Assistant Professor and faculty Member , Imam Khomeini Research and Education and institute.
Abstract
Most philosophers understand causation to be applicable to existential things. So, they say that applying it to other things, such as things that do not exist, is simply metaphorical. Also, they say that it is metaphorical to call preparatory causes ‘causes’. This is something that is prevalent amongst lay people but that is philosophically imprecise. Nevertheless, causation is something real that is capable of being applied to all things. So, it is possible to divide it into external causation and analytical causation. Therefore, it is possible to apply it in a real sense to things that exists, those that do not exist as well as conventional matters. There are many views regarding causation. These range from the denial of causation to its application to all things. However, the proper view is for us to say that only limited beings need a cause. Regarding the secret as to why something needs a cause, it is possible to say that if we say causation is limited to things that exist then the reason why something needs a cause is that its existence is limited. However, if we say that causation is a general concept, then we should say that the possibility of meaning is the reason why something needs a cause. The last view is that of the professor Ghulam Ridha Fayyadhi
)