Document Type : Scientific-Research

Authors

• Zahra AlhooiiNazari ¹
• Elham Rabiee ²

¹ PhD in History of Culture and Civilization of Islamic Nations, Faculty of Theology, AlZahra University

² University of Tehran

Abstract

In this article, we explore Ayatollah Seyyed Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr's historical perspective from both methodological and substantive aspects. Shahid Sadr emphasizes in his book Our Economics that the laboratory methods of induction used by natural scientists cannot be directly applied to historical research. However, in Madrasah al-Qur'aniyah, while acknowledging the differences between history and other sciences, he argues for the possibility of conducting scientific research in the field of history. This article contends that the connection between these two views can be found in Logical Foundations of Induction. According to Sadr, science is the pursuit of certain knowledge. The inductive method, as explained by the inherent school of knowledge, ensures the production of certain knowledge across various fields, from natural sciences to history. Induction, as an argument, allows for the extraction of general principles from particular instances. The extraction of traditions or historical laws from individual events is a form of this generalization process. Furthermore, Sadr does not believe that all aspects of inductive inference require the possibility of intervening in phenomena. In historical research, induction can be applied based on diachronic observation. Thus, it can be argued that Shahid Sadr considers historical induction to be a useful method for understanding the traditions and laws of history from these three perspectives. After this methodological discussion, we examine the features, scope, and forms of historical traditions. Finally, throughout this article, we demonstrate why human consciousness of historical traditions is important and how human agency in history is dependent on such awareness.

Keywords

• Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr
• philosophy of history
• traditions of history
• historical induction
• inherent school of knowledge

Main Subjects

• Historiography