The International Journal of Humanities

Rationality or relativity? In which one does Farabi believe? How does it relate to imagination and the permanent, if at all? For Farabi, people come to grasp rational truths mostly through the use of their imagination. Furthermore, the arousal of people’s feelings and emotions often originates in their imagination via imagery forms. The ultimate utopian goal is to drive the public to achieve rational happiness. Since the public, based on their nature and general habits, in effect cannot perceive the rational truths, the path to rational happiness must be represented via their imagination. Moreover, their imaginary concepts and forms should be made the permanent. So bringing rational happiness to people's minds through their imagination, the media of each society should represent rational truths through the sensory and imagery forms familiar to that society. The Farabian theory of cognition shares aspects of relativity as well as rationality. To Farabi, rational truth and rational happiness is fixed and one, having only one denotation, while its connotations, say, images and imagery forms are various and sundry. That being the case, different communities can have different ways to perceive the same truth, working toward the same goal.

In this article, I will discuss the integration of the Sufi ideas into the Iranian ways of thinking. I will put forward some factors, which explain the reason why Sufi ideas could impact the Iranian ways of thinking and become an integrated part of it. This issue is important since one of the reasons for several social problems from which the Iranian society suffers can be found in the Iranian group-oriented ways of thinking and the lack of an individual-oriented perspective concerning every citizen’s not only rights but duties as well. The mystical dimension of Iranian ways of thinking is regarded as one of the factors, which counteracted the growth of concern for the individual self in the ways of thinking of Iranians.

One of the most challenging issues raised in the theology and philosophy of religion is to define the concept of religion and its main components. This study aims to criticize and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a definition of religion presented in "Reason and Religious Belief". The results show that the main strength of this definition is that it considers "beliefs", "actions", and "emotions", which are among the existential needs and abilities of humans. However, some weaknesses of this definition are as follows: 1- Difficulty in achieving common points between religions, 2- Ambiguous explanation of the main elements of the definition, 3- Inclusion beyond the definition, and 4- Inattention to specific and individual features in the definition of religion. It is noteworthy that one of the main challenges in defining the concept of religion is the necessity of a systemic approach. In addition, such an approach should be viewed based on methodological conditions.

Japan was an important and influential trade partner of Iran during the Pahlavi II era. However, no studies have been conducted on the effects of this country and its trade relations with Iran. The present study attempts to deal with the ups and downs in Japan’s trade relations with Iran during that era and evaluate its political impacts based on available documents. Furthermore, the discussions also include the types of cargo, their amount, their value and the dimensions of the trade between the two countries. According to the results of the study, the ideological affiliation of Iran and Japan to the Western bloc was effective in the development of trade relations between the two countries. Thus, Japan became the main importer of Iran’s oil and Iran employed Japanese experts for its economical and industrial activities. Therefore, several contracts were signed between the two nations. Nevertheless, the trade balance was in Japan's favor. The Iranian government’s efforts to balance the scales were successful in a few instances; however it failed in the long run. In conclusion, Japan became Iran’s third trade partner in this era.

Glassmaking traces its history back to antiquity as is the case with several other crafts in Iran. The craft would culminate under the Sassanian rule, when an assortment of receptacles in different sizes, shapes, and functions came into popular use. The present study examines a sample of 29 pieces of Sassanian glass objects preserved in the Sanandaj Archaeological Museum. Deriving from clandestine excavations, no previous research has investigated these pieces. This descriptive and historical-analytical study draws upon comparisons with related museum objects and library research. The questions are: Which excavated sites in the Sassanian territory are to be examined for comparanda? What are the manufacturing techniques of the objects in question? To which part of the Sassanian time span do they date? What are the common forms as well as their functions and decorations? The sample appears to compare with the material from Mesopotamia (Tell Mahuz, Abu Skhair, Barghuthiat, and Kish) and Veh Ardashir, which were major centers of glass production at the time. The pieces were manufactured in free-blowing and mold-blowing techniques. Bowls are the common form, followed by bottles, unguentaria, juglets, and jars for ritual, cosmetic, and practical functions. The major decorations detected on the study sample include applied trails and facet cutting. The pieces can be assigned to two consecutive chronological extents: The first spans the onset of the Sassanian period (2nd century AD) to the 4th century AD, and the second encompasses the 4th century AD to the demise of the empire. Dispersion of such objects across the Sassanian Empire suggests that glassware represented a trade item at that time.

The article, by using historical texts, attempts to reconstruct part of the ups and downs of the Caspian Sea’s southern coastal history, the importance of navigation on the shores and ports of the Caspian Sea, and the impact of Nader Shah's policies on the formation and prosperity of navigation in northern Iran. Based on library resources and a thorough analysis of the contents, the article seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What were Nader Shah Afshar's motives and goals in establishing shipping in the Caspian Sea? 2. Why the Russian government was suspicious of this issue? The findings of the study indicate that Nader Shah intended to boost the commercial prosperity of the country by forming a navy in the Caspian Sea and also achieve his political and military goals which were in contrast to the interests of the Russian Tsarist government. Finally, the main purpose of this study is to examine the state of trade, navigation, and shipbuilding during the Nader Shah period, by using the historical approach and archaeological evidence of the shipwreck off the coast of Chamkhaleh in Langarud County which is undoubtedly closely related to the political-military presence of the government and social presence. Hence, the role and position of local rulers of the Caspian Sea coasts and how they interacted with the Afsharid dynasty and foreign companies are noteworthy.