تمثیل‌های رابطۀ نفس با بدن در فلسفه و دین: تحلیل و تطبیق

یکی از دشواری‌های فلسفه، تبیین رابطۀ نفس و بدن است. به سبب دشواری فهم این رابطه، تمثیل‌های مختلفی در فلسفه برای بیان رابطۀ آن دو ذکر شده‌اند. این تمثیل‌ها از منظرهای مختلفی بیان شده‌اند که عمده آنها عبارت‌اند از: 1. رابطه حق‌تعالی با عالم؛ 2. رابطه ناخدا با کشتی؛ 3. رابطه صورت با ماده؛ 4. رابطه بَنّا و بِنا؛ 5. رابطه راکب با مرکوب؛ 6. رابطه مرغ با قفس؛ 7. رابطه درخت با میوه؛ 8. رابطه طفل با رحم؛ 9. رابطه نور با سایه. برخی از تمثیل‌های فلسفی، تمثیل قوی و مناسبی برای بیان رابطه آن دو نیستند و برخی دیگر به دلایل مختلف تمثیل قوی برای بیان رابطه نفس و بدن‌اند. تمثیل‌های مختلفی در آموزه‌های دینی برای رابطه نفس و بدن بیان شده‌اند؛ برخی از آنها عبارت‌اند از: معنی و لفظ، تمثیل روح به باد، تمثیل گوهر در صندوق، روح به پارچه نازک محیط به بدن، تمثیل علم و عمل، تمثیل جامه متکاثف، تمثیل قدر و عمل. هر یک از تمثیل‌های فلسفی و دینی دارای دلالت‌های مشترکی‌اند؛ ازجمله اینکه: الف) پذیرش غیریت و ثنویت نفس و بدن؛ ب) اصالت و مقوم‌بودن نفس نسبت به بدن؛ ج) فرامحسوس و فرامادی بودن نفس؛ د) رابطه طولی نفس و بدن. در این مقاله با تبیین تمثیل‌ها، تحلیل آنها و انتخاب تمثیل‌های قوی از ضعیف پرداخته می‌شود.

Allegories of Soul-Body Relationship in Philosophy and Religion: Analysis and Comparison

One of the challenges of philosophy is explanation of the relationship between the soul and the body. As it is difficult to understand this relationship, various allegories have been used in philosophy to express that relationship. Allegory is one of the most influential ways of conveying deep meanings and explaining sensible affairs. Since the transcendental knowledge and transsensory notions lie beyond the reach of the human senses, allegory can play an important role in getting such meanings across. They are expressed from different perspectives as follows: 1) God Almightyworld relationship; 2) captainship relationship; 3) formmatter relationship; 4) architectbuilding relationship; 5) riderridee relationship; 6) birdcage relationship; 7) treefruit relationship; 8) fetusuterus relationship; and 9) lightshadow relationship. Some philosophical allegories are not strong and appropriate to express the soulbody relationship, while some others can express this relationship properly. Each of the abovementioned allegories has a special feature and they are not the same in terms of power of creation. Some similes express the point of resemblance more accurately. The greater the point of resemblance between the tenor and the vehicle is, the more powerful the allegory will be and the smaller that point is, the less influential the allegory will be. Differences in principles and viewpoints affect the type of allegory. The analogy of the soul and the body to the tree and fruit rests on the principles of transcendent wisdom. This analogy is at odds with other views. Allegories, such as captain and ship, architect and building, and bird and cage are more compatible with the Masha (peripatetic) perspective toward the soulbody relationship. In each of these analogies, each one of the tenors and vehicles has an independent and separate existence and there is a contingent rather than intrinsic relationship between them. This idea has no place in MullaSadra’s approach, according to which the soul’s belonging to the body is intrinsic to the soul and the soul’s existence rests on its connection to the body.A variety of allegories about the soulbody relationship have been mentioned in religious teachings, such as the allegories of word and meaning, soul and wind, gem and coffer, soul and thin cloth, environment and body, knowledge and action, piled up garment, and value and action.Each of the philosophical and religious allegories has common implications including: a) acceptance of otherness and duality of the soul and the body; b) originality of the soul in relation to the body; c) transsensory and metaphysical nature of the soul; and d) longitudinal relationship of the soul and the body. This paper explains and analyzes these allegories and distinguishes between the strong and weak ones. Among the main features of religious allegories is attention to the invisible, metaphysical, and transsensory nature of the body. This feature has been considered in most religious allegories, such as meaning and word, soul and wind, knowledge and action, piled up garment, and value and action, but it has not been regarded in many philosophical allegories, such as captain and ship, form and matter, architect and building, shadow and under shadow, etc. although it is accepted in philosophy.One of the major shortcomings of philosophical allegories is that they highlight maximum duality between the soul and the body. At this maximum duality, the duality between the soul and the body becomes more pronounced. The soul and the body are transformed from a single interconnected truth into two independent and interconnected entities. There is maximum duality between the tenor and vehicle in allegories, such as captain and ship, form and matter, architect and building, and rider and ridee, while they are not suitable examples to express the relationship between the soul and the body. …..The transsensory aspect of the soul is often evident in religious allegories and the communicative aspect possessed by a transsensory being is seen in the similes. Accordingly, they do not have such maximum dualistic allegories as some philosophical allegories do. Among religious similes, all, except the second one, have this feature.