Bahmanyār B. Marzubān's views on the soul

In this work, the theory of soul was analyzed within the framework of the views of Bahmanyār b. Marzubān (d. 458/1066). Bahmanyār who is the one of the first generation students of Ibn Sīnā (d. 428/1037), has an essential role in transferring Ibn Sīnā's philosophy to the next generations. This importance of Bahmanyār can be understood from the works he has written of Ibn Sīnā 's philosophy in particular and peripathetic philosophy in general. Theory of soul which is the one of the fundamental issues of Islamic philosophy and is examined in different fields of the philosophical sciences. The soul is studied in physics in terms of being the principle of the movements of living things and it is studied in metaphysics in terms of relationship between human being and abstract beings. In this study, Bahmanyār's understanding of the soul is discussed in the context of both physics and metaphysics. In order to analyse Bahmanyār's concept of soul better, the similarities and differences between Bahmanyār's and Ibn Sīnā's views on the soul are revealed. At the same time, it is observed that Bahmanyār was influenced both by peripatetic philosophers and ancient Greek philosophers. Bahmanyar's views on basic philosophical sciences such as ethics and epistemology have not been studied in academic works separately. The analysis of his concept of the soul contributes to a better understanding of his views on these philosophical sciences by the virtue of the relationship between the soul and them. In the first chapter of this study, the soul was examined in terms of its existence, and its relationship with body. In the second chapter, the vegetative, animalistic and humanitarian powers of the soul which were discussed in terms of their actions, were explained. Then, the hierarchical structure between the powers of the soul is discussed. In the last chapter, the immortality of human soul, the pleasure, happiness and genuine taste were studied and the state of the soul in the hereafter was evaluated. As a result, it was aimed to put forward the views of Bahmanyār on the soul in the sublunar world in a holistic way.