mohammad saeedimehr | Tarbiat Modares University (original) (raw)

Papers by mohammad saeedimehr

Religious Studies

Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called ‘privation theory of evil’ (PTE),... more Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called ‘privation theory of evil’ (PTE), according to which all essential evils consist in the non-existence of an entity or privation of a deserved perfection. In this article, I first provide a short sketch of PTE based on clarification of its main conceptual components. Then I examine the main reasons for the truth of PTE offered by Muslim philosophers and show that none of them is sufficiently plausible. Finally, I investigate the most significant objections against PTE and criticize the proposed responses.

ارسطو با ابداع تمایز بالقوه و بالفعل به حل تناقض­های فلسفه­های پیش از خود پرداخت. ابن­سینا برای ح... more ارسطو با ابداع تمایز بالقوه و بالفعل به حل تناقض­های فلسفه­های پیش از خود پرداخت. ابن­سینا برای حل مسائلی در معرفت­شناسی، از این تمایز استفاده می‌کند و از اصطلاح علم بالقوه بهره می‌برد که مصادیق آن در فلسفۀ او قابل استخراج است: علم به نتیجۀ مستتر در مقدمات، علم به برخی قوانین منطق، علم به مقومات ماهیت، علم به بدیهیات، علم به تعقل و خودآگاهی. مصادیق علم بالقوه در دو نکته مشترک هستند. نخست این‌که آن­ها را درون خود داریم و برای بالفعل کردن آن­ها التفات ذهنی یا التفات ذهنی همراه با تأمل کفایت می­کند؛ و دوم این‌که همۀ آن­ها لوازم نهفته در یک علم کلی هستند. علم بالقوه حقیقتی تشکیکی است زیرا علم به تعقل و خودآگاهی برای آن‌که بالفعل شود فقط به التفات نیاز دارد و به همین سبب از بقیۀ موارد علم بالقوه، بالفعل­تر است.

Journal of New Intellectual Research, 2022

Religious Studies, 2022

Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called 'privation theory of evil' (PTE),... more Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called 'privation theory of evil' (PTE), according to which all essential evils consist in the non-existence of an entity or privation of a deserved perfection. In this article, I first provide a short sketch of PTE based on clarification of its main conceptual components. Then I examine the main reasons for the truth of PTE offered by Muslim philosophers and show that none of them is sufficiently plausible. Finally, I investigate the most significant objections against PTE and criticize the proposed responses.

This article examines the Mu‘tazilite Qādī ‘Abd al-Jabbār’s views on the denotation of miracles ... more This article examines the Mu‘tazilite Qādī ‘Abd al-Jabbār’s views on the denotation of miracles according to his own particular methodology. Despite his acceptance of the celebrated method of the theologians in the denotation of miracles with respect to the authenticity of prophets, i.e., resorting to divine wisdom, Qādī ‘Abd al-Jabbār instead proposed the issue within the structure of conventional denotation; thus, his so-called “convention theory” distinguishes his endeavors from that of others. His efforts suggest the rationality of miracles. Unlike other Muslim theologians, he also argues that miracles not only vindicate the authenticity of prophetic claims, but that its connotation also includes the existence of God and the authenticity of the teachings of prophets.

با تأمل در آثار ابن­سینا مشخص می­شود ابن­سینا ذات را در حوزه ذات نوعی در دو معنای ماهیت و طبیعت و... more با تأمل در آثار ابن­سینا مشخص می­شود ابن­سینا ذات را در حوزه ذات نوعی در دو معنای ماهیت و طبیعت و در حوزه ذات فردی به­ویژه، درباره واجب تعالی در معنای وجود به­کار ­گرفته است. در این میان، معنای دوم (طبیعت) که حاصل پژوهش او در شناخت اشیاء است، بر معنای اول (ماهیت) ابتناء دارد. بر اساس همین معنای از ذات، وی در فرآیند آزمایش فکری و با استفاده از توان ذهنی انسان اعتبارات گوناگونی برای ذات مطرح ساخته، از لوازم و مقتضیات شکل­گیری هر یک از این اعتبارت در علوم متفاوت سخن می­گوید. تفکیک معانی در میان دو حوزه ذات نوعی و ذات فردی و تفکیک اعتبارت مذکور نزد ابن­سینا منجر به آشکارسازی ایده ذات­باوری وی شده، این نتیجه را به دست می­دهد که ذات­باوری ابن­سینا با موجودباوری وی منافاتی ندارد و انواع و حدود تام به دلالت مطابقه نشان­دهنده ذات اشیاء هستند.

