Imam Sadiq University Philosophy of Religion Research 2228-6578 23 1 2025 03 21 A New Interpretation of Bodily Resurrection in Islamic Philosophy Inspired by Functionalism in the Philosophy of Mind A New Interpretation of Bodily Resurrection in Islamic Philosophy Inspired by Functionalism in the Philosophy of Mind 13 30 77637 10.30497/prr.2025.246336.1918 FA Seyed Taha Baqizadeh Bafqi Ph.D. Candidate of Philosophy and Kalam, Department of Philosophy, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran. 0009-0008-6641-9919 Saeed Anvari Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran. 0000-0002-9402-880X Journal Article 2024 05 18 In Islamic philosophy, sensible objects are perceived indirectly, while what is perceived directly is the form that arises in common sense (Phantasia). Although Islamic philosophers differ on how forms arise in the common sense, they agree that the emergence of a form in the common sense is equivalent to sensory perception. They explain the sensory representation of supernatural beings on this basis, positing that, in a process inverse to the direct observation of material objects, an image from the unseen realm (rather than from the five material senses) is imprinted in the common sense, thereby allowing the supernatural being to be sensorily represented and perceived. On the other hand, according to functionalism in the philosophy of mind, sensory perception is defined as whatever fulfills the functional role of sensory perception. Since sensory experience without bodily mediation is identical to that which occurs through the body, the motivating factor for sensory perception can be non-corporeal. Thus, a human can, epistemologically speaking, have sensory and bodily perception without needing a material (corporeal) body. Consequently, a human can be considered capable of sensory perception even in a non-material realm, and for this reason, bodily resurrection remains meaningful. This is because the corporeality of resurrection lies in the human having a sensory experience of their body and bodily pleasures/pains on the Day of Judgment, rather than necessarily requiring a physical body or material realization. In Islamic philosophy, sensible objects are perceived indirectly, while what is perceived directly is the form that arises in common sense (Phantasia). Although Islamic philosophers differ on how forms arise in the common sense, they agree that the emergence of a form in the common sense is equivalent to sensory perception. They explain the sensory representation of supernatural beings on this basis, positing that, in a process inverse to the direct observation of material objects, an image from the unseen realm (rather than from the five material senses) is imprinted in the common sense, thereby allowing the supernatural being to be sensorily represented and perceived. On the other hand, according to functionalism in the philosophy of mind, sensory perception is defined as whatever fulfills the functional role of sensory perception. Since sensory experience without bodily mediation is identical to that which occurs through the body, the motivating factor for sensory perception can be non-corporeal. Thus, a human can, epistemologically speaking, have sensory and bodily perception without needing a material (corporeal) body. Consequently, a human can be considered capable of sensory perception even in a non-material realm, and for this reason, bodily resurrection remains meaningful. This is because the corporeality of resurrection lies in the human having a sensory experience of their body and bodily pleasures/pains on the Day of Judgment, rather than necessarily requiring a physical body or material realization. https://prrj.isu.ac.ir/article_77637_8d864daca124fe23e715076b02213121.pdf