فصلنامه آینه معرفت
پیاپی 33 (زمستان 1391)

The present paper examines Gadamer’s account of tradition and the relationship between reason and tradition. At first, with reference to the etymological meaning of tradition, the three definitions of tradition (anthropological, theological and traditionalistic) are presented and compared and finally Gadamer’s definition of the words is given. Trying to revive tradition, Gadamer begin with an explanation of the relationship between reason and tradition with an analysis of Romanticism’s and Enlightenment’s approaches to tradition and reason. While the Enlightenemnt philosophers put tradition against reason and in this way discredit tradition, Romanticism philosophers, despite their confirmation of the contrast between tradition and reason, overreact to this position by rejecting reason in favor of tradition. However, a lot of philosophers including Michael Oakeshott, Edmund Burke, Friedrich August von Hayek and Gadamer seriously have rejected this account of the relationship between tradition and reason which separates these two spheres of reason. These philosophers think that the relationship between tradition and reason is so complicated that we cannot put them in clear contrast. Tradition is not an obstacle in the way of reason. In some respects it even supports reason. There is no reason without tradition.

Contrary to some mystics who disregard reason, Mawlavi in his works, notably Masnavi-e Mawlavi, puts emphasis on this notion. He has considered all kinds of reason and its facets. In some cases, he criticizes reason and in some other cases he praises it. He gives reason the status of a guide; and then expresses which kind of reason guides man to his destination and which kind impedes him from reaching his goal. He criticizes “particular reasons” (carnal reasons) as illusions. He believes that this kind of reason cannot be the leader of human beings. On the other hand, he introduces “universal reason” as a kind of reason that can eventually lead man to his final destination. By scrutinizing Mawlavi’s works, this article aims to explore reason and its status from Mawlavi’s perspective.

The explanation and delineation of the first emanation has been an abiding preoccupation of Islamic philosophers. Peripatetic philosophers consider the first emanation as the first intelligence. Mulla Sadra considers it as the first intelligence but in some of his works he has taken it as the self-unfolding existence. In addition to the delineation of Mulla Sadra’s views on this issue, the present article attempts to explain the apparent contradiction identified in Mulla sadra’s works with regard to the first emanation. The question dealt with in this paper is whether Sadra’s philosophy has the capacity to philosophically prove the self-unfolding existence as the first emanation and if yes which expression of the unity of existence is the basis of the answer. Evidence provided for the above claims and the philosophical implications of the first emanation are inferred deductively.

Masnavi Ma’navi, the greatest work of Jalal al-Din Balkhi, is full of concepts and mysteries of human life. One of these concepts is the meaningfulness of life and its relationship with belief in God. With regard to the death phenomenon, Moulana’s views are different from those of the followers of nihilism and it is this difference which has led to a difference in perspective. The followers of nihilism consider death as the end of human life. So obviously, for them, the whole system of being is void and meaningless. But for scholars such Moulana, death is not the end of life. It is a turning point and the beginning of a new phase in human life. The present article intends to delineate Moulana’s views on life, philosophy of creation and man’s moral obligation in his worldly mode of being and with reference to sound arguments to demonstrate the absurdity of the notions of nihilism followers. Adopting a library research methodology, the article provides an overview of the meaning of life and philosophy of creation from Moulana’s perspective followed by an overview of the nihilistic views on life and its meaning. The article concludes with an answer to the question whether death is the end of life or it is the path to perfection and eternal life.

In recent decades, Muslim thinkers and scholars have paid great attention to “Islamic philosophy”. The question raised in this regard is the meaning of the term Islamic philosophy. The present paper tries to first sketch an outline of the Islamic philosophy with reference to the meaning of term “Islamic” and then to show the differences between the Islamic philosophy and the so-called “western philosophy” as a basis for an account of the distinctions which enable us to use the term Islamic philosophy. To this end, the article borrows from Shahid Motahhari’s works. From his perspective, the Islamic philosophy and the western philosophy have a lot of differences which can be classified into differences in questions, differences in answers, and differences in the (cultural) environment. In the context of Islamic philosophy, we confront novel questions and novel answers to old questions as a result of the cultural environment in which Islamic philosophy has grown. This environment includes specific cultural elements like the Quran, hadith and theology which have opened new horizon to Islamic philosophers.

Allameh Tabatabai, as a philosopher and scholar of Quran and Hadith, has derived the theory of innate knowledge of God and the innate religion from religious sources and has attempted to explain it rationally. His explanations of the innate theology constitute the perception of deficiency in the light being in need of a perfect being, the knowledge of God through order in the universe, the knowledge of God through the immediate perception of the effect due to the perfect cause and the perception of God through the erudition of the stability of the Fact. He also contends that there is a natural tendency to God among human beings. He explains this tendency through the innate popularity of the Supreme Being, a natural tendency to supplier of happiness and the innate hope created in the moments of hardship. From his point of view, Islam is a natural religion. In his interpretation of this notion, he sometimes tries to provide proof for the principles of Islamic belief through his references to the innate natural disposition (Fitreh); and in some cases he argues that the collection of Islamic teachings is consistent with the structure of human nature.

The divine will is among the issues which have always been the focus of thought among the theists. In the realm of Islamic thought, it has also been the subject of disparate views. From the perspective of transcendental wisdom, the divine will is considered among the inherent perfect traits which are synonymous with the knowledge of the best system. Though some are of the view that, like some other traits, this one also has different levels and as a result it is God’s attribute at the level of action. Among this group of philosophers, Allameh Tabatabai considers divine will as an action trait and opposes its interpretation in terms of divine knowledge. The classification of divine will into undifferentiated and detailed and also into legislative and existential has been among the significant issues that have been used by transcendental philosophers in the their delineation of divine will.