Concept of God in Kitāb al-‘Ilal (Kitāb al-Iḍaḥ fil Khayr al-Maḥḍ li-Arisṭūṭālis)
Subject Areas : Geneology of philosophical schools and Ideas
Hasan Abasi Hoseinabadi
1
,
Mastaneh Kakaiy
2
1 - Associate Professor, Islamic Philosophy and Wisdom Department, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
2 - PhD in Philosophy, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: God, Absolute Being, First Cause, Pure Goodness, Super Being, Kitāb al-‘ilal (The Book of Causes),
Abstract :
The Book of Causes (Kitāb al-‘ilal), which is also called Kitāb al-khayr al-awwal and Kitāb iḍaḥ khayr al-maḥḍ, discusses the causes of the first objects. God, as the First Cause, is one of these causes. The questions that arise here include the following: What is the concept of God in The Book of Causes? Is the God in The Book of Causes existential or beyond existential? In this book, God has been discussed while employing a number of different terms and concepts such as Absolute Being, First Cause, Pure Goodness, and Super Being. The findings of this study, which was carried out using a descriptive-analytic method, indicate that, in the view of the author of this book, God is not only Pure Existence (as opposed to limited existence) but also Pure Goodness, and His being Pure Goodness is based on existence. He is also the First Cause in the sense of the true creating efficient cause. There are also some reasons for considering Him to be existential and beyond existential. The term Super Being for God – as opposed to limited and concrete existence – refers to “existence through participation”, which applies to all creatures. Moreover, it appears that among the three terms of the First Cause, Pure Goodness, and Pure Existence, the last one is more comprehensive than others in describing God. Existence is the basis for the other two concepts, namely, the First Cause, which is an efficient and creating cause that grants existence to all things and existents, and Pure Goodness, the goodness of which is mediated by its existence.
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