Analysis and Critique of Common Objections to Image (Shabah) Theory Zakaria Baharnezhad

The representation of subjective perceptions of the outside world and its quality is one of the basic issues in Islamic Philosophy. One of the theories intended to explain this issue is the Image (Shabah) Theory according to which the mind receives only an image of the external object. This theory was not followed by the leading Muslim philosophers and has been criticized by contemporary ones. The present paper argues that, irrespective of the position that one may take with regard to this theory as being reasonable or unreasonable, the critics’ attempts to reject this theory do not seem to have provided convincing arguments.