Groundbreaking Views of Quṭb al-Din al-Razi’s on Theory of Originality of Existence and Mentally-Positedness of Quiddity

Several thinkers from various thought schools have speculated on the history of the theory of originality of existence; however, none have mentioned Quṭb al-Din al-Razi while he raised this theory even before Mulla Sadra. In his book titled “Lavame al-Asrar fi Sharh Matale al-Anvar”, he presents a particular exposition of the theory without using technical terminology in the field. There are several expressions to approve and elaborate on originality of existence in another book of his titled “Al-Mohakemat bein Sharhi al-Esharat” which are particularly utilized by Mulla Sadra to approve and elaborate on his theory of originality of existence. According to Quṭb al-Din al-Razi’s exposition of the originality of existence, quiddity inherently and genuinely applies to external reality; yet, quiddity does not exist in the extern. His unique exposition of originality of existence emerged in a more serious form and with novel jargon after two centuries in the works of Mulla Sadra was depicted three centuries later with newer arguments and was realized with a further analytical expression in the works of Mulla Ali Noori and Agha Ali Modares. However, this exposition of the theory of originality is in contrast with the modern expositions developed recently