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Demystifying the Theory of the Unity of Knower and Known: A Comparative Study of the Views of Ṣadrā and Shoemaker Regarding Self-Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2023

Zahra Sarkarpour Open the ORCID record for Zahra Sarkarpour [Opens in a new window]  and
Zahra Khazaei Open the ORCID record for Zahra Khazaei [Opens in a new window]
Zahra Sarkarpour*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Qom, 37, Iran
Zahra Khazaei
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Qom, Qom, 37, Iran
*
Corresponding author. Email: z.sarkarpour@gmail.com
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Abstract

Mullā Ṣadrā explains self-knowledge through the notion of knowledge-by-presence, which refers to the immediate presence of the known before the knower. A puzzling component of this view is his idea that knower and known have a relationship of unity with one another. Reflection on Sydney Shoemaker's account of self-knowledge can help us uncover Ṣadrā's motivation for this puzzling idea. We show that Ṣadrā was motivated by his awareness of the concept of self-blindness, a notion introduced into contemporary philosophy by Shoemaker.

Résumé

Résumé

Mullā Ṣadrā explique la connaissance de soi avec la notion de connaissance par la présence, qui fait référence à la présence immédiate du connu avant le connaissant. L'une des composantes énigmatiques de cette connaissance est que le connaissant et le connu sont l'un avec l'autre dans une relation d'unité. Nous pouvons découvrir la motivation de Ṣadrā à évoquer cette idée énigmatique en réfléchissant au point de vue de Sydney Shoemaker sur la connaissance de soi. Nous montrerons que la motivation de Ṣadrā était sa prise de conscience du concept important d'auto-cécité, une notion introduite dans la philosophie contemporaine par Shoemaker.

Keywords

Ṣadrāknowledge-by-presenceunity of the knower and knownSydney Shoemakerself-knowledgeself-blindness
Type
Article
Information
Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie , Volume 62 , Issue 3 , December 2023 , pp. 569 - 589
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Canadian Philosophical Association/Publié par Cambridge University Press au nom de l’Association canadienne de philosophie

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