ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Philosophical Instructions Lesson Thirty-Nine: The Final Cause An Analysis regarding Free Actions No free and willful deed (in the general senses of these terms) is performed without the consciousness and knowledge of the agent, regardless of whether this knowledge is the very essence of the agent, as in the case of the agent by self-disclosure ( fā’il bil-tajallī ), or whether this knowledge is the very action itself, as in the case of the agent by agreement ( fā’il bil-riḍā ), or whether this knowledge is an implication of knowledge of the essence, as is believed in the case of the providential agent, or whether this knowledge is a separable accident of the essence, as in the case of the intentional agent.

Likewise there is no free and willful deed in relation to which the agent does not have some sort of affection ( maḥabbah ), satisfaction, inclination and attraction, such that it is done with complete unwillingness, aversion and disgust.

Even in the case of someone who takes bad tasting medicine with repugnance, or someone who decides to undergo surgery allowing a part of his body to be cut, the person who does these things does them because he has an interest in his own health, and his health is not to be obtained except through taking bitter medicines or cutting the infected part of the body. In this respect the taking of the medicine and the losing of one’s hand are desired.

This desire conquers the aversion to the bad taste and the discomfort of the loss of a limb. The affection for and desire of a deed differ with the kinds of agents, and there are various concepts which are applied to them. Sometimes only the concept of affection is applicable, an affection which is the very essence of the agent, such as with the agent by self-disclosure.

Sometimes the concept of satisfaction ( riḍā ) is applicable, such as with the agent by agreement ( fā’il bil-riḍā ); sometimes the affection is an implication of the essence, as with the providential agent; and sometimes it is a kind of spiritual quality and is a separable accident of the essence, such as yearning ( shawq ), as with the intentional agent. The most inclusive concept which includes all the cases is the concept of affection in the general sense.

Its criterion is the perception of agreeability and the perfection of the beloved, and it may be termed desirability.