Rethinking of the Allameh Tabataba'i's View of Beauty and Art in Relation to Culture

Although at first glance it seems that Allamah Tabatabai has not made many explicit or independent statements on the philosophy of art, in this article we have attempted to reconstruct his views on beauty and artistic creation by bringing together and analyzing passages from his most important works. In doing so, we first discuss the foundations of various cognitive faculties within the tradition of Islamic philosophy, particularly the views of Sadr al-Muta'allehin (Mulla Sadra). Then, drawing on the philosophical anthropology of the Transcendent Philosophy (al-Hikmah al-Muta'aliyah) and Allamah Tabatabai's specific innovations in his philosophical and non-philosophical writings—especially his discussions on sensory perceptions, the process of perception, and conventional perceptions (al-idrakat al-i'tibariyyah)—we reflect on the perception of beauty and artistic creation from his perspective. In this way, it becomes clear that conventional perceptions and their practical consequences, which lay the groundwork for the formation of culture in any society, both influence and are influenced by our particular mode of perceiving beauty and the process of artistic creation, with the "heart" playing a pivotal role in this relationship.