A Comparison of “Mulla Sadra's Coining Words for the Spirits of Meanings” and “Paul Ricoeur's Theory of Interpretation”

A Comparison of Paul Ricoeurchr('39')s theory of interpretation and Mulla Sadrachr('39')s coining words for the spirits of meanings reveals that, despite some similarities in their language, these two thinkers are not semantically aligned. Ricoeur’s focus on materialism and Mulla Sadra’s concentration on metaphysics have led Ricoeur to believe that the universe is limited to what we are experiencing now while Mulla Sadra envisions infinite levels and modes for the universe, and this, in turn, has led Ricoeur to be focused on hermeneutic phenomenology in the field of method and Mulla Sadra to advance within the framework of traditional metaphysics. As a result, Ricoeur does not aim to discover the intent of the author, but Mulla Sadra intends to find out the intention of the author to make his understanding closer to the highest level of the infinite system of existence. Due to this very idea, Paul Ricoeur is said to be among those who believe in relativism in understanding the text, and Mulla Sadra is believed to be in favor of non-relativism in understanding the text.