فصلنامه پژوهش های فلسفی - کلامی
سال شانزدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 62، زمستان 1393)

Although Allamah Tabatabaii does not have a separate discussion on moral responsibility، the related issues can be extracted from his works، showing that he regards moral responsibility as accountability to arguments related to moral affairs. Given such ontological and anthropological principles as causality، intensifying journey and fundamentality of existence as well as different aspects of man''s life، he has moral responsibility towards God، other men and the world. The agent as having knowledge، power and will، and the act as the associate of agent are relevant in moral responsibility، which indicates that Allamah considers several components and conditions for moral responsibility. The issue of determination is the challenge facing moral responsibility، which can be discussed theologically and philosophically..

Finitude or infinitude of natural world has long attracted everyone (including scientists, philosophers and even general public) and, as we shall see in the present paper, it seems necessary to discuss the issue with regard to deeper mathematical and geometric outlooks that we know today and on the basis of broader physical (astrological and cosmological) knowledge which in newly available, although it has been discussed in detail, particularly in philosophy. Having provided an introduction to necessary terms and topics and a brief review of new cosmology, this paper puts forward most philosopher's famous proofs, who believe in finitude of natural world, and analyzes and criticizes them. The concern that natural world is anyway a possible being and cannot be infinitude can be alleviated by mathematical reasoning, that is, there is no problem if this infinitude is in one or more dimensions because we can always limit this world within a world with more dimensions. Some explanations are proposed on the standard model of cosmology and such issues as expansion of universe and "point" of big bang which apparently indicate finitude of the universe. The explanations means that the issue is not such a simple one and we now have no strong reason and evidence for finitude of the cosmos and should wait for new observational discoveries and information. No doubt, there can be an unbounded but limited set on the basis of a known condition in mathematics. This condition can be considered for natural world which can be unbounded but limited.

The affirmation of an origin for existence is one of the most authentic philosophical concerns of human thought and one of the most important philosophical issues. In Imam Ali's view, the basis of religion is knowledge of God because man's other doctrinal foundations are based on his monotheistic knowledge. If man obtains a correct knowledge in this regard, he can step correctly and firmly in other perfecting stages towards final felicity. Imam Ali who has had the highest knowledge of God has left us with invaluable sayings in this regard. The present paper seeks to study the proofs for proving God's existence in Imam Ali's view. In his sayings, Imam Ali guides us to study and contemplate on creatures and their existential structure in order to be able to realize the existence of an All-Knowing and All-Wise creator who is free from motion and createdness, through observing the creature's order, harmony, change and createdness. Furthermore, Imam Ali introduces the existence of the Necessary Being, Simple, Absolute and All-Rich God on Who all creatures depend and are in need of Him, by offering other proofs such as causal proof and the proof of the righteous, etc.

Relativity of religious knowledge can be regarded as one of the most important foundations of religious pluralism. This theory is influenced by hermeneutic method of West which tries to use it to understand and interpret religious texts and show that correct understanding of religious texts is unattainable. Those who believe in the relativity of religious knowledge have referred to such reasons as differentiation between reality and our perception of reality, multi-layeredness and silence of religious texts and universality of religious understanding. The present paper criticizes this theory intra-religiously and challenges its reasons, with the help of Quranic verses and infallible Imam's sayings. It holds that reality is obtainable from a religious point of view and multi-layeredness of religious texts never means plurality of contradictory and heterogeneous understanding and that religious texts are not silent and devoid from meanings; rather, they are light, explanatory and guide man.

Moral skepticism is one of the most important and influential issues in the philosophy of ethics, which has always been taken into consideration by philosophers of ethics. Providing a precise definition of moral skepticism, the present paper seeks to offer its proponents and opponent's arguments. Since moral skepticism is related to epistemology of ethics, moral skeptics challenge two important components of moral knowledge- justification and application- to reject it. In this paper, their reasons for rejecting these two components are stated. Then the answers provided by proponents of moral knowledge to these challenges are discussed.

Shafaat (Intercession) - the root of which is Shafaa meaning assistance and requesting- is a significant issue in Islamic thought, which has long been discussed extensively by scholars. Although Quranic verses on intercession clearly show that it is a conditioned issue, all Islamic denominations have accepted its core concept while differing in terms of its manner. Providing the definitions of intercession, Muslim thinker's view about it and related Quranic verses and traditions, the present paper discusses the related criticisms of intercession through description and analysis and answers them. In addition, it explains its educational effects and exposes its reflection in the poems of some prominent Persian poets.

Using rational proofs and based on his own philosophical foundations, Mullah Sadra could prove bodily resurrection which is asserted by divine sacred religions in a particular way. He believed that material body attaches to soul in another mode of being through existential progression- fading deficiencies away- and changing into imaginal body. For Mulla Sadra (the Leader of Theosophers), identification of material body with imaginal body is preserved regarding the attachment of personal ipseity to the survival of form and the preservation of personal survival in gradual increase in intensity. Although this theory was sound and valid, some scholars, including Aqha Ali Hakim, known as Modarres Zenoozi, objected it. Zenoozi rejected ineffectiveness of material body and believed that material body attains a mode of being after the occurrence of death through existential motion and progression, which can reattach to soul. Using a library method, the present paper reviews and criticizes Zenooni's theory.