The International Journal of Humanities, Jan 10, 2021

حکمت معاصر, 2013

The theory of unification of the intellect and the intelligible is one of the most impotant issue... more The theory of unification of the intellect and the intelligible is one of the most impotant issue in the transcendent philosophy. Allameh tabatabaii accepts this theory, but criticizes one of the proofs which Sadra had presented for it. Instead, he offers a new method to prove the theory. In this article we will analyze and criticize the allameh tabatabaii 's mathod in proving the thory, then through a comparative approach, we will dicuss about differentiations of these two philosopher's veiws about the problem.

حکمت معاصر, 2016

Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi is one of the Iranian Muslim philosophers who lived in Safavid era and was... more Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi is one of the Iranian Muslim philosophers who lived in Safavid era and was a contemporary of Mulla Sadra. Tabrizi, however, rejected many principles of Sadra's philosophy including the principle of the principality of existence. Tabrizi firmly defended the principality of quiddity and at the same time endorsed a kind of objectivity of existence. In this paper, we first examine Tabrizi's view through exploring his definitions for 'quiddity' and 'existence' and his picture of the relation between them. Then we raise some fundamental objections against his arguments for the principality of quiddity.

Abstract In the light of the analysis of Avicenna’s definition of “nature” we can discover the ma... more Abstract In the light of the analysis of Avicenna’s definition of “nature” we can discover the main principles of his physics, which are: ‘The agency of the nature’, ‘the directness of this agency’, ‘the natural object’, and ‘the essential agency of the nature’. One of the main consequences of this analysis is that the nature could be considered as the direct cause of the motion, immobility and spatial balance of the material objects. Moreover, it shows that natural objects are essentially capable of possess natural properties. Accordingly, Avicenna considers that the natural properties are the same as the essential properties, which material objects have them necessarily

پژوهشنامه فلسفه دین, 2020

As a philosophical theory, Itibariyyat is one of the innovations of Allameh Tabatabaie. Because o... more As a philosophical theory, Itibariyyat is one of the innovations of Allameh Tabatabaie. Because of the cruciality of this theory in the framework of Tabatabai's thought, it has influenced his views in various fields including the interpretation of possession as an attribute of God. Using quantitative content analysis, the aim of this article is to explore Tabatabaie's interpretation of God's possession, and the extent to which it is influenced by his theory of Itibariyyat. Besides, it investigates how his interpretation is different from that of other scholars. It will be argued that, in contrast to other beings, God's possession is absolute, actual, ontological, and imperishable, and pertains to both essence and effect. By contrast, other beings' possession is limited, metaphorical, revealed, perishable, and pertains to effect alone. One will recognize the relevance of the theory of Itibariyyat in his interpretation if one knows that Tabatabaie's ...

Avecinnian Philosophy Journal, Dec 22, 2013

Comparative Theology, 2014

There is no doubt that religious knowledge, as part of human knowledge, could be a subject for ep... more There is no doubt that religious knowledge, as part of human knowledge, could be a subject for epistemological researches and this is why a new discipline appeared called "religious epistemology". This branch of epistemology is in fact the result of application of epistemological approach to religious doctrines. Nowadays these issues are chiefly propounded by the philosophers of religion and often concern rationalism and fideism. Due to its general epistemic nature, religious knowledge is subjected to all general debates of epistemology. The peculiarities of this type of knowledge, nevertheless, have caused some particular issues to be propounded as to it beside the general and common issues and these new issues would have no application in other epistemic domain. It seems that the concerns regarding consistent delineation of issues of religious epistemology are more colorful to Moslem theologians as compared to Moslem philosophers. Epistemology is less noticeable indeed in comprehensive philosophical works and issues of such bent are unsystematically dealt with in logic and through discussions concerning knowledge and psychology while among theologians one can see earnest endeavors to address these issues concerning religious knowledge. The evidence to this is the fact that in most of theological works in middle and modern ages we find systematic collection of such debates; part of them are general epistemological issues like the essence of knowledge, kinds of knowledge, the quality of knowledge acquisition, skepticism, epistemic limitations, and so on and so forth, and some of them concern religious knowledge such as the necessity of deliberation on religious issues the first epistemic obligation and the like. For example, Nobakhti in the oldest Shiite theological books, i.e. Al-Yaghut, has discussed epistemological issues though in the shortest fashion. Regardless of the value of specific ideas offered by theologians in this regard, it is noteworthy that in Islamic tradition theologians are more co [...]

