Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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In order to achieve a new Islamic civilization, in between science topics such as creating works of art and architecture, it is necessary to present a conceptual model and a foundation. In terms of structure and process, this model should be comprehensive and content of each stage of the sources must be explicated according to islamic rules. In addition, this model should provide a structure, so that we can evaluate the quantitative and qualitative aspects of human processes and we should be able to  criticize it.  In thishandbook we have explain the human processes in five stages andcompulsory human processes (based on Figure - 1) are explained.

In the first stage: determination (world and people) Islamic point of view :
 At this stage of actual and potential positive and negative tendencies of human beings and their needs and their relations with each other and the world of the comparative study and analysis between Islam and other schools in the world. This step is important threads about anthropology, epistemology, god, ontology, sociology, philosophy, history and the human relationship with the natural environment and artificial world as a whole. Of topics (beliefs)and the above categories (needs and instinctive inclination) people and the concept ( Aesthetics) will be concluded by the Islamic laws.
In the second phase: the category (motivations and intentions) is voluntary and optional for every human beings.
From the perspective of Islamic motives, it is classified in five (solvents, recommended, permissible, detestable and forbidden) categories. They are called (five basic sentences ).
In the third phase: one based on perception internal motivations (conceptual and divine) wants to practice or work in the natural world, made in(Material and natural forms). Islam (the Shia school) has ten principles to concepts and forms of expression in the world of nature, which is subjective. . The humanitarian principles enables (artists, architects and urban planners) to make a detailed program and so would realize the conceptual and temporal and spatial learning with respect to the total circumstances of time and place in the natural world.
In the fourth phase: Based on the previous steps and talented person (speech, behavior or works) is produced which generally is manifested in the phenomenon of his ideas.
From an Islamic perspective, the phenomena like (incarnation) or (neutral), are nothing but a sign, such as human relationship with his own image.
In the fifth phase: works of man, material and spiritual has an impact on the audience and the subject. Material impacts are a mandatory issue and are related to the overall environmental conditions. But the spiritual influence is optional and depends on the relative audience. Artists and audiences have also two linkages. A relationship (innate, kind, eternal and fixed) and one type of relationship (relative, multiple, variable) is dependent on the total circumstances of time and place.

Islamic culture in the Shiite-based research methodology of this thesis is based on two source (wisdomand story). The above data through methods (logic) and (commentary - analysis) are investigated and approved.
According to Islam, what is (scientific), is rational and what is rational, is (Islamic) and the sources and bases of the above can be assessed and approved. In the process of this treatise, the relation of Islamic ideology with each one of the above-mentioned sources and bases will be discovered, assessed and compared with other competitive ideologies. At the end two tables will be introduced to assess the human processes. In the first table the quality impacts and content impacts will be studied and reviewed (figure number-2).
And in the second table, the effect of quantity and engineering work will be evaluated. (Figure - 3)
It can opens the door to reform of educational programs on topics such as between knowledge like (arts and architecture and urbanism).
And methods of research and design and construction management processes at all levels, are from an Islamic perspective and assist the executives and experts to assess the effects of those works.

