Ma`rifat Falsafi

Pluralism as seen by traditionalists can also be studied and criticized with a philosophical approach, since traditionalists employed certain philosophical foundations towards explaining their theory of pluralism. Some of these foundations are: the gradation of existence, believing in the world of universal beings and the world of ideas, distinction between the extrinsic and intrinsic realms of religion, the division of intellect into universally intuitive and particularly demonstrative, the division of reality into absolute reality and relative one, permissibility of plurally authentic (yet conflicting) interpretations of a single reality, generalizing truth from particular to universal, and certain views concerning human being and his role in the hierarchy of existence. The present article studies and criticizes the foundations on which traditionalists have laid their theory of pluralism. These are ontological, epistemological and anthropological foundations. Criticizing the above foundations, the article seeks to highlight their ambiguities and weak points.