نشریه پژوهش های عقلی نوین
پیاپی 16 (پاییز و زمستان 1402)

Linda Zagzebski's naturalistic approach to cognition has made permissible the entry of human virtue-oriented characteristics into the field of epistemology. Virtues, feelings, and emotions are aspects of human nature that, from Zagzebski's point of view, contribute to the formation of knowledge (ma‘rifat). The motivation arising from emotions leads the belief towards the truthfulness. The application of natural characteristics in knowledge requires a special skill, which, according to Zagzebski, is different from skill as a technique and mastery. Virtue, motivation and success are among the most important naturalistic components of cognition from Zagzebski's point of view. Besides the mentioned natural components, other elements are introduced by traditional epistemologists for the formation of knowledge, such as awareness, will, duty, etc.In analyzing and criticizing Zagzebski's view, the authors deal with three natural components of knowledge, i.e. the elements of virtue, motivation and success. The three components, as proposed by Zagzebski, are not free from fault, and their application in the structure of knowledge requires precision in meaning, limits, and function. For example, if only epistemic and behavioral virtues are counted as effective virtues in cognition, there would appear a possibility of a conflict among virtues and the loss of the capacity of natural virtues in knowledge and the limitation of the scope of easy-to-find beliefs. In this case, the exclusiveness of true beliefs to the beliefs resulting from the truth-seeking motive would lead to neglecting the true beliefs arising from other motives, and the virtue of not having skills will cause the virtue hidden in techniques to disappear.

The discussion about the origin and the way the universe came into existence is of an age old history. After the "Big Bang" theory was brought up, the ambiguity in how the primary materials needed for the big explosion was created became more and more evident. One of the most famous responses to solve this ambiguity has been provided by contemporary physicists with the "Universe from Nothing" model. In this model, much endeavor has been made to integrate the laws of quantum mechanics (quantum oscillation), gravitational force, information theory, tunneling phenomenon and their simultaneous application to the vacuum space in order to explain how matter originates from nothing or physical non-existence. According to this theory, vacuum space is considered to be empty of any kind of matter and energy and equivalent to absolute nothingness. However, the comparison of the requirements of this model with the concept of philosophical nonexistence shows the contradiction between the concept of absolute nothingness and the vacuum space. In fact, the physical nonexistence or "nothing" assumed in this model is definitely not considered as a philosophical nonexistence due to the fact that it has a form of existence.

The expedience of philosophical studies is conceptual criticism, which means critical research or critical encounter with basic and original concepts in the field of humanities. After expounding the dimensions of the functionality of humanities in society, such as: conceptualization, solving and analyzing social challenges, localization, promotion of power and the production of new knowledge, the author of the article deals with the question as to "What is the relationship between criticism and humanities?" and "Whether it is possible to talk about the precedence of the critique of the scientific theories in the realm of humanities on the production of theory?" The author, after presenting the two perspectives of "critique-centeredness" and "theory-centeredness", goes on to deal with the proportionality of the four concepts of humanities, production of science, theory, and criticism, and emphasizes the first perspective. The most important finding of the research is that criticism in the field of humanities studies can be measured from three different perspectives, and in all three perspectives, the precedence of criticism over the production of scientific theories in the realm of humanities can be mentioned. These three perspectives include criticism as a type (qism) of research, criticism as typical (qasīm) of research, and criticism as a portion (maqsam) of research, which of course in the third assumption, problem analysis, is dependent upon the analysis of the philosophy of criticism and will be in the realm of philosophy of science studies. In this article, the author has organized the framework of his discussion by using the "conceptual analysis method".

Imagination is the faculty that performs the combination and elaboration of sensory, imaginary, illusory and intellectual forms and meanings. Muslim philosophers have taken two different approaches regarding this faculty. Some believe in reducing and even denying it, while others accept its existence. Philosophers who believe in the existence of this faculty have mainly attributed two types of functions to it. The first function is the combination and elaboration of different forms and meanings, which, of course, the examination of the available reasons and evidence leads us to the conclusion that the mentioned function is the action of soul (nafs) itself and not one of its faculties. The second function is to transform the general concepts of revelation into details and sensible objects, as well as to ideate the intellectual revelatory forms. Nevertheless, the great Muslim philosophers, including Ibn Sīnā and Mullā Ṣadrā, have turned a blind eye to this function of the imagination by emphasizing the function of the Prophet's common sense and imagination in observing and perceiving partial and tangible revelatory forms and meanings, contrary to what some contemporaries bring up about the subjectivity of the Prophet's soul in the process of receiving revelation.

