Existence and Knowledge

Existence and Knowledge

The Position of the Final Cause in Human Voluntary Actions from the Perspective of Islamic Philosophy

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Pezhman Shahidi 1
Vahid Khademzadeh 2
1 M.A. Graduate in Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Department of Philosophy and Islamic Wisdom, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Wisdom, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
10.22096/ek.2026.2086926.1639
Abstract
The final cause is a fundamental pillar of causality in Islamic philosophy, crucial for explaining human voluntary actions. Despite agreement on purposiveness, the nature and place of the final cause remain disputed. Using an analytical approach within Islamic philosophy and distinguishing cognitive from appetitive principles, this paper evaluates competing views. The findings indicate that the final cause in voluntary actions is neither the external existence of the end, nor mere psychic longing, nor simply the conception of the end. Rather, it is the "agent’s cognitive package": a composite of the conception of the action and end, the assent to the action’s being a means to the end, and the assent to its desirability. This cognitive package actualizes agency, engendering longing, will, and the issuance of action. A key implication is that the purposiveness of voluntary actions extends beyond conscious rational ends; even habitual actions or those based on an error in discerning the good involve a kind of indistinct knowledge and thus possess a final cause.
Keywords
final cause, voluntary action, will, free will, agent'
s knowledge, cognitive package
Subjects
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Existence and Knowledge

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 June 2026