A New Analysis of Mulla Sadra’s Theory of Corporeal Origination and Spiritual Subsistence Based on Emergentism

Authors
Saeid Karimi 1
Morteza Tabstabaie 2
1 Department of Philosphy, University of Religions and Denomenations, Qom, Iran
2 Department of Moral Philosphy, University of Religions and Denomenations, Qom, Iran
Abstract
The theory of Jismāniyyat al-Ḥudūth wa Rūḥāniyyat al-Baqā’ (corporeal origination and spiritual subsistence) in Mulla Sadra’s philosophy is one of the most fundamental perspectives in explaining the nature and evolution of the soul. This theory dynamically explains the relationship between matter and form, holding that the human soul originates as a material phenomenon but ascends to a spiritual, immaterial level in its developmental process. In contrast, emergentism in contemporary philosophy of mind and science argues that new qualitative properties such as mind and consciousness emerge from the complex interaction of material components and possess causal efficacy irreducible to their physical bases. The present article provides a comparative analysis of Mulla Sadra’s theory within the framework of emergentism, identifying key similarities and differences. It further examines the metaphysical and epistemological foundations of both views, assessing their relevance to contemporary debates in philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence. Additionally, the present article offers a distinction between physical and immaterial consciousness based on Sadra’s view.

Keywords

  1. Obudiyyat, A. (2015). Daramadi be Nezām-e Hikmat-e Sadra’i, Vol. 3: Ensanshenasi [Introduction to Sadrian Philosophy, Vol. 3: Anthropology] (3rd ed.). Qom: Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute. (Persian)
    Aristotle. (1976). Metaphysics: Books M and N (J. Annas, Trans.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
    Bedau, M. A. (1997). Weak emergence. Philosophical Perspectives, 11, 375–399. https://doi.org/10.1111/0029-4624.31.s11.17
    Broad, C. D. (1925). The mind and its place in nature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
    Chalmers, D. J. (1996). The conscious mind: In search of a theory of conscious experience. New York: Oxford University Press.
    Chalmers, D. J. (2006). Strong and weak emergence. Philosophy Program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University.
    Corradini, A., & O’Connor, T. (Eds.). (2010). Emergence in science and philosophy. New York: Routledge.
    Crane, T. (2001). The significance of emergence. In B. Loewer & G. Gillett (Eds.), Physicalism and its discontents (pp. xx–xx). Cambridge University Press.
    Fayyazi, G. (2022). Jostarhā-yi dar Falsafe-ye Eslami, Vol. 4 [Essays in Islamic Philosophy, Vol. 4] (S. M. M. Nabavian, Ed.) (2nd ed.). Qom: Majma'-e ‘Āli-ye Hikmat-e Eslami. (Persian)
    Ghaffari, H. (2013). Barrasi-ye Mabādi-ye Falsafe-ye Naqdi [An analysis of the foundations of critical philosophy] (2nd ed.). Tehran: Nashr-e Hikmat. (Persian)
    Hart, W. D., et al. (2014). Falsafe-ye Nafs [Philosophy of the soul] (A. Divani, Trans., 2nd ed.). Tehran: Seraat Publications. (Persian)
    Khatami, M. (2021). Falsafe-ye Zehn [Philosophy of mind] (1st ed.). Tehran: Nashr-e Elm. (Persian)
    Khoshnevis, Y. (2015). Nowkhāstegi va Āgāhi [Emergence and consciousness] (1st ed.). Qom: Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought. (Persian)
    Kim, J. (1998). Philosophy of mind. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
    Lewes, G. H. (1875). Problems of life and mind (Vol. 2). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.
    Liao, S. M. (2021). Ethics of artificial intelligence. Oxford University Press.
    Mill, J. S. (1843). A system of logic (8th ed., 1872). London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer.
    O’Connor, T. (2020). Emergent properties. In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/properties-emergent/
    O’Connor, T. (2022). Metaphysical emergence. The Philosophical Review. Oxford University Press.
    Sadr al-Din, M. ibn Ibrahim. (1981). Al-Hikmat al-Muta‘āliyah fī al-Asfār al-‘Aqliyyah al-Arba‘a (Vols. 1 & 3, 3rd ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath. (Arabic)
    Sadr al-Din, M. ibn Ibrahim. (1984). Al-Mashā‘ir (2nd ed.). Tehran: Tahoori Publications. (Arabic)
    Sadr al-Din, M. ibn Ibrahim. (1984). Mafātīh al-Ghayb (1st ed.). Tehran: Institute for Cultural Research Publications. (Arabic)
    Taylor, E. (2022). Power emergentism and the collapse problem. Philosophy of Science, 89, 302–318.
Philosophical Thought
Volume 5, Issue 3 - Serial Number 19
Spring 2025
Pages 1001-1012