معارف عقلی

Abstracts

An assessment of Muslim philosophers’ opinions on defining idea and asseration

Prepared by: Hasan Abdi

This paper is the outcome of a penal discussion attended by Allama Misbah Yazdi, professor Fayyazi and Dr.Legenhausen, on the definition of idea (tasawur) and assertion (tasdiq).

Relating the definitions of idea and assertion chronologically, the participants in this discussion criticized them mentioning their commonality and assessing the objections raised about it.

Keywords: idea, assertion, commonality, knowledge by acquisition, proposition, judgment, belief, prepositional truth, assertion, Muslim philosophers

Kinds of self-evident and a challenge to their realization

Abbas Arefi

This paper deals with nine assumptions on kinds of self-evident and their relation with acquired knowledge. It also relates five theories about the accepted assumption from among the mentioned assumptions. After criticizing them, it reaches to this conclusion that our whole knowledge is neither acquired nor self-evident. Rather some are self-evident and others acquired.

After extensively relating Fakhr Razi’s point of view that all ideas are self-evident, the paper concludes that this theory was molded under Menon’s influence. By criticizing this theory, the paper proves that some ideas are acquired.

Keywords: self-evident, acquired, kinds of self-evident, kinds of acquired, idea, assertion, self-evident idea, acquired idea, self-evident assertion, acquired assertion, Menon’s controversy, Fakhr Razi’s doubt

The Imams and their Companions’ Opposition to Philosophy from the View Point of the School of Tafkik (Separation)

Husain Muzaffari

Separatists believe that the Imams (peace be upon them) and following them their companions hated philosophy and philosophers. Considering the two narrations taken by separatist as a sign of the Imams’ opposition to philosophy and the reasons taken by separatists as a sign of the companions’ opposition to philosophy, the paper shows that not only they were not opposed to philosophy but were contributing (by favoring and learning it) towards its promotion.

Keywords: the Imams (peace be upon them), the Imams’ companions, philosophy, the School of Separation

The Place of Intellectual Sciences among Humanities

Hasan Islampour

Considering the decisive role of the intellectual sciences among humanities it is highly important to expertly assess and explain the place of intellectual sciences while engineering the structure of Islamic sciences for the Islamic world, particularly for the researchers and those having an encyclopedic attitude towards sciences. The intellectual environment and basis and the sort of impression the religious thinkers have had from Islamic doctrines have played a decisive role in determining the place of these sciences and their existing pros and cons. Relating the meanings of reason and the characteristics of intellectual sciences this paper explains and justifies the place of intellectual sciences among humanities.

Keywords:

sciences, intellectual, intellectual sciences, place, classification, traditional sciences, Farabi, Ghazali, Qutb-al-Din Shirazi, Ibn Khaldun

Introducing an Account of Aristotle’s Theology

Yarali Kurd Firouzjahi

After it was proved that Theology was a free translation of Plotinus’s fourth, fifth and sixth Enneads, the contribution Aristotle made to theism was considered as insignificant and the natural aspect of his philosophy as prominent. Though the famous Theology is not Aristotle’s but Aristotle did write a theology of which Alexander of Aphrodisias made an account.

Since Muslim philosophers have made some quotations from this book it can be said that Muslim philosophers have been aware of this book, though considering pseudo-Aristotelian Theology as Aristotle’s they have not considerably relied on Alexander’s account of real-Aristotelian Theology.

The discovery of Alexander’s account of Aristotle’s Theology would bring an important change in modern studies on Aristotle making the theistic aspect of his philosophy once again prominent.

Keywords: Aristotle, Theology, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Plotinus, metaphysics

Bibliography in the Course of History

Mahdi Rahimi

Bibliographies show the pains men have suffered to promote knowledge in the course of history. Defining bibliography and briefly pointing out the need to compile it, the paper deals with the historical development of bibliographical writings in the world, particularly in Islamic and Shi’ite world. It also makes a brief mention of the Islamic bibliographical history and the different stages it has faced in Iran.

Keywords:

bibliography, bibliographical science, bibliographical technique, list of contents, Islamic bibliographies, Shi’ite bibliographies, al-dari’a, national bibliography