Considering the kinds of union and that philosophers hold...

Considering the kinds of union and that philosophers hold acquired knowledge to be a psychic quality, it is easy to accept the first kind of union, and, naturally, those like Ibn Sīnā would not deny this sort of union. However, Ṣadr al-Muta’allihīn did not like this kind of union and he tried to prove another kind similar to the union of matter and form; that is, he considers the relation between the soul and perceptual forms to be like that of prime matter and its forms.

Just as the actuality of prime matter is obtained in the shadow of its union with a form, actual intellection occurs for the soul in the shadow of union with intellectual forms. A Review of the Theory of Ṣadr al-Muta’allihīn In order to make clear the…