Mulla Sadra and Knowledge of Existence: New Way in Response to the Fundamental Question of Heidegger

Islamic philosophers have determined the philosophy as knowledge of existence and they have introduced the question of existence the basic question of philosophy. Mulla sadra looked at this issue as a special problem and made it his base in the philosophy. But this issue in western philosophy was forgotten or got incorrect interpretations and lost its noetic performance virtually. This issue brought forth again in the past century by martin heidegger, as the main philosophical questions. By reviewing their books, we can find that, in spite of their fundamental difference, both have adopted a new way in the transition from the beings to reality of existence and also in transition from the concept of existence to reality of existence, and both have adopted a different philosophical way from common philosophies. Fundamental difference between these two viewpoints is that heidegger believed that some features of the concept of existence prepared ground for past philosophers to prejudice about recognition of correct answers to question of being. He believes that through this concept, we cannot recognize existence and the only way to know existence is phenomenological review. But mulla sadra despite of transition from the concept of existence to reality of existence believes that this concept has noetic performance, but heidegger's criticism of past philosophers does not apply to him.