History of Islamic Philosophy

History of Islamic Philosophy

Critical Analysis of the Foundations of Absurdism in Camus' Philosophy from the Perspective of Mulla Sadra

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Faculty member of the Islamic Studies Department, Kermanshah University of Technology
10.22034/hpi.2025.548433.1169
Abstract
This research presents a comparative study of Albert Camus's absurdist philosophy in contrast to the intellectual system of Mulla Sadra. Within his existentialist framework, Camus posits a world devoid of intrinsic meaning, irrational, and indifferent to humanity—a view manifested in works such as The Myth of Sisyphus, The Stranger, and The Plague. From his perspective, concepts such as justice and morality are human constructs rather than objective characteristics of the world. In contrast, drawing on the principles of Transcendent Philosophy (al-hikmat al-muta‘āliyah), Mulla Sadra emphasizes the primacy of existence (aṣālat al-wujūd), the systematic gradation of existence (tashkīk al-wujūd), and substantial motion (al-ḥarakat al-jawhariyyah). He interprets existence as a purposeful and wise system in which every part is a manifestation of the divine names. The findings demonstrate that Camus's absurdism is predicated on a neglect of the relationship between God and the world, a reduction of ontology to sensory empiricism, and an extreme anthropocentrism. Conversely, Mulla Sadra's philosophical-religious system, by explicating the framework of divine causality, the wisdom behind evil, and the teleology of creation, provides a comprehensive response to the crisis of meaning in modern humanity.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 October 2025

  • Receive Date 21 September 2025
  • Revise Date 12 October 2025
  • Accept Date 22 October 2025