Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of Islamic Studies, Yadgar-e-Imam Khomeini (RA) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Islamic Azad University
Abstract
In Imami Islamic theology, the “proof of nature” relies on the innate desire for God and theology of man. The question is how this proof proceeds from the innate tendency to affirm the existence of God and what is its relation to “reformed epistemology.” The aim of explaining the Imami versions of the proof of nature and comparing it with the theory of “foundational belief” in reformed epistemology (especially in Plantinga) is to clarify the rationality of believing in God without a priori reliance on classical proofs. The research is descriptive-analytical and comparative with a library method; the Quranic, narrative and philosophical concepts of nature are extracted from Imami sources and systematically compared with the components of reformed epistemology. The research findings show that the proof of nature is based on two components: (1) the innate tendency to absolute perfection and the sacred (love of goodness, truth and worship), (2) the innate insight/affirmation of the origin of existence. Thinkers such as Mulla Sadra, Allama Tabataba'i, Imam Khomeini (RA), and Javadi Amoli consider this tendency/insight to be a sign of the real existence of its subject. In reformed epistemology, too, belief in God can be a basic and reasonable belief and arise from the correct functioning of the sense of theology.
Keywords
- Fiṭrah
- Argument from Innate Nature
- Reformed Epistemology
- Properly Basic Belief
- Sensus Divinitatis
- Islamic Theology
- Imamiyya
- Alvin Plantinga
Main Subjects
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