A Comparative Study of the Objection of the Infinite Regress in the Mental Images and Representation

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Contemporary Wisdom, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies

Abstract

Some objections to the mental existence that are proposed by the western thinkers, such as the infinite regress in the representation, are still unknown to Muslim philosophers: if the mental existence view is accepted, then a mental image will have a “representation”. But, the very “representation” must have another “representation” and so on ad infinitum. 
In addition to this infinite regress, Husserl has also proposed the infinite regress in the mental images – that is the very objection of the infinite regress in the mental existence and acquired knowledge (al–‘ilm al–ḥuṣūlī) well-known in Muslim philosophy. Muslim philosophers have here suggested the true response that we have knowledge to our mental images by means of knowledge by presence (al–‘ilm al–ḥuḍūrī) and immediately not of acquired knowledge and another mental images. So, there will be no infinite regress. Some have thought that the infinite regress in the representation objection too can be resolved by the very response. But it is not the case. We will try to find a resolution to the objection based on some of the principles of Muslim Philosophy; in particular of Ibn Sīnā’s Philosophy. Nonetheless, we will see that Few Muslim thinkers can be truly objected to bear some sort of the infinite regress in the representation and mental images.

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History

  • Receive Date: 20 September 2021
  • Revise Date: 16 January 2022
  • Accept Date: 30 June 2022

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