Abstract

In this article, I will discuss Mulla Sadrā's proof of ideas together with his evaluations of Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā and Suhrawardī's views. The aim of the article is to try to provide a certain opinion about the proof that Sadrā developed. It is seen that Sadrā generally exhibits a dual attitude about ideas. Sadrā's first attitude is to match the theologians' teaching of names, Suhrawardi's view of the master of genres, the sufists' a'yan al-sābita theory and the Peripatetics’ concept of universal with ideas. His second attitude is that he is alone at the point of understanding Plato and reaching the clearness of the issue. In other words, he states that there has been no one who have understood and explained the issue as it should be. Sadrā attributes his own success on the subject both to discovery and inspiration, and to his intellectual research on existence. The aim of Sadrā is to try to unite between Plato and Aristotle. Therefore, he also follows Plotinos and Fārābī, who had this purpose before him. Sadrā, who criticizes Avicenna on the subject, sees Suhrawardī as the philosopher who comes closest to the truth, but states that he is also inadequate in some points.