Rationality and Moral Man as Perceived by Kant and Mullā Ṣadrā

Rationality is taken to be the man's most fundamental characteristics and the basic foundation of Mullā Ṣadrā's moral system, because he believes that theoretical reason, not practical reason, makes the man superior to other creatures. According to Mullā Ṣadrā, man can gradually expand his existence, thereby becoming more moral by using the theoretical reason and acquiring wisdom. Therefore, he holds that moral weakness is rooted in existential poverty (need) and the existential poverty stems from neglectingthe blessing of reason, especially the theoretical reason. Adopting other basic foundations such as reason, understanding, will, and the man as being the end, Kant has a different anthropological viewpoint and holds that practical rationality or will is the man's most valuable characteristic and the criterion for the realization of his humanity and perfection. The present paper seeks to show the position of theoretical reason from Mullā Ṣadrā's viewpoint and the position of the will or practical reason from Kant's viewpoint and to compare these two attitudes.