Abstract

Philosophers divide the relation between the soul and the body into two general types the relation between the chicken and the cage and the relation between the matter and form. Although Mulla Sadra views the soul as a form of the bodily matter, unlike those who consider the soul to be spiritually subsistent and originated, he maintains that it is corporeally originated and spiritually subsistent. Accordingly, he maintains that the soul is relate to and in need of the body at the beginning of its creation.He also believes that at the beginning of its keeping company with the body, the soul needs it for doing certain acts such as seeing, hearing, etc. However, after leaving this stage behind, it moves towards perfection due to its trans-substantional motion, so that it becomes needless of the body for its subsistence. Moreover, it will become independent in taking care of its affairs, so that all the sense, imaginal, and rational perceptions of the soul will be possible without the assistance of the body. He defines the body and the soul as two independent entities; however, he introduces them, in fact, as a single entity. As a result, he attributes the individuation of every body to his souls.Mulla Sadra holds that the soul is continually in change and evolution from the beginning of its creation. This process continues until it reaches stability and attains perfection. What causes its perfection and internal growth is the expansion of its knowledge, which increases the on to logical level and nobility of the soul. Since the soul of any body is made by that body, transmigration is impossible.