The Issue of God, the Only Substance of Being: Development of Essence and Accident Based on Three Developmental Stages of Mulla Sadra's Philosophy

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Mohaghegh Ardabili

Abstract

 
In Peripatetic philosophy, essence is divided into substance and accident, and because God is not essence, it is neither substance nor accident. But in the transcendent wisdom, not only is God called the essence, but beyond that, the only substance of being; and except for Him, all beings are accidents. Accident emanating from the levels of existence is considered the essence. Accident is not an independent existence alongside the existence of substance.  The relationship between substance and accident is deeper than that between two interconnected objects. These two make up two levels of a single existence. That is, this is an existence from one level of which the essence of substance is abstracted while from another level, the essence of accident is emendated, it does mean not that substance and essence make up independent existences and that they are interconnected.  The secret is that accidental existence per se is the very existence of accident for its subject. Therefore, accidental existence is the same as belonging to, depends on, and is interconnected to the existence of the substance to which it is the subject, and such a thing cannot be considered an independent existence free from the existence of its subject. Rather, its existence inevitably depends on the existence of its subject, and therefore, it is all accidental. Now, the question is on what basis Mulla Sadra adopts such a position. And can God be called "Substance"? Given a variety of evidence, the answer is: Mulla Sadra has experienced three philosophical stages and spoken of three distinct principles: 1. Principality of substantial existence, 2. Existential principality of graded unity of being. 3. Existential principality of individual oneness. In every course of Sadra’ philosophical development, there is a mode of evolution in the discussion of substance and accident; Once, by passing from the principality of essence to the principality of graded unity of being, Mulla Sadra presents his revolution of essentialism. Once again, by shifting from the principality of graded unity of being to the principality of the existence of individual oneness, he presents a change in the discussion of essence and accident, and based on it, he calls the exalted God the only essence of existence.
 

Keywords

References

 
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