The Principles of Action from the Perspective of Shaikh al-Ishraq

One of the philosophical issues that can be followed by the works of Shaikh al-Ishraq is the principles of action. According to Shaikh al-Ishraq, the principles of action are: perception, preference, desire and will. The action depends on the present knowledge of the body and its powers, the preconceived notion of action and the acknowledgment of its expediency and priority. After imagining an action, doing it requires its preferring to do to its quitting. This preference occurs on the basis of the domination of desire or on the basis of affirmation of expediency. After preferring action, man becomes interested in action because he finds it his perfection. With the formation of desire, the will is also formed. With the determination of the will, the action is done. If the action is a physical one, it also requires the active faculties. In this article, after introducing each of these principles, its various dimensions have been studied from the point of view of Shaikh a-Ishraq, and finally, some differences between Shaikh al-Ishraq's point of view and Ibn Sina's have been stated.