Mulla Sadra’s Response to the Idea of Theological Return with an Emphasis on the Problem of Special Divine Action

Since scholars in the theology of nature have not yet succeeded in providing a satisfactory account of special divine action, some have called for a reconsideration of the philosophical foundations of natural theology, advancing the idea of a theological return from the theology of nature to natural theology. Ignacio Silva, one of the leading proponents of this return, bases his position on the acceptance of a fundamental indeterminacy at the root of all natural changes, in contrast to accounts grounded in scientific theories within the theology of nature, such as quantum theory and chaos theory. By appealing to the concept of material cause and affirming matter as an ontological constituent of natural entities, Silva argues that a natural entity may remain receptive to the influx of forms from multiple sources. Thus, the existence of natural agents does not preclude a supernatural agent from bringing about new forms within nature. This view, which entails a creative and non-lawlike divine intervention in the natural world, leaves no room in Mulla Sadra’s philosophical system, given his principles such as the union of matter and form, the rejection of generation and corruption, and substantial motion. Furthermore, by denying special divine action to God and completely immaterial beings, Mulla Sadra grounds his explanation of natural change in the agency of the Universal Soul, which becomes central to his response to the problem of special divine action. Despite certain advantages—such as resolving the problem of temporal interaction between the supernatural and nature, bridging the metaphysical gap between them, and dispensing with the theory of celestial spheres to explain natural change—Mulla Sadra’s account remains problematic due to ambiguities regarding the mechanism of agency of the Universal Soul, the unclear relation between its action and the pre-existing matter of events, and its tension with the doctrine of divine attributes. These issues prevent it from offering a fully satisfactory explanation.