Explaining the Possibility of the Reality of the Primary Intelligibles in Habitual Intelligence Based on Presential Sensory Perception According to Avicennian Philosophy

Document Type : Scholarly Article

Author

PhD of Philosophy, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

The explanation of the possibility of the reality of the primary intelligibles in the realm of habitual intelligence is an important epistemological issue. Two perspectives on explaining this matter are noteworthy: first, the speculative intellect at the level of habitual intelligence possesses the primary (non-acquired) intelligibles, and these intelligibles themselves (independent of anything external to the intellect) are valid. Second, verifying the reality of the primary intelligibles is not possible without relying on presential sensory perception. In the tradition of Islamic philosophy, this dependence has been emphasized more in the discussion of the "levels of speculative intellect." However, in the reinterpretation of Avicenna's epistemology, attention has generally been paid to expressions that demonstrate the independence of the intellect from the senses or any matter external to the intellect. In the forthcoming paper, after expounding and criticizing the first perspective, we will show that Avicenna's views support the second perspective. Any kind of reinterpretation of Avicenna's epistemological perspective in this regard, without considering his views on the "levels of speculative intellect" and the intellect's dependence on presential sensory perception, is not in line with his perspective. In general, according to the selected perspective, "sense intuition" is the first psychical reality to which the self is connected. The prior connection of the self to the psychical reality is the origin of actualization and the basis of the validity of the primary intelligibles; therefore, the speculative intellect relies on presential sensory perception while being independent in other respects.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Ibn Sina, Husayn ibn Abdullah, Al-Isharat wa al-Tanbihat, Qom, Bustan Ketab Qom (Center for Publishing affiliated with the Islamic Propagation Office), 2002.
                 , Theology of Kitab al-Shifa (Research by Allameh Hasan Zadeh Amoli), Qom, Office of Islamic Propagation of the Qom Seminary. Publishing Center, 1997.
                 , Al-Najat, Tehran, Tehran University. Institute of Publications and Printing, 2000.
                 , Soul from the Kitab al-Shifa (Research by Allameh Hasan Zadeh Amoli), Qom, Maktab Al-Ilam Al-Islami. Publishing Center, 1996.
                 , ,  Al-Taliqat, researched by Abdul Rahman Badawi, Beirut, Maktabat Al-Ilam Al-Islami, 1984.
                 , Answers to Abu Rayhan's Questions (Ibn Sina's Messages), Vol. 2, Istanbul, Ibrahim Khuroz Press, 1953.
                 , Ala'i Encyclopaedia (Physics), Hamedan, Bu-Ali Sina University, 2004 - A.
                 , Treatise on Boundaries (Treatises on Wisdom and Natural Sciences), Cairo, Dar Al-Arab, n.d.
                 , Risala fi al-Hudood (Al-Risaal fi al-Hikmah and al-Tabiiyat), Tehran, Markazi, 1981.
                 , Treatise on Types of Souls (Ibn Sina's Treatises (translation)), Hamedan, Bu-Ali Sina University, 2004 - B.
Ebrahimi Dinani, Gholam Hossein, General Philosophical Principles in Islamic Philosophy, Vol. 1, Tehran, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2001.
Ashtiani, Jalal al-Din, Selections from the Works of Iranian Divine Philosophers, Vol. 1, Qom, Office of Islamic Propagation of the Qom Seminary. Publishing Center, 1999.
Ha'iri Mazandarani, Mohammad Saleh, The Wisdom of Avicenna, Vol. 3, Tehran, Ilmi, 1983.
Hosseinzadeh, Mohammad, Comparative Research in Contemporary Epistemology, 2nd edition, Qom, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute Publications Center, 2006.
Saadat Mostafavi, Hassan, Explanation of Al-Isharat wa al-Tanbihat (Third mode), Tehran, Imam Sadegh University, 2008.
Sadr al-Din Shirazi, Mohammad ibn Ibrahim, Al-Hikmah al-Mutaaliyyah fi al-Asfar al-Aqliyyah Al-Arabah, Vol. 3, Qom, Mostafavi Library, 1989.
Aarifi, Abbas, Correspondence of Mental Images with External, Tehran, Organization for Publishing the Institute for Cultural and Islamic Thought, 2009.
Fayyazi, Gholamreza, Introduction to Epistemology, 2nd edition, Qom, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute Publications, 2008.
Mosbah, Mohammad Taqi, Explanation of the book Al-Shefa Theology, Vol. 1, Qom, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute. Publishing Center, 2007.
Malekshahi, Hassan, Translation of Al-Isharat wa al-Tanbihat, Vol. 1, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Soroush Publications, 2013.
Nayiji, Mohammad Hossein, Translation and Explanation of the Book of Soul in Shifa, Qom, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute. Publishing Center, 2008.
Avecinnian Philosophy Journal
Volume 28, Issue 71
April 2024
Pages 85-103

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics