Ma`rifat Falsafi

The ontological status of prime materia and the validity of Peripatetic arguments for its existence are subjected to critical scrutiny in this paper. While Peripatetics presented seemingly irrefutable proofs for prime materia, this concept has been vigorously contested, particularly by the Illuminationist school and subsequently by Mulla Sadra. This study systematically dissects the arguments supporting prime materia, focusing on the inherent inconsistencies within their underlying philosophical assumptions. The paper demonstrates the logical impossibility of the Peripatetic description of prime materia, highlighting the limitations of their metaphysical framework. While acknowledging the inherent difficulty of refuting the concept of potentiality, the analysis reveals substantial flaws in the Peripatetic account of prime matter. The rigorous extraction and evaluation of these foundational assumptions from the original arguments constitute a significant contribution, offering a refined understanding of the concept of matter within the Islamic philosophical tradition. This analysis also advances novel interpretations regarding fundamental concepts like the actuality-potentiality distinction and the nature of motion.