The Phenomenology of the Connection Between Desire, Consciousness, and Perception in Avicenna's Philosophy

The impact of non-epistemic factors on the process of knowledge formation is one of the most pressing questions that epistemologists grapple with. By non-epistemic factors, we mean psychological, sociological, and other similar influences that can affect the process of knowledge. Can we speak of the impact of non-epistemic factors on knowledge in Avicennian psychology? Yes, in Avicenna's thought, knowledge is primarily influenced by psychological factors. He introduces the concept of "desire" (shauq) and strives to explain its relationship with awareness, proposing a type of psychological-ontological epistemology, as he consistently analyzes the psychological factors affecting knowledge ontologically. Avicenna refers to "desire affecting awareness" as another significant non-epistemic factor and provides an ontological explanation of the connection between "desire" and "perception," which depends on the nature of both. In this paper, Avicenna's approach to the non-epistemic factors affecting knowledge is examined phenomenologically. It is found that: (۱) Non-epistemic factors influence the direction of awareness and the process of knowledge formation. (۲) Without the emergence of desire or encountering something that elicits desire, movement does not materialize; that is, movement follows desire. Avicenna's epistemology is not devoid of naturalistic aspects; however, in this study, by bracketing natural dimensions, psychological factors are considered solely from an ontological perspective, and a phenomenological interpretation of Avicenna's statements is provided. The chosen interpretation focuses on the quality of knowledge emergence and its connection with psychological factors. By establishing the precedence of the motivating force over the perceptive force, a model of Avicennian ontological-psychological epistemology is inferred.

کلیدواژه ها:

Avicenna' ، s Psychology ، The Phenomenology of Perception ، Psychological Epistemology ، Phenomenological Study of the Soul