity
• Al-Hikmah al-Sadeqiya