The Role of Belief in the Afterlife in Giving Meaning to Life from the Perspectives of Allameh Tabataba’i and Charles Taylor

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1 ), Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Ahv.C., Islamic Azad University,Ahvaz, Iran..

2 Professor of Philosophy, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

10.22080/jepr.2026.30685.1312

Abstract

The question of the meaning of life is one of the most fundamental issues in the philosophy of religion, and belief in the afterlife plays a central role in its explanation. The aim of this study is to analyze and compare the role of belief in the afterlife in giving meaning and direction to human life from the viewpoints of Allameh Tabataba’i and Charles Taylor. The main question of the article is: How does belief in the hereafter, in the thought of these two thinkers, provide human life with meaning and orientation? This research employs a comparative, descriptive–interpretive method. The primary sources include the works of Allameh Tabataba’i—especially the Tafsir al-Mizan and his philosophical writings—as well as the works of Charles Taylor, notably A Secular Age and Sources of the Self. The findings indicate that in Allameh Tabataba’i’s intellectual framework, belief in the afterlife is interpreted on the basis of ontological foundations and the human being’s connection with a transcendent source. It explains the essence of meaning, value, and direction in life in relation to ultimate perfection and encounter with God. In contrast, Taylor—within his philosophical anthropology—views belief in the afterlife not merely as a religious doctrine but as a marker of preserving a horizon of transcendence within a secular world. Thus, despite their metaphysical and historical differences, both thinkers affirm that faith in the afterlife plays a fundamental role in endowing human life with meaning and purposiveness.

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