Anthropological Argument for a Personal and Loving God

Hashemi, Seyyed Mohsen; Darabi, Kokab

doi:10.22034/imjpl.2026.23016.1257

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

¹ Department of Philosophy of Religion, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Philosophy and Islamic Theology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/imjpl.2026.23016.1257

Abstract

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVE: This study, using an anthropological approach in philosophy of religion, explores whether divine personal attributes and love can be inferred from the existential structure of the human being. It asks how natural human desires for truth, goodness, and happiness can lead to the necessity of a personal and loving God, and aims to address the limitations of purely cosmological arguments in moving from a “necessary being” to a “personal God.”
METHOD & FINDING: Using an analytical–argumentative method grounded in philosophical anthropology, the study analyzes concepts such as personhood, human dignity, and natural desires for truth, goodness, and happiness. Relying on the principle that no natural desire is in vain, it argues that these inclinations point to a corresponding ultimate end. The findings suggest that human happiness is only fully realized in a reciprocal relationship based on knowledge and love; therefore, the ultimate end must be an aware, free, and love-capable being.
CONCLUSION: Human intrinsic desires for truth, goodness, and happiness imply not only an absolute end but also divine personality and love. A personal and loving God is thus presented as the most coherent explanation for human dignity and ultimate fulfillment, bridging the gap between the concept of a “necessary being” and that of a “personal and beloved God.”

Keywords

Main Subjects

Philosophical and Theological Knowledge

OPEN ACCESS

©2026 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References

The Holy Quran.

Aquinas, T. (1947). Summa Theologiae (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.; Vols. 1–3). Benziger Brothers.

Aquinas, T. (1956). On the Truth of the Catholic Faith: Summa Contra Gentiles, Book Two: Creation (J. F. Anderson, Trans.). Doubleday & Company.

Aristotle. (1986). De Anima (H. Lawson-Tancred, Trans.). Penguin Classics.

Aristotle. (1999). Nicomachean Ethics (T. Irwin, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Hackett Publishing Company.

Brümmer, V. (2005). The Model of Love: A Study in Philosophical Theology. Cambridge University Press.

Feser, E. (2017). Five Proofs of the Existence of God. Ignatius Press.

Feuerbach, L. (1967). Lectures on the Essence of Religion (R. Manheim, Trans.). Harper & Row.

Finnis, J. (2011). Natural Law and Natural Rights (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Freud, S. (1961). The Future of an Illusion (J. Strachey, Trans.). W. W. Norton & Company.

Islaminasab, H. A., & Moridian, H. (2023). A Critical Approach to Human Position in the Universe from the Perspectives of Deepak Chopra Based on Mulla Sadra's Thoughts. International Multidisciplinary Journal of Pure Life (IMJPL), 10(36), 57–80. https://doi.org/10.22034/imjpl.2023.16048.1100

Kant, I. (1996). Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (M. Gregor, Trans.). Cambridge University Press.

Kant, I. (1997). Critique of Practical Reason (M. Gregor, Trans.). Cambridge University Press.

Lebens, S. (2022). Is God a Person? Maimonides, Crescas, and Beyond. Religious Studies, 58(S1), S34–S60.

Lonergan, B. (1972). Method in Theology. University of Toronto Press.

Maritain, J. (1943). The Rights of Man and Natural Law. Charles Scribner's Sons.

Maritain, J. (1959). The Degrees of Knowledge (G. B. Phelan, Trans.). Scribner's Sons.

McGrath, A. E. (2011). Christian Theology: An Introduction (5th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Mohammadrezaei, M. (2010). Tabyīn wa Naqd-e Falsafe-ye Akhlāq-e Kant [Exposition and Critique of Kant's Moral Philosophy] (1st ed., 2nd rev. ed.). Bustan-e Ketab. [In Persian]

Page, B. (2019). Wherein Lies the Debate? Concerning Whether God is a Person. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 85, 297–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-018-9694-x

Peterson, M., et al. (1997). Reason and Religious Belief (A. Naraghi & E. Soltani, Trans.). Tarh-e Now. [In Persian]

Pieper, J. (1965). Happiness and Contemplation (R. Winston & C. Winston, Trans.). University of Notre Dame Press.

Wessling, J. (2020). Love Divine. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198852483.001.0001

Anthropological Argument for a Personal and Loving God

References

References

Volume 13, Issue 45 - Serial Number 1March 2026Pages 85-106

Volume 13, Issue 45 - Serial Number 1
March 2026
Pages 85-106