Muslim Philosopherson the Relation between Metaphysics and Theology Mohammad Saeedimehr* Received... more Muslim Philosopherson the Relation between Metaphysics and Theology Mohammad Saeedimehr* Received: 01/07/2019 | Accepted: 05/09/2019 In different parts of Metaphysics, Aristotle presents different (and apparently, conflicting) views on the nature and subject matter of the discipline in question. These different characterizations led to wide-ranging interpretations of the relation between metaphysics and philosophical theology. Muslim Philosophers adopted two different views. Al-Kindi and al-Farabi (in some of his works) endorsed the view that metaphysics is the same as theology as far as its subject matter is the First Cause (God) and it deals essentially with incorporeal entities. After Avicenna, however, a second view became dominant according to which metaphysics has a broader realm that embraces theology as its most noble part. The rationale behind this view is that the subject matter of metaphysics is “being qua being”, or unconditioned existent, in its broad sense so...

There are two main philosophical theories concerning the explanation of the relation between the ... more There are two main philosophical theories concerning the explanation of the relation between the causal necessity and the human freedom: 1. Compatibilism, which believes that the causal necessity is compatible with the human freedom, and incompatibilism, which sees these two incompatible. Allamah Tabatabaii proposes a specific version of compatibilism based on the notion of “comparative contingency” (al-imkan al-bilqiyas). According to his theory, the principle of causal necessity does not require more than that the human free action possess comparative contingency in comparison with the human agent and comparative necessity in comparison with its complex perfect cause (al-illah al-tammah). Moreover, the very nature of the human freedom is nothing but the action’s being contingent in relation to his agent. Therefore, the causal comparative necessity of the action in relation to its complex perfect cause does not contradict its being free. This compatibilist view has been challenged ...

The International Journal of Humanities, 2010

During the last centuries, great religious traditions as well as prominent philosophical and theo... more During the last centuries, great religious traditions as well as prominent philosophical and theological schools have been facing the so-called "problem of evil" and trying to solve it in a reasonable and convincing way. This paper seeks to explore Muslim philosophers' approach to the problem and examine their proposed solutions for it. After the main versions of the problem in Islamic philosophy are briefly sketched, the author explains its view about the non-existential nature of evil. At this stage, he discusses the challenge of "apprehensional evil" and three reactions to it. Then he turns to three main solutions proposed by Muslim philosophers in order to meet three versions of the problem of evil, i.e., the problem of evils and God's decree, the problem of creation-dualism and the problem of evils and Divine wisdom.

The International Journal of Humanities, 2017

Unlike Aristotle, Lakoff considers metaphor as an integral part of the process of human thinking ... more Unlike Aristotle, Lakoff considers metaphor as an integral part of the process of human thinking and believes that humans often automatically and unconsciously learn and use a wide range of conceptual metaphors. A large part of our scientific and philosophical literature is full of conceptual metaphors. According to Lakoff, like other abstract concepts, causation is made of a small literal part which is extended by various kinds of conceptual metaphors in several directions. The current paper shows that a large part of the metaphors introduced by Lakoff, has been used by Muslim philosophers to describe causation. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Mulla Sadra are two of the most significant Islamic philosophers. According to Ibn Sina, causation is based on ‘Causation is Transfer of Possessions’ metaphor. This metaphor depicts causation as a three-component relation in which the boundaries are very strong and sharp. According to Mulla Sadra, causation is based on ‘Causation is Motion out’ metap...

The International Journal of Humanities, 2017

Religious Studies

Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called ‘privation theory of evil’ (PTE),... more Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called ‘privation theory of evil’ (PTE), according to which all essential evils consist in the non-existence of an entity or privation of a deserved perfection. In this article, I first provide a short sketch of PTE based on clarification of its main conceptual components. Then I examine the main reasons for the truth of PTE offered by Muslim philosophers and show that none of them is sufficiently plausible. Finally, I investigate the most significant objections against PTE and criticize the proposed responses.

ارسطو با ابداع تمایز بالقوه و بالفعل به حل تناقض­های فلسفه­های پیش از خود پرداخت. ابن­سینا برای ح... more ارسطو با ابداع تمایز بالقوه و بالفعل به حل تناقض­های فلسفه­های پیش از خود پرداخت. ابن­سینا برای حل مسائلی در معرفت­شناسی، از این تمایز استفاده می‌کند و از اصطلاح علم بالقوه بهره می‌برد که مصادیق آن در فلسفۀ او قابل استخراج است: علم به نتیجۀ مستتر در مقدمات، علم به برخی قوانین منطق، علم به مقومات ماهیت، علم به بدیهیات، علم به تعقل و خودآگاهی. مصادیق علم بالقوه در دو نکته مشترک هستند. نخست این‌که آن­ها را درون خود داریم و برای بالفعل کردن آن­ها التفات ذهنی یا التفات ذهنی همراه با تأمل کفایت می­کند؛ و دوم این‌که همۀ آن­ها لوازم نهفته در یک علم کلی هستند. علم بالقوه حقیقتی تشکیکی است زیرا علم به تعقل و خودآگاهی برای آن‌که بالفعل شود فقط به التفات نیاز دارد و به همین سبب از بقیۀ موارد علم بالقوه، بالفعل­تر است.

Journal of New Intellectual Research, 2022

Religious Studies, 2022

Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called 'privation theory of evil' (PTE),... more Muslim philosophers commonly endorse a version of the so-called 'privation theory of evil' (PTE), according to which all essential evils consist in the non-existence of an entity or privation of a deserved perfection. In this article, I first provide a short sketch of PTE based on clarification of its main conceptual components. Then I examine the main reasons for the truth of PTE offered by Muslim philosophers and show that none of them is sufficiently plausible. Finally, I investigate the most significant objections against PTE and criticize the proposed responses.

This article examines the Mu‘tazilite Qādī ‘Abd al-Jabbār’s views on the denotation of miracles ... more This article examines the Mu‘tazilite Qādī ‘Abd al-Jabbār’s views on the denotation of miracles according to his own particular methodology. Despite his acceptance of the celebrated method of the theologians in the denotation of miracles with respect to the authenticity of prophets, i.e., resorting to divine wisdom, Qādī ‘Abd al-Jabbār instead proposed the issue within the structure of conventional denotation; thus, his so-called “convention theory” distinguishes his endeavors from that of others. His efforts suggest the rationality of miracles. Unlike other Muslim theologians, he also argues that miracles not only vindicate the authenticity of prophetic claims, but that its connotation also includes the existence of God and the authenticity of the teachings of prophets.

با تأمل در آثار ابن­سینا مشخص می­شود ابن­سینا ذات را در حوزه ذات نوعی در دو معنای ماهیت و طبیعت و... more با تأمل در آثار ابن­سینا مشخص می­شود ابن­سینا ذات را در حوزه ذات نوعی در دو معنای ماهیت و طبیعت و در حوزه ذات فردی به­ویژه، درباره واجب تعالی در معنای وجود به­کار ­گرفته است. در این میان، معنای دوم (طبیعت) که حاصل پژوهش او در شناخت اشیاء است، بر معنای اول (ماهیت) ابتناء دارد. بر اساس همین معنای از ذات، وی در فرآیند آزمایش فکری و با استفاده از توان ذهنی انسان اعتبارات گوناگونی برای ذات مطرح ساخته، از لوازم و مقتضیات شکل­گیری هر یک از این اعتبارت در علوم متفاوت سخن می­گوید. تفکیک معانی در میان دو حوزه ذات نوعی و ذات فردی و تفکیک اعتبارت مذکور نزد ابن­سینا منجر به آشکارسازی ایده ذات­باوری وی شده، این نتیجه را به دست می­دهد که ذات­باوری ابن­سینا با موجودباوری وی منافاتی ندارد و انواع و حدود تام به دلالت مطابقه نشان­دهنده ذات اشیاء هستند.

The International Journal of Humanities, Jan 10, 2021

حکمت معاصر, 2013

The theory of unification of the intellect and the intelligible is one of the most impotant issue... more The theory of unification of the intellect and the intelligible is one of the most impotant issue in the transcendent philosophy. Allameh tabatabaii accepts this theory, but criticizes one of the proofs which Sadra had presented for it. Instead, he offers a new method to prove the theory. In this article we will analyze and criticize the allameh tabatabaii 's mathod in proving the thory, then through a comparative approach, we will dicuss about differentiations of these two philosopher's veiws about the problem.

حکمت معاصر, 2016

Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi is one of the Iranian Muslim philosophers who lived in Safavid era and was... more Mulla Rajabali Tabrizi is one of the Iranian Muslim philosophers who lived in Safavid era and was a contemporary of Mulla Sadra. Tabrizi, however, rejected many principles of Sadra's philosophy including the principle of the principality of existence. Tabrizi firmly defended the principality of quiddity and at the same time endorsed a kind of objectivity of existence. In this paper, we first examine Tabrizi's view through exploring his definitions for 'quiddity' and 'existence' and his picture of the relation between them. Then we raise some fundamental objections against his arguments for the principality of quiddity.

Abstract In the light of the analysis of Avicenna’s definition of “nature” we can discover the ma... more Abstract In the light of the analysis of Avicenna’s definition of “nature” we can discover the main principles of his physics, which are: ‘The agency of the nature’, ‘the directness of this agency’, ‘the natural object’, and ‘the essential agency of the nature’. One of the main consequences of this analysis is that the nature could be considered as the direct cause of the motion, immobility and spatial balance of the material objects. Moreover, it shows that natural objects are essentially capable of possess natural properties. Accordingly, Avicenna considers that the natural properties are the same as the essential properties, which material objects have them necessarily

پژوهشنامه فلسفه دین, 2020

As a philosophical theory, Itibariyyat is one of the innovations of Allameh Tabatabaie. Because o... more As a philosophical theory, Itibariyyat is one of the innovations of Allameh Tabatabaie. Because of the cruciality of this theory in the framework of Tabatabai's thought, it has influenced his views in various fields including the interpretation of possession as an attribute of God. Using quantitative content analysis, the aim of this article is to explore Tabatabaie's interpretation of God's possession, and the extent to which it is influenced by his theory of Itibariyyat. Besides, it investigates how his interpretation is different from that of other scholars. It will be argued that, in contrast to other beings, God's possession is absolute, actual, ontological, and imperishable, and pertains to both essence and effect. By contrast, other beings' possession is limited, metaphorical, revealed, perishable, and pertains to effect alone. One will recognize the relevance of the theory of Itibariyyat in his interpretation if one knows that Tabatabaie's ...

Avecinnian Philosophy Journal, Dec 22, 2013

Comparative Theology, 2014

There is no doubt that religious knowledge, as part of human knowledge, could be a subject for ep... more There is no doubt that religious knowledge, as part of human knowledge, could be a subject for epistemological researches and this is why a new discipline appeared called "religious epistemology". This branch of epistemology is in fact the result of application of epistemological approach to religious doctrines. Nowadays these issues are chiefly propounded by the philosophers of religion and often concern rationalism and fideism. Due to its general epistemic nature, religious knowledge is subjected to all general debates of epistemology. The peculiarities of this type of knowledge, nevertheless, have caused some particular issues to be propounded as to it beside the general and common issues and these new issues would have no application in other epistemic domain. It seems that the concerns regarding consistent delineation of issues of religious epistemology are more colorful to Moslem theologians as compared to Moslem philosophers. Epistemology is less noticeable indeed in comprehensive philosophical works and issues of such bent are unsystematically dealt with in logic and through discussions concerning knowledge and psychology while among theologians one can see earnest endeavors to address these issues concerning religious knowledge. The evidence to this is the fact that in most of theological works in middle and modern ages we find systematic collection of such debates; part of them are general epistemological issues like the essence of knowledge, kinds of knowledge, the quality of knowledge acquisition, skepticism, epistemic limitations, and so on and so forth, and some of them concern religious knowledge such as the necessity of deliberation on religious issues the first epistemic obligation and the like. For example, Nobakhti in the oldest Shiite theological books, i.e. Al-Yaghut, has discussed epistemological issues though in the shortest fashion. Regardless of the value of specific ideas offered by theologians in this regard, it is noteworthy that in Islamic tradition theologians are more co [...]

