سید محمد کاظم علوی

Contemporary theories in cognitive semantics suggest that humans utilize conceptual metaphors, either consciously or subconsciously, to distill complex mental constructs into simpler forms. Philosophers, in particular, have extensively employed conceptual metaphors to render abstract philosophical notions comprehensible. This study delves into the application of conceptual metaphors in elucidating ‘knowledge by presence’ within Avicenna’s philosophy. Ibn Sinā employed these metaphors to articulate and streamline the concept of ‘knowledge by presence.’ He posits that such knowledge is actualized when the object of knowledge is directly present to the knower, that is, the soul. However, he asserts that mere presence is not the sole requisite for attaining knowledge; rather, conditions conducive to vision and illumination must also be met for presence to culminate in knowledge acquisition. Interpreting his discourse yields two metaphors: ‘knowledge by presence as seeing’ and ‘knowledge by presence as illumination.’ The ‘seeing’ metaphor hinges on three critical elements: the observer, the observed, and their interrelation. Conversely, the ‘illumination’ metaphor involves two key elements: the source of illumination and the object being illuminated. This article endeavors to explore the conceptual metaphors associated with ‘knowledge by presence’ in Avicennian philosophy through an exploratory approach, deliberately eschewing any hypothesis formulation.

Human relationships are effective in spiritual health and interact with each other, and based on that, we can consider spiritual health as a fundamental factor for dealing with problems and challenges, especially in institutions with different, numerous and continuous client relationships. The current research seeks to identify the four challenges of human relationships and its effect on health with a case study of the financial institution.

Case study of the research is 21 employees of a financial institution, the initial assessment of the employees was with Polotzin and Ellison questionnaire, and in the next step, the answers of the employees were analyzed using SPSS. Corresponding to the results of the questionnaire analysis, the interview tool was used to identify the root of the challenges, and content and discourse analysis were used to analyze the interview.

The average spiritual health in people was 85.8 with a standard deviation of 11. According to the thresholds set for this questionnaire, the average of people is in the average range. At the same time, separately, average religious health is 48.4 and existential health is 37.3. The level of spiritual health in the tested subjects, based on the spiritual health questionnaire of Polotzin and Ellison, is at an average level. The observed difference between the level of religious health and existential health is also significant. It seems that in the dimension of existential health compared to religious health, the scores are at a lower level.

Among the four types of relationships, employees had challenges in relationships with others. Based on this, a series of workshops on verbal and non-verbal communication skills will be held in order to improve. By applying the mentioned principles in these workshops, a significant effect was observed in promoting existential health and ultimately spiritual health, and finally, relationships with clients and productivity improved

In the contemporary view, metaphor is the transfer of the inferential pattern of the source area to the destination area, based on which many philosophical concepts can be reconstructed. The way of perception and its different stages in Avicenna’s philosophy can be understood and explained in a metaphorical way and based on the metaphor of the event structure of Lakoff and Johnson and the definition of movement given by Avicenna. The movement schema is the basis of the event structure metaphor, which is composed of the macro metaphor “perception is movement” from the combination of the primary metaphors “knowledge is movement” and “science is movement”; and it is capable of reconstructing all types of perception, including partial and general perception, and in that general movement includes micro-movements that form sub-metaphors of the macrometaphor of movement. Each of these sub-metaphors focuses on an aspect of the perception process and highlights it. This article aims to present a new reading of Avicenna’s epistemology with the approach of conceptual metaphor through the expression of the domain of  erception by movement.

Any field of health studies, such as spiritual health, which seeks to be involved in the experimental field for the purpose of making changes, is rooted in the worldview dominating it and cannot be designed and implemented without considering its paradigmatic foundations. The difference between current spiritual health theory and spiritual health derived from Quranic verses is in regard to these basics. The most important Quranic foundations of spiritual health are the ontological, anthropological, etc. foundations that lay the foundation for the design of health theory and the transition to the Quranic formation of spiritual health.The current research, with descriptive-analytical method, seeks to answer the question that what are the foundations of the ontology of spiritual health from the perspective of the Holy Quran and how does it lead into spiritual health? The findings of the research indicate that attitude toward being, God-centered components, materiality and immateriality of being, consistency and systematicity of being, purposefulness, believing in the invisible world and the hereafter, death and resurrection, and meaningfulness of suffering and life are effective in realizing spiritual health.

