The criterion of consciousness from Sadra's perspective: immateriality or existence?

In the works of Ṣadr al Dīn al Shīrāzī (Mullā Ṣadrā), the question of the awareness of things develops along a gradual and transformative path that reflects the deepening of the ontological foundations of his philosophy. In the early stages of his thought, he regarded inanimate objects as entirely devoid of awareness, yet he gradually distanced himself from this position and attributed to them a weak and minimal form of perception. This intermediate view was later replaced by a more comprehensive account grounded in the fundamental principles of Transcendent Philosophy, especially the doctrine of the primacy of existence and the expansion of its meaning. According to this principle, awareness is not external to existence but an intrinsic mode of it, extending across all levels of being.

In the final horizon of Ṣadrā’s thought, drawing upon the unity and gradational structure (tashkīk) of existence, awareness is understood as a graded reality realized in proportion to the intensity of existential degrees. Thus every being, to the extent that it partakes of existence, possesses some degree of awareness, even though this awareness appears weak in lower levels. Ṣadrā’s mature position is more coherent with the principles of Transcendent Philosophy and more strongly supported by Qurʾānic and transmitted sources. Arguments for the absolute ignorance of beings lack philosophical rigor, making Ṣadrā’s final interpretation both more justified and preferable.

Key words: consciousness, immaterial, materiality, originality of existence, hierarchy(doubt) of existence