Muslim Philosopherson the Relation between Metaphysics and Theology Mohammad Saeedimehr* Received... more Muslim Philosopherson the Relation between Metaphysics and Theology Mohammad Saeedimehr* Received: 01/07/2019 | Accepted: 05/09/2019 In different parts of Metaphysics, Aristotle presents different (and apparently, conflicting) views on the nature and subject matter of the discipline in question. These different characterizations led to wide-ranging interpretations of the relation between metaphysics and philosophical theology. Muslim Philosophers adopted two different views. Al-Kindi and al-Farabi (in some of his works) endorsed the view that metaphysics is the same as theology as far as its subject matter is the First Cause (God) and it deals essentially with incorporeal entities. After Avicenna, however, a second view became dominant according to which metaphysics has a broader realm that embraces theology as its most noble part. The rationale behind this view is that the subject matter of metaphysics is “being qua being”, or unconditioned existent, in its broad sense so...

There are two main philosophical theories concerning the explanation of the relation between the ... more There are two main philosophical theories concerning the explanation of the relation between the causal necessity and the human freedom: 1. Compatibilism, which believes that the causal necessity is compatible with the human freedom, and incompatibilism, which sees these two incompatible. Allamah Tabatabaii proposes a specific version of compatibilism based on the notion of “comparative contingency” (al-imkan al-bilqiyas). According to his theory, the principle of causal necessity does not require more than that the human free action possess comparative contingency in comparison with the human agent and comparative necessity in comparison with its complex perfect cause (al-illah al-tammah). Moreover, the very nature of the human freedom is nothing but the action’s being contingent in relation to his agent. Therefore, the causal comparative necessity of the action in relation to its complex perfect cause does not contradict its being free. This compatibilist view has been challenged ...

The International Journal of Humanities, 2010

During the last centuries, great religious traditions as well as prominent philosophical and theo... more During the last centuries, great religious traditions as well as prominent philosophical and theological schools have been facing the so-called "problem of evil" and trying to solve it in a reasonable and convincing way. This paper seeks to explore Muslim philosophers' approach to the problem and examine their proposed solutions for it. After the main versions of the problem in Islamic philosophy are briefly sketched, the author explains its view about the non-existential nature of evil. At this stage, he discusses the challenge of "apprehensional evil" and three reactions to it. Then he turns to three main solutions proposed by Muslim philosophers in order to meet three versions of the problem of evil, i.e., the problem of evils and God's decree, the problem of creation-dualism and the problem of evils and Divine wisdom.

The International Journal of Humanities, 2017

Unlike Aristotle, Lakoff considers metaphor as an integral part of the process of human thinking ... more Unlike Aristotle, Lakoff considers metaphor as an integral part of the process of human thinking and believes that humans often automatically and unconsciously learn and use a wide range of conceptual metaphors. A large part of our scientific and philosophical literature is full of conceptual metaphors. According to Lakoff, like other abstract concepts, causation is made of a small literal part which is extended by various kinds of conceptual metaphors in several directions. The current paper shows that a large part of the metaphors introduced by Lakoff, has been used by Muslim philosophers to describe causation. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Mulla Sadra are two of the most significant Islamic philosophers. According to Ibn Sina, causation is based on ‘Causation is Transfer of Possessions’ metaphor. This metaphor depicts causation as a three-component relation in which the boundaries are very strong and sharp. According to Mulla Sadra, causation is based on ‘Causation is Motion out’ metap...

The International Journal of Humanities, 2017