Time is the basis of human life in this world and it is not only his biological background, but also a background for his intelligent life. Man thinks about time and looks at it from the angles of different sciences; from physics to philosophy; and from cosmology to anthropology. The concept of "Time" has also received attention in the Qur'an, and due to the dedication of an independent surah to this concept and the oath to time has assigned a special place to it in the form of the concept of "al-ʿAṣr". The epistemological connection of this concept with the concepts of "Man", "Loss", and "Faith" is very important from an existential point of view, which organizes the current approach in this article. The existential and existentialistic condition of man is the condition of this world that requires timing. This is a possibility for humans, which indicates a time limit for humans. This situation is associated with the feeling of loss in the passage of time, which is absolute and inseparable from the situation of this world. This is the human condition and, of course, it is a condition that presents possibilities to the human being. Time passes on man and confronts man with the concept of eternity and immortality. Eternity is placed in front of man as a possibility to face an existential contradiction in order to achieve salvation as an existential concern by choosing faith in a transcendental and spatial origin and destination.

In the thought of Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi and Linda Zagzebski, two famous philosophers from two different eras and civilizations, we come across some components that lead us to a common approach. The value of knowledge, according to both philosophers, is a result of the value of processes, without which philosophy is doomed to fail. The three common necessities in the philosophy of Suhrawardi and Zagzebski are: (1) The necessity of internal elevation, which upholds the qualitative and internal process of knowledge by trying to strengthen the human will. (2) The necessity of unifying wisdom. According to this necessity, a person thinks about the unity of human opinion and experience by trusting in his/her thought and other intellectual traditions. Moreover, to reach self-cultivation and also to understand and elevate wisdom, a person requires personal intuition and creativity in each era. (3) The necessity of narrative, which makes the development of philosophical intentions dependent on the genius in thinking, the genius in creating motivation, and also the return to intellectual and moral patterns. With a new look at the factors of knowledge promotion, this research has addressed some epistemologically neglected topics that the spiritual and epistemological life of philosophy depends on it.

The contemporary world and its emerging challenges have paid attention to the holistic view of human beings. In such a way that the four dimensions of human health have always been the subject of discussion and exploration among thinkers. Due to the importance of spiritual health over other aspects of health, different schools have presented different definitions of spiritual health from different angles, and the analysis of their views shows that the definition of human was the introduction of the old school. The current research, with the tools of library-reference collection and descriptive-analytical method and the level of analysis of content analysis, seeks to answer the question, what is the description of man and the foundations of anthropology in spiritual health based on the teachings of the Qur'an? The findings of the research indicate that the existing human being has two natures that have three areas of knowledge, desire and ability, and based on these three areas, three systems are formed in him: insight, tendency and performance system. These three systems based on monotheistic vision and with faith factor can direct those three areas and bring spiritual health with a healthy heart.

One of the recent debates regarding Islamic philosophy focuses on its originality and the questions of the “possibility of Islamic philosophy”. This identity-related problem has a significant effect on the history and future of Islamic philosophy. The view of the opponents of the originality of this denomination, including Orientalists, Western historiographers, some Arab scholars, and those who are against any kind of religious philosophy can be considered to be reductionist. In their theories, they have reduced Islamic philosophy to a philosophy imitating Greek philosophy, Islamic Kalām and theology, and Arabic philosophy. Opposing Orientalists and historiographers view Greek philosophy as the base and Islamic philosophy as one of its branches. Some of the opponents believe that any attempt at establishing Islamic philosophy is in vain by insisting on the incompatibility of religion and philosophy. Moreover, by rejecting the possibility of religious philosophy, including Islamic philosophy, they maintain that the use of the word Islamic as an adjective for philosophy, as an intellectual science, is not justified and, thus, equate Islamic philosophy with Kalām and theology. Some other opponents, including Arabs, avoid the use of the phrase “Islamic philosophy”, and, by emphasizing the language of philosophical texts in Islamic tradition, call it Arabic philosophy. They limit Arabic philosophy to the Arab race and believe that this view is supported by history of philosophy. The present paper provides a critical analysis of the proponents of reductionist approaches to Islamic philosophy and aims to demonstrate and defend the necessity of its originality as a historical reality.

