From Ibn Arabi’s study of imagination to Mulla Sadra’s Epistemology

Abstract

Ibn Arabi and Mulla Sadra have applied the term “imagination” in different connotations among which conjoined and disjunctive Imaginations are the most common ones. Other applications of this term include everything-other-than-God, any creature, a stage in God’s locations, Soul, one of the forces of soul, and a stage in soul’s perfection. The present paper is compiled based on three later concepts and attempts to represent applications of imagination in Mulla Sadra’s egologism and epistemology, in the way that we move from the study of imagination to egologism and reach epistemology eventually, and later on, the direct route from  the study of imagination is followed toward epistemology. In this regard, creativity of the soul and its substantial motion affected by the realm of imagination will have epistemological outcomes like the emanative relationship between soul and ideas along with eliminating faults in conceptual being.  Moreover, creativity of soul plays a crucial role in the field of education. The change in the criterion of wholeness and inclusion, the science of matter, proving and eliminating faults in conceptual being and intuition are among the outcomes of ideal detachment in epistemology. Nevertheless, the special attention of the author is paid to elaborate on the influences Ibn Arabi’s mysticism on Mulla Sadra’s theosophy.