Copulative Existence from Molla Sadra's and Allamah Tabatabai's Perspectives

This article first explains the division between the independent and copulative existences and then argues that the term “Copulative Existence” has assumed a new sense in Transcendental Theosophy in addition to its established sense in Formal Philosophy. This new sense which is in fact an expression of the way an effect is realized is then explained through Mulla Sadra’s words. The article then tries to demonstrate that an exclusive novel argument for the objective reality of copulative existence has been made by Allamah Tabataba’i and that this argument is different from what Mulla Sadra has referred to in his works. The explanation of the argument is followed by deliberation on the consequences which would demonstrate that Copulative Existence as explained by this argument is different from the way it is explained in the discussions on cause and effect and that taking them as synonymous is not the right thing to do.