One of the contemporary controversies about Islamic philosophy is the controversy over its originality that makes it possible. This identification issue has a great impact on the history of Islamic philosophy and the future of Islamic philosophy. In this regard, the opinions of three contemporary thinkers, Mustafa Malekian, Gholam Hossein Ebrahimi Dinani and Reza Davari Ardakani, have been investigated. By reducing Islamic philosophy to theology, Malekian denies the originality and possibility of any religious philosophy, including Islamic philosophy. On the other hand, Dinani and Davari not only emphasize the originality of Islamic philosophy and its possibility, but also speaking of the necessary interaction between philosophy and Islam. This research has been done in four axes and in the form of these axes, their views have been studied. In analyzing these views, their agreement to oppose religious philosophy and their differences in considering Islamic philosophy as a religious philosophy is mentioned and it has been stated that it is possible to defend the possibility of Islamic philosophy by considering the demonstrative method and the argumentative process of Islamic philosophy. The impossibility of Islamic philosophy is considered incompatible with the historical reality of Islamic philosophy and its possibility has not been denied, but the continuation and the realization of the possibility of its advancement is only possible if current and future philosophical issues are taken into account.

Modified propositions are among the propositions raised in Aristotle's logic and transferred from Aristotle’s logic to Muslim logicians through Ibn Honain’s translation. In his translation, he has referred to these propositions as "opposition in propositions with actualized and non-actualized subjects". Apart from defining these propositions and dividing them according to their revocation and actualization, the opposition of propositions has been raised as one of the judgments of the propositions called the square of opposition. Propositions with non-actualized subjects do not have a square of opposition, because they are not mistaken for negation. But the propositions with actualized subjects, which may be actualized or non-actualized because of their predicate, in the two states of negation and affirmation, have a quadrilateral or square form, and their relationships are examined in the width, length, and diameter of square so that the modified is distinguished from negation. The disagreement of the logicians in the meaning of non-actualized and modified caused a change in the shape and relationships of this square. Following this change, this square evolved from the quadrilateral to the cubic form, which involved a change in its inner aspects and meaning. Thus, by comparing the views of logicians, it will be explained why and how Aristotle shaped this square; Farabi put it in order and Ibn Sina expanded and deepened it.

According to the second law of thermodynamics, irreversible processes in an isolated system move towards the goal of reaching maximum entropy. In this state, mechanical work is converted to thermal energy and thermodynamic equilibrium occurs; which is determined by the equilibrium in temperature, pressure, etc. Assuming that the universe is an isolated system, the second law of thermodynamics states that the fate of the universe is a state of thermodynamic equilibrium in which all mechanical energies are converted to thermal energy and the heat is dispersed all throughout the universe. In this state, there will be no movement and the universe will expire; an event called the “heat death”. This theory has certain theological implications that can serve as a proof for the perishability of the material world. And since decay implies creation, the heat death theory can be considered an argument in favor of the temporal originatedness of the material world.

Today, the literature, and especially the Feminist literature, has been influenced by the philosophical-literary school of existentialism. This literature emphasizes Prominent Women's identity and emphasizes their high status and identity. This school analyzes human concerns by focusing on the primacy of existence on nature and by denying any quiddity introduces him as the only factor in his destiny.Layla Balabakki is a literary activist of the feminism movement and one of the most prominent existentialist story writers in the Arab world, who became famous at the young age with the novel âna ahia. In his work, which reflects her ideologies in defending the status of women, she spoke of the identification, independence and rebellion of a young girl who observing the facts of the family and society, she seeks to break the constraints and prove her independence and strives to restore her identity which caught up in tradition. The present research seeks to study the existentialist feminism of the novel through a descriptive-analytical method. The results of the research indicate that Layla Balabakki, under the influence of the existentialist philosophy, and in particular of Jean Paul Sartre's, has been able to use it to reflect the issues of women in different dimensions.

The current study is seeking to investigate primordial nature (fitrah) as a stimulus for history in philosophy of history from the view point of Allameh Tabatabaei. Obviously, understanding this issue depends on knowledge of eras of history from his point of view. The hinted history by Allameh, is the history of nations and people; and in his system of thinking it is divided into 3 eras of "simplicity", "unity of nations", and “sense and material”. Primordial nature in the first era showed itself in the form of the feature of employing and regarding the total features of these two eras, the principle of employment was enough for the movement of society. Certainly, employment like other practical principles and other tendencies of primordial nature was apt to error. This issue emerged well by more progress and complexity in societies. So, in the third era, there was a need for another factor to avoid obstacles in the way of perfection. This factor is revelation and religion. They must also accord with primordial nature; otherwise, they could not have a role in the movement of history. Such primordial nature has had a role in all three eras of history.

Extraordinary affairs (EOA) and extrasensory perceptions (ESP) are studied in philosophical psychology. The main problem in this research is to consider how these actions are done by the soul. Our findings show that the occurrences of these actions are based on their both proximate and remote origins, i.e., volition and knowledge respectively. In extraordinary affairs (EOA) and extrasensory perceptions (ESP), ‘influential volition’, having its root in the intensity of volition and certainty of knowledge, plays a main role. This certain knowledge is realized under special conditions, including physical and psychological ones. There is a distinction between magic and haruspication on the one hand, and miracles of the prophets and the saints on the other. The influential volition in the former depends upon the soul of the possessor of the volition, whereas in the latter, it is inspired by God as the source and origin of the world.

Implication of self-knowledge on theosophy and relation between soul cognition and God cognition in Islamic culture and different currents of thought has been considered and about this matter various analyses have been done. Meanwhile, Quran exegeses which have extensive amount in Islamic intellectual heritage have important position in this regard. This paper is going to clarify the Quran initial interpreter's viewpoint regarding the position of self-knowledge and its influence on theosophy. This research examines this issue in a semantic and logical way. Semantic analysis shows that in these interpretations self-knowledge has formed in semantic fields of "soul", "knowledge" and "wisdom". Therefore, the commentators in interpretation of the verses containing these vocabulary and expressions explain hadith of Knowledge of the Soul The result shows that according to the initial commentators by assuming the possibility of acquiring knowledge of the soul and without expressing the suspension to the impossible three types of implications are inferred. They are as follow: Allegorical implication, discursive implication, opposite implication of recognizing the attributes of God. The first type has a persuasive value and does not have any proof value, the second is related to the proof of order and the third one has been explained through passing from defect to perfection in the field of attributes of God.

Richard Rorty is a neo-pragmatist and anti-substantialist philosopher while Seyyed Hussain Nasr is a Traditionalist one. Both of them are among the most impressive leaders of thought in contemporary philosophy. They are challenging the foundations and criteria of rationalism in modern philosophy, especially those which develop scientific rationalism. They try to develop rationalism in other fields of human efforts such as, Literature, Art and Human Sciences based on their philosophical thoughts and personal concerns. By considering the same and different aspects of these two above-said philosophers, we can find out the inadequacies of modern philosophy about the concept of rationalism. The mentioned inadequacies should be totally changed and then developed. These changes happen in Nasr's philosophy by focusing on the timeless and eternal aspects of human and by entering the absolute truth to other sciences. Also, the changes happen in Rorty's philosophy based on the historical and chronological aspects by making a democratic relationship among all of the people. Despite the existing difference between Nasr and Rorty's philosophy, their thoughts are really useful for solving the modern philosophy's problems by revealing the vulnerability of modern rationalism.

The present paper addresses the question about "philosophy for children", abbreviated as "p4c", which is an educational program that aims at developing children’s power of thinking and reasoning. The research method is based on group research (the circle of research and seminary sitting) and seeks to train thoughtful, attentive, deliberately ambitious, conscious and God-seeking individuals. The term "philosophy" in this discussion is not used to mean philosophical beliefs and view; rather, it refers to another dimension of philosophy, i.e. the skill of philosophizing. Before elaborating on the issue, the concept of "philosophy for children" is defined and its aims and benefits are reviewed. Then, the necessity of implementing the project is explained. Since, according to the Holy Quran, man is demanded to think and Islam considers thinking as an act of worship, it is finally concluded that this project is in harmony with the goals and general spirit which governs Islamic education and can be considered as part of the Islamic educational system.

