Ma`rifat Falsafi

Abstract The ethical theory of the “Theory of Divine Proximity” (Qurb-gira’i), articulated by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, stands as one of the most prominent realist theories in contemporary Islamic philosophy of ethics and has been widely discussed and critiqued. The present article is a response to the paper “A Critique of a Critique” (by Mesbah, Shahriari, and Soroush), which was written in defense of this theory and in reaction to the author’s previous critiques. This research argues that although the aforementioned paper has contributed to clarifying the theory, the core of the previously raised objections in the logical, epistemological, and ontological dimensions remains unresolved. In the logical dimension, the unity of “act” and “title” in moral evaluation is emphasized. In the epistemological dimension, it is asserted that fundamental ethical propositions are synthetic, not analytic, in nature. In the ontological dimension, the exclusivity of “self-love” (hubb al-dhat) as the sole basis for values is challenged, arguing that “divine love” (hubb al-ilahi) can serve as a primary and authentic motivation, and the “Perfect Human” (al-insan al-kamil) is not merely an intermediary but an objective model and an attainable goal. Finally, this article concludes that adopting these proposed modifications does not weaken the Theory of Divine Proximity; rather, by strengthening its monotheistic and practical aspects, it contributes to its richness and robustness.