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In our country, research on architectural design process, is based on two main theoretical approaches; one is the system of Islamic theosophy, and the other is recent empirical studies on design methodology. The main problem here, is to find out the relationship between these two viewpoints, to attend the domain›s pathology, like misunderstanding and oversight of the position and order of theories, rootlessness of empirical theories, ambiguity of theosophical implications on design methodology, extremism and wastage in holism / serialism sides, and finally choosing one and putting aside the other. So the debate is on knowledge unity rejecting polysemy.   
The macro goal of this research is to find design process, conform to epistemology rules of theosophy, and the micro goal is to draft a comprehensive, existential, meaning rolled, and transcend schemata of design process, as a conceptual model. The practical goal is to comprehend the nature of design process, in order to nurture it. The importance of this inquiry is to avoid latitudinal contest of theories, and therefore wisdom unity and conformity of knowledge stages, in a comprehensive structure of knowledge as a result. The questions of this inquiry are:
o    On a descriptive objective: what is the designerly knowledge and how can we draw a schema of its process?
o    On a causative objective: how is the conformity of designerly cognition and its roots in the epistemological map?
o    On an alteration objective: possibility of a syntactic viewpoint and longitudinal conformity of epistemological theories, instead of latitudinal selection between them
o    The inquiry has no interpretive-historical objective
The research method is under the «transcendental Realism Paradigm» framework, which is programmed and followed by a retroductive strategy. In the research process an allegoric model is derived from transcendent theosophy of Molla-Sadra (as the cognition mechanism) and then this model›s mechanism, is checked with the empirical theories of design process (as eyewitness) to see the conformability.
In the first chapter, literature and precedents of the subject are presented. The epistemological paradigms are divided to categories of pantheism and humanism. The pantheist sector contains Masha, Eshragh, and Motealieh dispositions, and the humanist sector contains Sophist, Skepticism, Realism, Positivism, Relativism, Pluralism, Existentialism, Phenomenology, and Hermeneutics. Next the history of design studies and its methodology generations, are classified into three groups: the early analysis-synthesis generation, the concept-test generation, and the late hermeneutic generation. Then the research precedents are listed as different approaches of subject inquiry, followed by design process researches within Molla-sadra theosophy framework. Critiquing the precedents on theosophical cognition and comprehension and oversight of theories, a new strategy of inquiry is conducted. Retroductive inference, conformity as methodology of Molla-sadra, a two sided viewpoint to philosophical and empirical theories, and comprehensive modeling, are mentioned as new specifications of the research.  
Chapter two belongs to research design and contains realism paradigm, retroduction strategy, and the process of inquiry. Describing the Islamic Realism and Molla-sadra›s special contributions to it (that is mystic approach to knowledge besides the philosophical-logical one), conformity method as the truth finding theory of Molla-sadra is explained. According to this idea, every difference between theories does not mean controversy and the judgment of true and false, because the two sides might be two levels of a truth in our knowledge that may conform. Then the inquiry paradigm, Transcend Realism of Bhaskar which critiqued positivism and critical rationalism (induction and deduction), is introduced. This epistemology considers our knowledge in tree domains of feeling, imagination and intellect. The intellectual domain contains mechanisms and constructs, which underlie a phenomenon seen in nature. These mechanisms are conjectured as descriptive models that are rules and patterns, witnessed by empirical studies. The research strategy of such paradigm is called Retroduction, which uses allegoric models as hypothesis of a mechanism, being tested and proved by eyewitnesses.  
The next chapter (3) is on theoretical framework of hypothesis (model). Transcend theosophical system of Molla-sadra, is chosen to be the fundamental and generative mechanism of epistemology. The philosophical hermeneutic of Gadamer is also considered to be the epistemological background of empirical design studies, because of the comprehensive viewpoint. These two theories are conformable on the essence of creativity, two sided viewpoint, unity of knowledge, and transcend thinking. This is continued by modeling hypothesis as an allegoric descriptive model, which is a core-crust schema on design process.
Chapter four informs the data collection from references, and the discussion. The resource in cognition mechanism is epistemological system of transcend theosophy of Molla-sadra, while the resources on empirical design studies are: Donald Schon›s reflective practice, Nigel Cross›s desinerly ways of knowing, and Bryan Lawson›s designers thinking skills. This part discusses conformability of Molla-Sadra theosophy and empirical theories of design study, in ten theorems on epistemology ontology (kinds of wisdom) and epistemology itself (cognition process). Theorems are consisted of: 1-implicit & explicit knowledge 2-imagination/presentation/verification 3-the whole & the part 4-schema & detail 5-design process and cognitive levels 6-cognition levels, growth & expertise 7-consciousness & unconsciousness 8-reflective thinking/practicing 9-framing/solution-led/co-evolution 10-constructive/generative reasoning.
The last chapter concludes and draws inferences of the discussion. It is concluded that the cognition mechanism in transcendent theosophy of Molla-Sadra which was constructed and presented as a core-crust descriptive and allegoric model, has an adoptive methodological conformity, with the empirical theories of design study in holistic aspects. Empirical design epistemology also, could be deducted depth wise from Molla-Sadra theosophy. Therefore, existential theosophies and hermeneutic interpretation of design studies, are not adversary theories to choose between.