the mental form of a thing, immaterial and free of potency rather than a material imprint
General Technical Meaning
A cognitive form is a thing’s mental form, contrasted in the held account with the sensible form—an external thing’s shape and colour as apprehended through the senses. The plural ‘cognitive forms’ can also refer to divine cognitive forms identified with the Platonic luminous Forms.
In ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s Works
Risālat al-Manāmāt wa-l-Nubuwwāt
cognitive form — definition and use
A firmly established cognitive form is characterized as the basis from which action proceeds with ease.
Limits of this account
It does not claim that every cognitive form is already a stable disposition.
Nihāyat al-Ḥikmah
cognitive form — explanation
A cognitive form is characterized as immaterial, free of potency, and possessing the effects of its immaterial existence.
Limits of this account
It does not identify every cognitive form with a dream image or a material imprint in the brain.
Read in context
Open a passage in the edition where this term is linked.