Philosophy

Philosophy

An Inquiry into the Manner of the Cognition of Objects and Their attributes in Islamic Philosophy, with Special Emphasis on Transcendent Philosophy

Document Type : Scientific-research

Author
Philosophy, Shahid Motahari University ,Tehran ,Iran
10.22059/jop.2026.413587.1006997
Abstract
The relation between the human being and the world in the cognition of objects and their attributes constitutes one of the most fundamental problems in philosophy,a problem that today is frequently discussed under the rubric of the properties of objects.Various philosophical schools have approached the classification of objects and the understanding of their qualities through distinct conceptual frameworks and intellectual systems.It is commonly assumed that Muslim philosophers have confined their analyses of objects and their attributes to the classical metaphysical distinctions of genus and differentia, substance and accident,as well as essential,accidental,intrinsic,and relational properties. However,within another existential approach,through an ontological reinterpretation of the Aristotelian categories and the articulation of the doctrine of contingency-as-ontological-poverty,beings of the world are first described as relational and dependent modes of existence.Subsequently,by presenting a mystical-existential interpretation of the categories,God is understood as the bestower of thingness upon entities,while the attributes of things are interpreted as manifestations and entailments of the Divine Names and Attributes.Accordingly,the inward and metaphysical dimension of objects is portrayed from a unitive and non-dualistic perspective that, in proximity to the theory of internal relations,explains the ultimate reality of things through their relation to Independent Being.This study further argues that Islamic philosophy requires engagement with new discussions concerning the empirical cognition of objects and a philosophical consideration of artificial and social objects.Moreover,alongside the distinction between primary and secondary qualities,attention to qualities such as pain and pleasure arising from objects, as well as the relation of technological objects to human life,calls for renewed philosophical reflection.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 25 October 2026

  • Receive Date 01 May 2026
  • Revise Date 18 October 2026
  • Accept Date 25 October 2026