The Ontological Foundations of Implication in Transcendent Philosophy: A Metaphysical Critique of the Principle of Explosion

Hashemifar, Gholamali; Kashfi, Abdolrasoul

doi:10.22054/wph.2026.87469.2325

The Ontological Foundations of Implication in Transcendent Philosophy: A Metaphysical Critique of the Principle of Explosion

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Gholamali Hashemifar

Abdolrasoul Kashfi

University of Tehran, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies

10.22054/wph.2026.87469.2325

Abstract

The principle of explosion states that from a logical contradiction any proposition can be inferred, regardless of its content. This principle has traditionally served as a cornerstone for the rejection of contradiction within classical logic. The present study, adopting a descriptive and analytical approach, examines the relation between this principle and the theory of causality in Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy. Drawing upon the doctrines of the primacy of existence and the gradation of being, Mulla Sadra approaches implication from a metaphysical perspective, understanding it not merely as a formal relation but as an ontological connection that is valid only in light of a genuine causal relation between antecedent and consequent. By rejecting the classical presupposition that “from any impossibility any conclusion may follow,” he emphasizes that implication, even under the hypothetical assumption of contradictory premises, is legitimate only where a causal relation is present. Unlike certain paraconsistent logics that attempt to avoid explosion by restricting the scope of the principle of non‑contradiction, the Sadrian perspective, while remaining firmly committed to the principle of non‑contradiction, introduces a metaphysical limitation on inference and thereby offers an anti‑explosive interpretation of implication.

Keywords

Principle of Explosion

Causality

Implication

Mulla Sadra

Subjects