Ma`rifat Falsafi

One of the most important concerns of scholars is the evaluation of artistic works. In order to achieve this, it seems essential to establish a fixed and well-defined criterion for assessing art. Without such a stable standard, it would be impossible to draw a clear boundary between art and other domains of human activity. Moreover, if the criterion for evaluating art were considered relative, it would no longer be possible to honor superior works or to classify weaker ones in a lower category. This would lead to confusion and ambiguity, ultimately undermining the function of art -which is to assist humans in better understanding themselves and their true perfections. On this basis, the present study seeks, through an analytical-critical method, to examine Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi’s views on the relativity or absoluteness of artistic value within the framework of Islamic philosophy. According to Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, although artistic value -like other types of value- originates from desirability alone, this kind of desirability is specific to art because it arises from the presence of beauty within the artwork. Moreover, the true criterion of value in all forms of art ultimately lies in the harmony and compatibility of the artwork with the unique perfection of the human being. Artistic value has an instrumental relationship with the artwork itself and can only be understood in connection to what lies beyond it. While admitting a degree of relativity in artistic value in relation to the level of the audience, he ultimately leans more toward essentialism in art. In his response to the question of whether artistic value is relative or not, Ayatollah Mesbah considers it -on a large scale and in relation to true human perfection- to be absolute and fixed. He regards any evaluation based merely on imaginary pleasure as invalid and inauthentic.