One of the most important innovations of Mullā Ṣadrā in the field of ontology is the substantial movement, which has left an important impact on his philosophical and theological thoughts. By proving the movement and restlessness in the institution of the universe and man, he believes that the world of existence and the foundation of all material beings is constantly transforming. With an analytical and documentary method, this research has provided a perusal of Mullā Ṣadrā's substantial movement in theological elucidation of physical resurrection and embodiment of actions. The findings of the research show that the material world is gradually and continuously moving from materiality to abstraction, and this movement is present in the entire universe and even the human soul. The human soul is corporeal in existence and spiritual in subsistence; that is, at the beginning of creation, man is a physical being and does not have a spiritual aspect, but in his material life, he goes through the stages of evolution and achieves incorporeality from materiality. One of the theoretical means of the theory of substantial movement is the proof and rational elucidation of physical resurrection, through which the human soul can traverse its path of perfection and reach its final destination (resurrection). In the light of this theory, the embodiment of actions can be theologically explained as follows: human traits and states that have penetrated and become subsistence in the essence of man due to the substantial movement of the soul, are embodied for him in the hereafter and cause the manifestation of pleasure or pain in his soul.

Ḥakīm Sabzivārī, with his special mastery over the principles and original positions of transcendental philosophy, has come up with several innovative arguments on the unification of the intelligent and intelligible (ittiḥād-i āqil va ma‘qūl). The argument of the truth derived from the origin (ṣidq-i mushtaq bar mabda’) is one of these innovations. This argument is complete in indicating the purpose, and its substance and content are derived from the consolidated elements of Mullā Ṣadrā's philosophy, and it has gained its strength from Ṣadrā's principles and approaches in ontological positions and self-knowledge. In fact, the above-mentioned argument is a conclusion of the requirements of the conclusive and well-reasoned elements in transcendental philosophy. One of the most important fundamental principles of this argument is to pay attention to the evolution and transformation of the soul from the origin of physicality to the destination of rationality and unification with the intelligible and achieving immateriality and spirituality. Also, the validity of the difference between origin and derivative, in turn, plays a significant role in justifying this argument and has facilitated its permissibility. Failure to pay attention to these issues has led some people to the illusion of infringing this argument, which, as a result, for its completeness and reconstruction, they have resorted to deviant ways such as using the analogy of equality, i.e., the destruction of this argument. Paying attention to the application of the established logic of Ḥakīm Sabzivārī in the presentation of this argument suffices to eliminate such unnecessary arguments and open the way of the argument toward the proof of the conclusion, that is, the proof of the unification of the intelligent and intelligible.

The issue of mental causation seeks to explain how the mind and body act and react to each other. Any efficient theory in the philosophy of mind must have the capacity to answer the question of mental causation. The weakness of dualism in providing a correct explanation for this problem prompted the physicalists to put aside the immaterial mind and in this way seek to solve this problem. However, the philosophers of mind, like the dualists, have not been able to give a suitable answer to this problem. Mullā Ṣadrā considers the problem of both groups to be lack of a comprehensive view of the soul, and by properly delineating the whole truth of the soul and how it emerges from the body, he provides an appropriate answer to the problems of double determination, pseudo-phenomenology, the problem of exclusion, the problem of necessity for contact, the problem of coupling, and downward causality reasoning.

The reasons for the necessity of prophethood have since long ago been of interest to many Islamic thinkers. Some, like the Ash‘arīs, who do not approve the rational good and evil, have considered only having a miracle as a condition to prove prophethood, both in terms of the truth of the claim and the content of the mission, but some others, such as ‘Adlīya and Mu‘tazila, have considered miracles as the only reason for claiming prophethood and have proposed different reasons to prove the necessity of a prophet. Fāḍil Miqdād, a seventh century theologian, and ‘Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī, a contemporary philosopher, have used different proofs and methods in expressing the necessity of a prophet. By adhering to the method of theologians and using the proof of divine grace (burhā-i luṭf), as well as by reasoning according philosophers’ method and using the proof of typical reforming of man, Fāḍil Miqdād has proved the necessity of the Prophet's mission. But ‘Allāma has not only rejected the two methods of Fāḍil Miqdād with substantial reasons, but also has provided numerous proofs such as the proof of human need for a perfect legal system, the proof of guiding man to the desired perfection, and the proof that the earth is not empty of an authorized guide (ḥujja). In this article, ‘Allāma Ṭabāṭabā’ī's opinion is elucidated as the preferred opinion for having apodictic proofs.

Anthropology of ethics is one of the new and interdisciplinary topics, which explains ethics based on anthropological principles and the relationship between the two. From the past up to the present, Islamic theologians have made considerable efforts in elucidating the relationship between anthropology and ethics. Unfortunately, today these efforts have been forgotten and as a result, we are witnessing day by day the increasing spread of secular ethics in Islamic societies with an experimental anthropological approach. Accordingly, using a descriptive-analytical method, the authors of the present research decided to reappraise the opinions of Shaykh Mufīd, one of the prominent Shi'ite theologians, in explaining the relationship between anthropology and ethics. Based on the research done, some of his most important opinions in this regard are: the two-dimensionality of man, the accidental and mortal nature of the soul, the negation of predestination and the proof of the intermediate position (amr-i bayn al-amrayn), the rational good and evil of actions, the evil of imposing an impossible task (taklīf-i mā lā yaṭāq), the precedence of capability over action, and the intention as a criterion for valuing an ethical act.