Primacy of Essence or Primacy of Existence? Questioning a Question. An Investigation of the Debate among Muslim Philosophers

• Applicant: Dr. Mansooreh Khalilizand
• Subject Area: History of Philosophy
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 511325501

The debate on the primacy of existence (aṣāla al-wuǧūd) versus the primacy of essence (aṣāla al-māhiyya) has developed around the question of what constitutes the texture of reality and what can ultimately and strictly be regarded as real and existing. Proponents of the primacy of existence claim that reality is constituted exclusively by existence, whereas proponents of the primacy of essence argue that it is the diverse and distinct essences which actually are. In post-Avicennian philosophy, this debate and its formulation as a strict dichotomy between existence and essence is of vital importance. The ultimate objective of this project is to scrutinise the effectuating factors of the formulation of this debate, its central features and its philosophical meaning.The respective debate was initially developed in the School of Isfahan, moved to center stage and was formulated as a strict dichotomy by Mīr Dāmād (1561-1631) and later by his disciple Ṣadr al-Dīn Šīrāzī (1572-1640), known as Mullā Ṣadrā. This debate firmly defined the framework within which post-Ṣadrāian philosophers thought. A considerable number of them have followed Ṣadrā in this debate, supporting the primacy of existence. Even the thinkers who supported the primacy of essence neither departed from the framework of thought defined by Mīr Dāmād and Ṣadrā, nor questioned it. In other words, the legitimacy of the respective question has never been questioned, although its meaning, which was from the outset not quite clear, has tended to become even more obscure: Given that a real thing is primarily analysable into two constitutive elements, namely existence and essence, why is only one regarded as real and authentic (aṣīl)? Why should there be a foundational relationship between the existence of a thing and its essence, quiddity or whatness? Why should the real thing (shayʾ) not be conceived as a firm unity from which the two respective concepts, i.e., existence and essence, are merely extracted or abstracted? Which philosophical background paved the way for formulating this debate in the school of Isfahan as a strict dichotomy, granting it such a central position? And finally: Which philosophical intuitions or even theological convictions lie behind this debate? This project seeks to unravel the nexus of questions and problems that are intervolved in this debate. Within the framework of this project, three different approaches will be studied. In order to do this, three main figures are selected - each of whom represents one of the approaches and offers a specific way out of the essence-existence dichotomy: Mīr Dāmād, Mullā Ṣadrā and Aḥmad ʾAḥsāʾī (1753-1826). In addition to these three figures I will discuss a fourth figure as well, i.e. Moḥammad Ṣāleḥ Ḥāʾerī Māzandarānī (1881-1971). His relevance for this project consists in his unique reading of the history of Islamic philosophy in favour of the primacy of essence.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants