The World Congress on Mulla Sadra

Abstract

The World Congress on Mulla S a b was held May 22-27, 1999, inTehran, Iran. Sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Congress drewmore than three hundred local and intemational speakers who presentedpapers on various aspects of the philosophy of Sadr al-Din Shirazi (d.l o ) , commonly known as Mulla Sadra. The scope of the Congress, however,was not confiied to the philosophy of Mulla Sadra, papers with otherpoints of interest and focus were also presented. The Congress can bedescribd as consisting of three concentric circles: the first, focusing exclusivelyon Sadrean studies; the second, ranging from Islamic philosophy toSdism and kafam; and the third, extending to subjects as diverse asMuslims in China and Western philosophy. In addition to Islamic thought,there was also a sepamte section on Western philosophy, primarily focusingon analytic philosophy, in which many Westem scholars and philosophersMcipated.The Congress began with a reading of a brief welcome speech by thedirector of the Congress, Ayatollah Muhammad Khamanei. The keynoteaddress, and the concluding speech of the day, was delivered by Iranianpresident Muhammad Khatami, who talked about the importance ofIslamic philosophy in general and Sadra's thought in particular for thefuture of Islamic world.For the remainder of the Congress, each day, four simultaneous sessionswere conducted in the Conference Hall of the Organization of IslamicConference (OIC). The Islamic philosophy section, which was the mainbody of the Congress, was divided into four major subdivisions:Transcendent Philosophy of Mulla Sadra, Comparative Philosophy,Islamic Philosophy, and Gnosis and Sufism. Here the speakers focused onvarious aspects of the philosophy of Mulla Sadra, ranging from his ontologyand epistemology to his eschatology and commentaries on Qur'anicverses. Mulla Sadm, who is considered to be one of the most impom figuresof the post-Avicennan Islamic philosophy, was both an originalthinker and a first-rate historian of philosophy. With his notion of the primacyof being (asah af-wujud) and his celebrated idea of substantial ...