معرفت

The Characteristic of Real Shiite; Contentment
Ayatollah Allameh Mohammad Taqi Misbah

Abstract
This paper is an account of the words of Amir al-Mu'minnān Ali regarding the traits of the real Shi'ites. Contentment is one of the signs of real Shiites. To understand contentment, we must understand the two concepts of wastefulness and satisfaction with optimal consumption. In Islam, abundance of wealth is not condemned, rather, wastefulness and extravagance is disapproved of. One must consume as much as needed, and avoid excessive consumption for pleasure. A content person should be frugal, avoid wastefulness, and be happy with others’ frugality. Hence, greed or avarice is always contradictory and incompatible with contentment. The best way to achieve contentment is to know about the lifestyle of the infallibles, follow their example and strengthen the spirit of obedience and Wilayat-orientedness in oneself. The reason for recommending contentment in Islam is that if man always looks for wealth and fortune, the insatiable desire for worldly pleasures makes him spend all his life on accumulating wealth and always feel lacking in material possessions, whereas the purpose of creation is nearness to God and achievement of happiness; the material needs are preliminaries and are not directly related to eternal life in the hereafter. Attention to contentment, proper use of material facilities and avoidance of wastefulness and greed is to make sure that our potentials are not all used up for material needs and the more important and authentic needs are not ignored.
Keywords: contentment, wastefulness, greed, moderation, frugality.

Divine Prophets, the Main Origin of Philosophy

Hamid Mohseni / MA in Philosophy IKI    h.mohseni1297@mailfa.com
Akbar Mirsepah / Assistant Professor at IKI     mirsepah@qabas.net
Received: 2018/04/15 - Accepted: 2018/09/02

Abstract
This paper seeks to prove that divine prophets, especially prophet Idris, are the first to address rational and discursive discussions about the realities of the universe. It shows that the prophets are the main origin of rational and philosophical thinking, and that some philosophy historians introduce Thales Ionia and, therefore, Greek philosophers as the origin of rational and philosophical thinking are not true. The research method is descriptive -explanatory. In this study, we first discuss the statements and views of Muslim scholars and philosophers in this field. After that, we state the verses and narrations that can support this view. Finally, we examine the viewpoints of some western historians and philosophers about the origin of philosophy, some of whom have fairly accepted that philosophy has its origin in the East. The aims of the paper are to answer some of the Muslim critics of philosophy, who opposed philosophy due to its Greek and non-Islamic origin, and to appropriately respond to some western philosophers who denied the existence of intellectual and philosophical discussions before the Greeks.
Keywords: origin, philosophy, wisdom, Greece, Thales, prophets, Idris.

The Exposition of Epistemic Fundamentalism Using the Foundations of Transcendental Philosophy

Mohammad Sarbakhshie / Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy IKI     sarbakhshi50@yahoo.com
Received: 2018/05/05 - Accepted: 2018/08/29

Abstract
In Islamic philosophy and epistemology, intuitive knowledge is the basis of all knowledge. In a general classification, knowledge is divided into two kinds: intuitive and acquired. Due to the identicalness of the known scientific and objective existence in intuitive knowledge, there is no error in it. Although the scientific and objective existence is not the same in acquired knowledge, it can be argued that a large part of acquired knowledge goes back to intuitive knowledge. The reduction of theoretical knowledge to the self-evident and the return of all self-evident ideas and affirmations to intuitive knowledge make us consider intuitive knowledge as the origin of all knowledge. The universality of the acquired knowledge is consistent with the particularity of their origins (the intuitive knowledge),
since signification of multiple references is an intrinsic property of knowledge and results from knowledge of high level perfection. In addition, the correctness of the universality of the indication of acquired knowledge in an intuitive form is understandable. Therefore, the edifice of certain knowledge is built in the thoughts of Islamic philosophers and epistemologists. This method of reconstruction of the edifice of knowledge is called epistemic fundamentalism, whose basic foundation in transcendental philosophy is intuitive knowledge.

Keywords: knowledge, fundamentalism, self-evident, theoretical, intellectual concepts, truth.

An Introduction to Scientific Realism
Islam Rajabi / MA in Philosophy of Science IKI    Rajabi6213@yahoo.com
Received: 2018/04/29 - Accepted: 2018/09/16

Abstract
Scientific realism is the viewpoint that considers the theoretical entities dealt with in scientific theories as having an existence which is independent of the mind and scientific theories. According to this view, entities such as atoms, molecules, waves, electrons, and etc. are ontologically independent, and knowing them is possible through scientific theories. In contrast, scientific instrumentalists challenge the realists in both of their claims, and ontologically deny the existence of any independent theoretical entity. By denying their independent existence, the claim on knowing them will be meaningless. Having examined the views in these two trends, we concluded that the conflict between these two trends still continues; none of them has been able to overtake the other, and the evidence provided by each of them has not defeated or eliminated the opposite trend. Using the descriptive-analytical method, this paper analyzes the views of realists and instrumentalists, and aims to examine and explain the arguments of scientific realism and its superiority over instrumentalism.
Keywords: scientific realism, instrumentalism, philosophy of science, logical positivism, the social school of science.