The level-based nature of faith is one of the important issues revolving faith and has a valued place in the Quran. This issue, which derives from Quran’s verses, has drawn attention to itself in Mulla Sadra’s (1571-1640 A.D) hermeneutics. Mulla Sadra proposes different divisions for faith from different viewpoints. However, the present report aims to coherently and methodologically study this issue, and thus it undertakes a systematic analysis based on Mulla Sadra’s theory concerning the nature of faith. His theory about the nature of faith is a knowledge-oriented one and bestows originality in faith upon knowledge and science. Therefore, the analysis of the stages of faith require a knowledge-based analysis.According to knowledge - based analysis, the first stage of faith, that is verbal faith, lacks the fundamental element of knowledge and the application of faith upon it is a virtual application, and only the meaning of faith in Islamic jurisprudence applies to it. The second stage, known as the imitative faith, is the faith of the masses which possesses some level of knowledge and is known as belief. It is an imitative belief which is contingent and subordinate. In case this belief turns into action, it possesses the truth of faith. The third stage is the demonstrative faith, that of the privileged, which brings along the faith of certitude, though its certitude equals the Certitude by Knowledge, the premier type of certitude. The fourth stage is the discovery faith which consists of two levels: Certitude by Sight and Certitude by Experience; A faith which belongs to a select few of the believers.

The development and consequences of self-knowledge is one of the important discussions in Islamic philosophy. One of the most noteworthy of these consequences, according to the hadith of “One who has self-knowledge verily knows God”, is to know the Creator. The explanation and interpretation of this hadith was not taken seriously in earlier schools of Islamic philosophy. In fact, it was not until the early periods of the Schools of Shiraz and Isfahan up to the period of the dominance of the Transcendent Philosophy among contemporary thinkers that great attention was devoted to clarifying and interpreting it. This paper is intended to discuss the background of these explanations and analyses in two of the early schools of Islamic philosophy, Peripatetic and Illuminationist philosophies, and even in those preceding them. The interpretation of the hadiths on self-knowledge in Islamic philosophy is united with psychology. That is why its background is traceable to Greek philosophy. In books on Islamic philosophy, some ideas and words have been attributed in this regard to Greek early philosophers, who are considered to mark the beginning of writing the history of this issue.The narration of these hadiths and similar words began during the first periods of Islamic philosophy with Ikhwan al-Safa (Brethren of Purity). They mainly focused on the importance of self-knowledge and the immateriality of the soul, which is more prominent in the Peripatetic philosophy considering the significance of psychology and self-knowledge in this school. Through relying on these hadiths, Ibn Sina demonstrated the most important problem of self-knowledge, that is, the immateriality of the soul, and uses it as a religious confirmation of this point versus the view of mutikallimun as to the corporeality of the soul. In Illuminationist philosophy, given the fundamental status of the dimension of the epistemology of the soul, a more basic approach to the relationship between self-knowledge and the knowledge of God is observed. This approach is introduced as an argument in order to demonstrate the existence of God and His attributes; it is an argument which is indeed superior to other arguments. What is clearly witnessed in this historical process is an interpretation referring to the possibility of self-knowledge and the possibility of the move from that knowledge to the knowledge of God, which is considered to be gradational in its most Illuminationist explanation.

Religious belief has been known as the most important problem in religious studies. Therefore, various lines of thought have presented different ideas in the field. The author of Mawahib u-Rhman, seyyed Abdola`la Sabzevari, relying on the sayings of the Prophet and pure Imams, has defined belief as acceptance by hearth, expressing orally and acting by the parts of body. He, thus, knows action as a part of the essence of belief. However, his view differs with that of Moatazelite and Khavarej knowing action as a part of belief. The reason why is that he knows belief to be of gradation. By the meaning is meant social and legal aspects only and, therefore, one cannot call it belief in true meaning. On his view, true belief is found only in the level of lawful duties.

Talking about science and religion has since long ago been of much interest to the learned scholars, especially the philosophers. ‘Allâma Ṭabâṭabâ’î, from among the Muslim interpreters and thinkers in the present century, has elaborated on the relation between this relationship in his precious remarks and admitted to their interaction by removing theconflicts stated in these two areas. Denying the existence of a real conflict between science and religion, he believes that an apparent conflict may exist between science and religion, but it is removable. He proposes four solutions in this regard: he resolved the conflict of the flatness of the earth by literal elaboration (taṣarruf) on the Qur’ânic verses, the moon’s luminosity by spiritual elaboration on the verses; the conflict of theevolution theory with religious thought by not regarding scientific findings as warranted; and the attribution of mental and physical diseases to Satan by philosophical elucidations.