Critical Analysis of Sayyid Ṣadr al-Dīn Dashtakī's Approach to the Definition of Mental Existence

Document Type : Scientific-research

Authors

1 Department of Philosophy and Logic, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology, Islamic Studies, and Guidance, Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

In Islamic philosophy, the doctrine of mental existence (wujūd-e zehnī) occupies a fundamental position in metaphysical discourse. Sayyid Ṣadr al-Dīn Muḥammad Dashtakī, a prominent philosopher of the Shiraz School, advanced original perspectives on this subject. Although best known for his theory of the Transformation of Essence (inqilāb al-zāt), he also proposed significant but less-studied ideas, including a distinctive interpretation of the division of existence (taqsīm al-wujūd) and a denial of mental existence as traditionally conceived, while simultaneously endorsing mental forms (al-taṣawwurāt al-zihniyya). Beyond its historical significance, analysis of these views elucidates the Transformation of Essence within Dashtakī’s philosophy. This study employs an analytical-critical method, with special reference to Dashtakī’s glosses on Qūshjī’s Sharḥ al-Tajrīd, to critically examine his position. The findings demonstrate that he rejects mental existence conceived as “form conditioned by its representative aspect” a position coherent with his theory of Transformation. For Dashtakī, mental existence is devoid of the essential attributes, concomitants, and causal effects of extra-mental reality. Yet, non-representational mental forms may retain their own distinctive features.

Keywords

References

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The Mirror of Knowledge
Volume 25, Issue 3 - Serial Number 84
September 2025
Pages 39-60

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