فصلنامه اندیشه دینی
پیاپی 49 (زمستان 1392)

One of the fundamental issues in the interpretation of texts is acceptability of criteria since the validity of interpretation is based on the validity of criteria. The goal of interpretation of texts, particularly the sacred texts, is to recognize the intention of the author. Hence the current approach in the interpretation of the texts, especially the sacred ones, is based on the acceptability of criteria which had been the dominant hermeneutical tradition in the west for a long time but it encountered with considerable challenges since the subjective approaches of interpretation rise in the recent period. In this article, we criticize the arguments of approaches in question, concluding that the main problem with these approaches is neglecting the objective realities as well as the rationalist and linguistic principles. Not only the proofs do not support the event of understanding as well as independence and indeterminacy of the meaning of text, but also they are inconsistent with the goal and intention of the author, especially regarding the sacred texts.

The sphere of political philosophy like other branches of the practical philosophy consists of the evaluative and normative propositions. Some skeptical analysis about the nature of the normative and evaluative propositions have terminated some thinkers to advocate "non cognitivism" in the field of political philosophy. According to such non-cognitivism all obligatory, normative and moral statements concerning the political thinking are not subject to knowledge and belief.This essay aims to assess and criticize the main arguments that have been mentioned in favor of the political non-cognitivism as well as reviewing of the result of non-cognitivism in the sphere of political philosophy. Furthermore the article tries to evaluate the possibility of non-cognitivism in the Islamic political thinking based on the theory of conventional perceptions that makes no room for establishment of any argument for the normative propositions.The article shows that some disagreements concerning the political judgments and propositions provide no evidence for non-cognitivism. In addition the essay proves that our value-judgments about political subjects, at least in some cases, could be divided in to valid in valid, and right wrong and many of the political propositions are subject to reasoning.

The meaning and status of dreams in Philosophy is an issue discussed by most of the outstanding philosophers on their philosophical principles. From the Muslim theosophers’ viewpoint, the dream is a result of distancing the spirit from the external senses and approaching towards the internal powers. Sometimes human beings perceive the realities of existence as well as the future events through the realm of dreams and accordingly reach the intuitive knowledge. In his explanation of the veridical dream, Suhrawardi believes that the standpoint of the manifestation of images in dream is the soul while its main origins are the celestial souls. According to al-Farabi, dream is an idea created by imagination and its capacity increase due to separation from daytime activities during sleep. In his point of view, one can become united with the active intellect through imagination but that power is exclusive to the elected people. According to Ibn al-Arabi, the dream world is the world of symbols in which one must find the dream symbols in order to recognize the meaning of dreams. He treats the dream as the first origin of receiving the divine revelation for the people of blessing.

The knowledge of God or the knowledge of the Principle of Existence has been one of the main human concerns. In response to that concern, a major part of the doctrines of revealed religions has been dedicated to His description. As knowledge of the Divine Essence, however, is not possible according to rational and textual arguments, theosophers and theologians as well as the revealed doctrines limit the knowledge of God to the attributes realm, dividing the Divine attributes into two categories: the essential attributes and the active attributes. The essential attributes, taken from the perfect Divine Essence, have characteristics. Similarly, the active attributes, taken from the Divine Acts, have their own features.

Utilizing of scientific human power and human creativity in restricting of evils and preventing of their spreading is one of the cases we can cooperate God in settlement of evils. A lot of bad moral attributes and dispositions and evil behaviors have biological and genetic basis. The genetic engineering technology gives us opportunity to have such a genetic features to avoid evils as much as possible. So in first step, using gene therapy we can prevent some physical and moral defects and their transmission to next generations. Then, by genetic engineering technology we can find human that have a high percentage of desirable physical, intellectual moral and divine attributes and characters. In this way, significant number of human evils disappears from the life. In this paper we have assessment the modification of genetic structure as a fundamental approach to settlement of human evils.

Amongst the Muslim theosophers, Mulla Sadra unprecedentedly put a lot of efforts into the theory of ideas and the doctrine of masters of species. The discussions on the theory of ideas according to the transcendental theosophy could be divided into three main parts: first, responding to the criticisms suggested by the other philosophers; second, representing five arguments in favor of the doctrine of masters of species; third, discussing the standpoint of the theory in the transcendental theosophy in which one can point to such issues as intelligible existence, ontological fundamentality of the ideas and the relativity of the material world, identity of subject and object, identity of the soul and the master of specie, universality of the ideas, material individuals and the archetypes.

Although it seems that the philosophy of Nietzsche is an anti-ascetical even anti-moral one prima facie, it is well worth it to make a distinction between the ideal of asceticism and positive piety on the one hand, and a third kind of asceticism in his works, on the other, just on the basis of his assertion on the various ways of sublimation and purification. First and foremost, he rejects the notion of asceticism which results in suspending the process of speculation, will, and innate quality. Then he praises the mirthful ethics of the ancient times where the submissive intellect and the sublimated instinct operate together appropriately. Nonetheless, he points to a third kind of asceticism implicitly: a kind of austerity in the realm of thinking and philosophizing. Thanks to this kind of austerity, a pure thinker, according to Nieztsche, traverses a falsehood atmosphere based on the ideal of asceticism and eventually reaches a more comprehensive perspective with its own characteristics.

This article intends to suggest some meditations on one of the intellectual fundamentals of the school of Separation, namely trusting in denotations and avoiding anagogic interpretations. We mean by anagogic interpretation a shift from the external meaning into a hidden, internal one. The pro-separations strongly advocate that fundamental and accuse their adversaries (mystics and philosophers) because of violating that principle, committing the anagogic interpretation, and, thus, distancing from pure understanding of the sacred texts. In our meditations, we indicate that anagogic interpretation is an inevitable method in understanding the texts to which every school, including the followers of the school of separation, inevitably resort. There are clear evidences by which one can track the footprints of an understanding preceded by various presuppositions.

The Spiritual wayfaring and the evolution of human being are among the important issues in the monotheistic religions. In Christianity, the evolution in question could be discussed through different approaches, including mystical, theological, and Biblical ones. On the other hand, that spiritual wayfaring could be evaluated from various aspects: for instance, the standpoint of the spiritual wayfaring in religion; its impression on both mundane and otherworldly life; the ways towards the Divine intimacy, and so on. One of the main questions, however, is on the meaning and the type of the very wayfaring. What does happen to a wayfarer on the way to God when she/he reaches perfection? Is there a real evolution or the wayfarer is called perfect only in a virtual and honorific sense? In this article, we try to discuss that mystical wayfaring according to Christian faith, generally, and the New Testament, especially.