Mīr Dāmād on Essence, Existence and Priority

Mīr Dāmād, as a philosopher in Islamic and Peripatetic tradition, scrutinizes the issue of essence and existence. His main ideas are as follows: first, existence is not a real attribute; second, existence is nothing but to be existent; and third, essence is prior to existence. In this paper, I explain how these ideas can be interpreted within the context of the history of Islamic philosophy. I shall interpret Mīr Dāmād s views on essence, existence and priority against most eminent figures in the tradition such as Suhrawardī and Avicenna among others. As I will argue, Mīr Dāmād proposes an innovative view within the Peripatetic tradition, though he is following (his own interpretation of) Avicenna s philosophy of existence.