Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Hamid Reza Abdoli Mehrjardi ¹
• forough rahimpour ²

¹ University of Isfhan

² Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Explaining how the soul and body relate is one of the issues that arises after accepting the duality of the two. One type of relationship between the soul and the body is the acceptance of causality between the two and the impact between them. Mulla Sadra considers the body as the material cause of the soul and then refers to the interaction of the soul and the body; While Foster only deals with the second aspect. Foster, a follower of Cartesian dualism, offers a way for the problem of casual pairing and explains how a mind and a body are united. This problem of casual pairing of a specific soul to a specific body is eliminated in Sadra's philosophy with principles of corporal contingency and the unity of soul and body and this is the effectiveness of Sadra's view. According to Sadra, soul and body are two sides of the same being; but Foster, introduces psychophysical arrangement for the unity of them. The way of this connection in Sadra's philosophy leads to a kind of unity that can better explain the interaction of them; but that will remain unanswered for Foster. Mulla Sadra explores the problem ontologically, and Foster suffices with an epistemological explanation. Examining the effectiveness of the solutions presented by them is one of the aims of this article.

Keywords

• Mulla Sadra"
• John Foster"
• mind"
• soul"
• organic composition"
• "
• corporal contingency"

Main Subjects

• Islamic philosophy