Philosophy of Religion Research
Criticizing the Theoretical Framework of the Separation of Spirituality from Physical and Mental Strength
Document Type : Short Paper
Authors
1 M.A. Graduated, Department of Philosophy and Wisdom, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Wisdom, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Many spiritualists believe that one does not need to have physical and mental strength to experience God and the Hereafter. Many athletes believe that having physical strength without spirituality is possible. Many scientists also believe that they do not need spirituality to have mental power. The subject of this article is the approach of separating spirituality from physical and mental strength. We will address the theoretical framework of this distinction and its critiques. The topic is important especially because the absence or lack of spirituality leads to a defect in the other two powers or their malfunction. Our method is to extract the assumptions of the theoretical framework of this separation and then call them into question. We conclude that this distinction has two presupposed categories: philosophical and theological. Its philosophical presuppositions are the separation of the mind from the world, the material from the abstract, and the intellect from the heart. The first is the result of the false assumption that the mind is in the body and that our body is separate from other objective beings. The second is based on the false premise that the boundary of matter is clear and immaterial beings can be separated from it. The third is based on the fact that the intellect is a source of cognition and the heart is the place of emotions. Its theological presuppositions are to believe that God is purely immaterial and to separate the world from the hereafter. The first is the result of the false premise that God is a limited being in the immaterial world and cannot be present in the material world. The second is based on misunderstanding the relationship between this world and the hereafter, that is, the relationship between the external and the internal. The novelty of this article is in extracting these assumptions and criticizing them.
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