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A Comparative Analysis of the Signifier and Signified: From Saussure’s Contract and Derrida’s Différance to the Theory of Unity in Multiplicity in Mullā Ṣadrā’s Transcendent Wisdom

    Authors

    1 Ph.D. Graduate, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

    2 Associate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

,

Document Type : Research

Abstract

The question of meaning and its relationship with expressive forms has long been a central concern in philosophical and linguistic discourse. Linguists have hitherto examined language and linguistic issues from the perspective of Western philosophy, but this topic has not been addressed from the standpoint of Transcendent Theosophy (al-Ḥikmat al-Mutaʿāliyah). Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology and a study of foundational linguistic and philosophical texts, this research undertakes a comparative analysis of three approaches: the Saussurean, the Derridean, and that of Transcendent Theosophy. The findings indicate that the philosophical approach of Transcendent Theosophy, by explaining the single signified (Madlūl) and its multiple manifestations (Tajalliyāt) in the form of various signifiers (Dāll), offers a more coherent framework for understanding the system of signs—something that cannot be adequately explained by the theories of Saussure and Derrida alone. This theoretical framework, drawing upon the principles of Transcendent Theosophy, presents a novel model in linguistics that accounts for both the continuity of meaning and the diversity of its expressive forms. The main achievement of this research is the formulation of a theory in linguistics based on Transcendent Theosophy, which has the potential for application in linguistic studies and the humanities.

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Islamic Philosophical Doctrines
Volume 20, Issue 36 - Serial Number 36
June 2025
Pages 157-190
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