The acts of the mental in the kalam system of Qādî Abdal-Jabbar

Today's psychology studies dwell on several factors explaining human behaviour. However, Kalam discipline focuses mainly on interpreting and drawing conclusions on religious aspect and characteristics of human behaviour. On the other hand, especially with the first half of the 2nd century, Mutakallimun expanded the scope and boundaries of theological thinking by researching other factors determining how behaviour is developed. During the aforementioned expansion, heart's influence over actions was deliberated, which caused variety of roles given to the heart. Mutakallimun developed a comparative interpretation on the subject by paying attention to the introspection method and with the medical knowledge of the time. Thus, the ideas that were put forward provided answers far beyond an apologetic language of religious thoughts and beliefs of different cultures and civilizations, and also made for a strong philosophy on humans. When mentioned human philosophy is based on human behaviour, heart acquired quite the sensitive and central function in this regard. Since consensus was that heart had a strong and unwavering dominance over actions. As such, Mutakalliumun wrote many works and tracts on heart and its influence over actions. Al-Qadı Abd Al-Jabbar, who is one of the Mutakallimun and the subject of our study, while explaining human behaviour, explained heart's function on actions several times and expanded the subject with his own Kalam thinking. In virtually every subject regarding human behaviour, he frequently mentions motives, immediate thoughts (khatir) and cognitive powers of external stimulus, which are the object of action.