The Range of Accepted Premises from the Perspective of Farabi and Ibn Sina

Mahnaz Amirkhani / Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy Sciences Alzahra University     Amirkhani@alzahra.ac.ir
Seyyedeh Maliheh Poursaleh Amiri / MA in Theology and Islamic Sciences, Al- Zahra University     poursaleh68@gmail.com
Received: 2018/04/20 - Accepted: 2018/06/18

Abstract
Using a descriptive- analytical method, this paper attempts to determine the range of acceptable premises as well as their functions from the perspective of Farabi and Ibn Sina, two great Islamic philosophers. Farabi and Ibn Sina have both dealt with the wide range of the three classes of accepted premises and their quantitative types. The only difference is that Ibn Sina has forged new names for the types of accepted premises. With regard to the issue of penetrability, unlike Farabi who has dealt only with the penetrability of accepted premises with certain premises, Ibn Sine has refered to their penetrability with the other types of analogy. It seems that Ibn Sina, as an innovative exegetist, has explained and expanded Farabi’s viewpoint and implicitly referred to the broadness of the sphere of influence and function of accepted premises in all scientific aspects and social life. Finally, the views of these two philosophers about the ultimate goal of accepted premises and the figure of apologetic argumentation are in line with their objectives, namely philosophy, Divine knowledge and the level of intuition and absolute Truth.
Keywords: wide range of accepted premises, quantitative types of accepted premises, penetrability of accepted premises, various functions of accepted premises, absolute Truth.

An Analysis of the Theory of Nominal Contingency in the Thoughts of Hakim Sabzevari

Sommayeh Amini Kahriz Sangi / PhD Student of Islamic Mysticism and Imam Khomeini's Thoughts / Institute of Imam Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution     mohajer0020@yahoo.com
Received: 2018/04/29 - Accepted: 2018/09/20
Abstract
The nominal contingency is a philosophical- mystical issue introduced by Haj Molla Hadi Sabzevari. It refers to the mystical world that starts from the Essence of Devine Unity and ends in the material world. Some have not observed any difference between this contingency and the other contingencies in philosophy, and have considered this discussion as unnecessary. Using a descriptive- analytical method, we try to explain the problem of nominal contingency, expound on its types from the perspective of philosophers and show the difference between them. Since the mystical world speaks about emergence and hiddenness, the nominal contingency includes of all other than God
from the worlds of intelligible to the material world. The explanation of nominal contingency with the mystical world, which begins from the stage of mystery of mysteries, is possible to the lower stages, because existence, whether in descending or ascending order, reaches a stage in which there are no names other than the emergence of the Divine Names; and this is the very nominal contingency, but the philosophical world begins with the order of creation and is therefore different.

Keywords: contingency, pre-eternity, nominal contingency, sempiternal contingency, Haj Molla Hadi Sabzevari.

A Comparative Study of Man's Nature from the Perspective of
Ayatollah Misbah and Sartre

Mahmoud Namazi / Assistant Professor at IKI    namazi@qabas.net
Seyyed Aminollah Ahmadiani Moghaddam / MA in Philosophy IKI    ahmadiani624@gmail.com
Received: 2018/04/22 - Accepted: 2018/08/08

Abstract
The discussion of man as one of the three important pivots of philosophy besides God and the world has always been considered in the world’s philosophical schools. Also, since ancient times, one of the most important questions about man concerns the nature and quiddity of man. Ayatollah Misbah believes that in addition to the material dimension, man has a spiritual dimension, which is the reality and the truth of man, of course. He believes that humans have a common nature and quiddity both in the sphere of desire and attitude and in awareness and cognition. However, Jean-Paul Sartre, the French philosopher, believes that humans have no common nature. Man’s quiddity is not predetermined, and he is free because he has no a priori nature and definition; man is equal to freedom. This paper comparatively examines the different views of these two philosophers on the nature of man.

Keywords: human nature, human common nature, freedom, Sartre, ayatollah Misbah.

An Analytical Study of the Quiddity of Virtue from the Viewpoints
of Aristotle and Ibn Meskuye

Ali Akbar Alizadeh / PhD Student of Theological Denominations the University of Religions and Denominations    alizadeh.aa110@gmail.com
Received: 2018/02/28 - Accepted: 2018/08/10

Abstract
The discussion of the views of Aristotle and Ibn Miskawayh, two ethics philosophers from Greece and the Muslim world, is important because they are some of the first to deal with to the ethics of virtue. Therefore, the first step in knowing the ethics of virtue from their point of view is to examine the quiddity of virtue from the perspective of these two great thinkers. However, what is noticed in the study of the quiddity of virtue from their perspective is their commonality in some of the concepts, such as the importance of reasoning and the inclusion of the middle-term in their definitions, despite their difference in explaining the middle-term and its quiddity. The other difference concerns their specifics definitions because each of them have a certain definition of virtue. Other points include the difference between their views on the soul and its divisions, the extent of the influence of Greek virtue ethics on the Islamic virtue ethics, and the influence of Plato and Aristotle on Ibn Miskawayh. Using the descriptive- analytical method, the present paper deals with extracting, comparing and contrasting the different aspects of the definition of virtue in the discussions of these two philosophers.

Keywords: Aristotle, Ibn Miskawayh, virtue, middle term, being a permanent habit, practical wisdom