The Immateriality and Everlasting Nature of the Soul in Mulla Sadra's Thought and its Relation to Meaningfulness of life

Hassan Karami / PhD Student of Comparative Philosophy IKI    Hasan.karami118@gmail.com
Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Nabawiyan / PhD of Comparative Philosophy IKI  smm.nabavian@yahoo.com
Received: 2021/07/27 - Accepted: 2022/01/02    

ABSTRACT
Inquiry about immateriality and eternity of human's soul and the meaning of life is among the main concerns occupying the minds of thinkers since long ago. Belief in after-life, principality of the spirit, and the immateriality and eternity of human soul have basic and important role in meaningfulness or meaninglessness of the life. With his monotheistic view and based on elements of his philosophical system (such as how the human soul belongs to the body and the combination of those two, substantial motion, physical origination and spiritual survival of the soul), and by presenting a different explanation of death, Mulla Sadra offers an idea that confirms the link between the belief in immateriality and eternity of the soul and meaningfulness of life. The approach taken by Mulla Sadra for proving the immateriality and eternity of human soul is a philosophical approach with considerable manifestations in meaningfulness of life. Considering various aspects of immateriality and eternity of human soul and meaningfulness of life in Mulla Sadra's view, the faithful man, the rational man and the moral man are identical. In this article, we use a descriptive-analytical method to firstly investigate some of the most important components of immateriality, eternity and meaningfulness of life, and then – considering the foundations of Mulla Sadra's philosophy – to deal with the role and status of belief in eternity of soul in meaning of life. 

KEY WORDS: immateriality, eternity, soul, death, meaningfulness, Mulla Sadra