Mulla Sadra's philosophy and its epistemological implications

Abstract

This is a study of the epistemological implications of Mulla Sadra's philosophy. It has four major parts, as follows: Part I: Mulla Sadra's life and works. Part II: A brief account of his Sufism, with reference to his mystical teachings and his attitude toward Sufism and the Sufis. An attempt has been made to delineate his Sufi perspective and to spotlight some of his mystical ideas and assumptions which have epistemological significance. Part III: A study of Mulla Sadra's major philosophical doctrines. His ontological doctrines, such as the doctrines of the primordiality, the Unity, and the gradation of existence as well as his account of the unequivocality of existence and mental existence have been examined critically. His doctrine of substantial motion has been studied and some of its major implications have been considered. His psychological ideas which explain Mulla Sadra's view of man's nature, his doctrine of the unity of the intelligent and the intelligible, which is Sadra's analysis of the human mind, and also his eschatological doctrine of bodily resurrection have been studied. Part IV: presents an epistemological account of Mulla Sadra, with reference to his philosophical and mystical ideas. His definition of knowledge has been critically examined, and the criteria of truth and falsehood which are either implicitly or explicitly advocated by Mulla Sadra are specified and examined. At the end a conclusion has been provided which puts the general structure of Mulla Sadra's system in perspective and presents an overall epistemological evaluation of it.