المستخلص: |
In western philosophy the problem of other minds is an epistemo- logical problem about whether one can know that other individuals, i.e. human beings and animals have thoughts and feelings, and in a weak sense whether one can be justified in believing so. Being for¬mulated clearly by John Stuart Mill in An Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy this problem has received three main types of answers. On the other hand in Islamic philosophy this problem is in close contact with existence (umjūd). Many Muslim philosophers such as Mullā Ṣadrā believe that whatever has existence also has consciousness. So every being from God to matter has mind though there is difference in the extent and the quality of their consciousness. This paper is an attempt to show how Mullā Ṣadrā answers the ques-tion of other minds in its epistemological sense and how correlates it with his ontology through existence.
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