Islam va Pazhuheshhaye Tarbiyati

Learning, as a core concept in educational sciences and psychology, has consistently been grounded in specific philosophical foundations. The aim of this research is to elucidate the nature, process, governing principles, and contributing factors of learning from the perspective of Mullā Ṣadrā's philosophical system of Transcendent Philosophy (al-ḥikmah al-mutaʿāliyah). This study seeks to answer how learning, as a fundamental transformation in human beings, is defined, described, and interpreted within the framework of Sadraean ontological, anthropological, epistemological, and theological foundations, and how it differs from prevalent approaches in the psychology of learning. The present research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. Data collection involved the study and analysis of primary texts of Transcendent Philosophy, particularly the works of Ṣadr al-Mutaʿallihīn and his commentators. The extracted data were categorized within the framework of three main research questions (nature, process, and laws of learning) and were comparatively analyzed against behaviorist, cognitivist, and humanistic approaches. The findings of this research demonstrate that from Mullā Ṣadrā's perspective, learning is not merely a behavioral change or cognitive restructuring, but rather an "existential transformation" and an intrinsic evolution of the human soul (nafs). In this process, the soul achieves perfection through "abstraction" (tajrīd) from material attachments, "ascension" (irtiqā') through the levels of existence, "transition" (intiqāl) to higher realms, "connection" (ittiṣāl) to immaterial realities, and ultimately, "unitive knowledge" (ittiḥād) with them. In this view, authentic learning constitutes a movement from acquired knowledge (ʿilm ḥuṣūlī) to knowledge by presence (ʿilm ḥuḍūrī), wherein the human soul, through intellectual and practical endeavor, attains direct observation of realities and becomes an integral part of the known reality. This process is governed by principles such as harmony with existence, order, comprehensiveness, and the inclination towards unity, and involves factors including will, the soundness of faculties, the environment, and transcendent grace (fayḍ).