Summary
The author argues that while Sadra shares with Hegel the latter’s rejection of essence as the positive quality of a determinate being, Sadra’s characterization of essence as the negative quality of a determinate (existent) is seen as too one-sided from Hegel’s perspective. This book would be primarily useful for Hegel scholars, scholars of Islamic philosophy, and those who are engaged in comparative philosophy.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Sadra on the Metaphysical Essentialism of Plato and Aristotle: The Unfolding of Existence
- Chapter 2 Hegel on the Metaphysical Essentialism of Plato and Aristotle: The Unlocking of Essence
- Chapter 3 Sadra and Hegel on the Metaphysical Essentialism of Arabic Philosophy
- Chapter 4 Hegel’s Critique of Two Views of One-Sided Essence, That of Aristotle and That of Sadra
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
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ISBN 978-1-80374-275-5 (print)
ISBN 978-1-80374-276-2 (ePdf )
ISBN 978-1-80374-277-9 (ePub)
DOI 10.3726/ b21061
© 2024 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne
Published by Peter Lang Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Kamal Abdul Karim Shlbei has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work.
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About the author
Kamal Abdul Karim Shlbei obtained a PhD in Philosophy from Duquesne University in the USA. He is currently a scholar in residence at Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center, Duquesne University. His current research interests focus on the metaphysical relationship of essence and existence in its historical context from Greek philosophy, through medieval philosophy, to modern and post-modern philosophy.
About the book
This book provides a comparative study of the accounts of the relationship between essence and existence, which are provided by Sadra and Hegel respectively. Sadra is presented as having a project that is similar in scope to Hegel’s own.
The author argues that while Sadra shares with Hegel the latter’s rejection of essence as the positive quality of a determinate being, Sadra’s characterization of essence as the negative quality of a determinate (existent) is seen as too one-sided from Hegel’s perspective. This book would be primarily useful for Hegel scholars, scholars of Islamic philosophy, and those who are engaged in comparative philosophy.
This eBook can be cited
This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.
Contents
CHAPTER 1
Sadra on the Metaphysical Essentialism of Plato and Aristotle: The Unfolding of Existence
CHAPTER 2
Hegel on the Metaphysical Essentialism of Plato and Aristotle: The Unlocking of Essence
CHAPTER 3
Sadra and Hegel on the Metaphysical Essentialism of Arabic Philosophy
CHAPTER 4
Hegel’s Critique of Two Views of One-Sided Essence, That of Aristotle and That of Sadra
Introduction
Situating Mulla Sadra’s philosophy within Hegel’s Lectures on the History of Philosophy raises two interrelated problems. The first one concerns the historical period in which Sadra’s philosophy appeared. The second one pertains to the philosophical themes of Sadra’s thought.
If we follow Hegel’s historical division of the development of philosophy, Sadra, whose philosophy flourished in the seventeenth century, could be situated within Hegel’s classification of “The Third Period: Modern Philosophy.”1 More precisely, it could better fit with what Hegel called the “Transition to the Modern Era.”2 Here we meet with Hegel’s reading of Francis Bacon and Jacob Boehme, both of whom are contemporaries to Sadra.3 This account, however, conflicts with the principal themes of Sadra’s philosophy. The determinate problem of Sadra’s philosophy is the problematic relationship of essence and existence in its relation to God. This problem is a medieval problem, which is more related to the philosophical thinking of “The Second Period: Medieval Philosophy.”4
Considering Sadra from the Hegelian perspective of Arabic medieval philosophy faces a problem. Although Sadra does not chronologically belong to this period, Hegel deals externally and briefly with Arabic philosophy, to which Sadra belongs. He says, “In this second period, philosophy has its locus in the Christian world; we need to refer to Arabs and Jews only in an external way, for the historical background.”5
Sadra’s situation with Hegel becomes further complicated if we add the fact that Sadra, whose writings are mostly in Arabic, is ethnically Persian.6 Sadra is thus seemingly excluded from the divisions of Hegel’s history of philosophy. He lacks a philosophical spot in Hegel’s Lectures on the History of Philosophy; for he could neither properly fit within modern philosophy nor within medieval philosophy.
Let us then try to approximate Sadra with Hegel’s Logic. According to Hegel’s logical principle, philosophy, in its dialectical development, must sublate its previous determinate principle.7 In this regard, Hegel says:
Details
- Pages
- VIII, 152
- Year
- 2024
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781803742762
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781803742779
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781803742755
- DOI
- 10.3726/b21061
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2024 (February)
- Keywords
- Absolute Averroes Aristotle Averrorism Aristotelian
- Published
- Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, 2024. VIII, 152 pp.
