A Treatise of Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī on the Causal Relationsip between Eternal Principles and Temporally Originated Beings (Risāla fī al-ʿilla al-tāmma)
Abstract
This article aims to
explore Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s (d. 672/1274) philosophical argumentation on the problem of causal relationship between
eternal (qadīm) causes and temporally originated beings (ḥādith), which is brought about by Avicennan (d. 428/1037) cosmology. al-Ṭūsī’s
general remarks on this problem could be found in his corresponding with Najm
al-Dīn al-Kātibī (d. 675/1276) on the demonstration of Necessary Existent. However,
al-Ṭūsī, in his letters to al-Kātibī, formulates the problem only from the
point of view of theologians, but not philosophers. al-Ṭūsī offers a solution
to the problem with a philosophical perspective in his treatise named Risāla fī al-ʿilla al-tāmma. This
article includes a critical edition of the treatise with a Turkish translation.
Ṭūsī’s main argument on the problem in this treatise is that the eternal
principles are not immediate causes of the temporally originated things, but
they are causes of predispositions which the originated things depend on. This
kind of causal relationship does not immediately require the existence of the originated
things. On the basis of this argument, Ṭūsī gives a philosophical explanation
of the necessary relationship between eternal causes and originated effects, by
emphasizing latter’s temporality.
Keywords
References
- Gazâlî, Ebû H. (2005). Filozofların Tutarsızlığı (çev. M. Kaya, H. Sarıoğlu). İstanbul: Klasik Yayınları.
- İbn Sînâ (1364). Kitâbü’n-Necât (nşr. Mürtezâ). Tahran: el-Mektebetü’l-Mürtezaviyye.
- İbn Sînâ (2004). Kitâbü’ş-Şifâ’: Metafizik I (çev. E. Demirli, Ö. Türker). İstanbul: Litera Yayıncılık.
- Tûsî, N. (1383). Evcibetü’l-mesâili’n-nasriyye (nşr. A. Nûrânî). Tahran: Pejuheşgâh-i ‘Ulûm-i İnsânî ve Mutâle‘ât-ı Ferhengî.
- Tûsî, N. (2015). Felsefe Mektupları (çev. M. Demirkol). Ankara: Fecr Yayınları.
- Tûsî, N. (1405). Musâri‘u’l-Musâri‘ (nşr. H. Mu‘zî). Kum: Kütübhâne-i ‘Umûmî.
- Tûsî, N. (1359). Ribâtu’l-hâdis bi’l-kadîm. Telhîsu’l-Muhassal bi’n-dımâmi Resâil ve Fevâidi’l-Kelâmî (nşr. A. Nûrânî). Tahran: Muessese-i Mutâle‘ât-i İslâmî içinde: 482-4.
- Tûsî, N. (1960). Şerhu’l-İşârât ve’t-tenbîhât III (nşr. S. Dünya). Kahire: Dârü’l-Me‘ârif.
Details
Primary Language
Turkish
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Muhammet Fatih Kılıç
Türkiye
Publication Date
July 25, 2017
Submission Date
March 3, 2017
Acceptance Date
July 5, 2017
Published in Issue
Year 2017 Volume: 8 Number: 1