Humans and Meaning: A Rereading of ‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī’s Views in al-Mīzān and Philosophical Works Brief observations by Dr. Ahmed Pakatchi [https://t.me/OstadPakatchi/1774] In all 20 volumes of Tafsīr al-Mīzān, ‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī speaks about humans, because the topic of humans and meaning is very crucial for him. ‘Allāmah speaks about “meaning” in his treatise titled al-Insān fī al-Dunyā, under the discussion on the division of sciences. He deems a segment of meaning that exists in our mind to be a consequence of interaction with real worldly existence. In other words, our knowledge comes into existence based on our relationship with existence in external reality. In the view of ‘Allāmah, another portion of our knowledge is a consequence of our faculty of governing (mutaṣarrifa) which does not consider any existence in external reality. He considers these to be conventional (i‘tibārī) existences. My personal understanding is that ‘Allāmah considers meanings to be a product of human life and believes there is a relationship between construction of meanings and life. According to him, construction of meaning is an innate (fiṭrī) matter of humans and humans are created innately in a way that they are always seeking meaning in life. Many years ago, while I was reading the treatise on I‘tibārīyyāt of ‘Allāmah, I came across a point which caught my attention. In many of the theories that have been presented in the last century, scholars have addressed the topic of human needs and necessities, but in my opinion ‘Allāmah has not studied those theories yet instead presented a novel theory himself. When he discusses the topic of conventions, one of the matters that is important for him is the discussion on human needs and necessities. He introduces the discussion on human needs with a simple example such as the need for food, but given how complex humans are, in Tafsīr al-Mīzān we witness how he points out deeper and more profound humans needs, and this can help us uncover a more comprehensive theory on the relationship of humans and meaning. In some places where ‘Allāmah talks about Tawḥīd and says humans are innately monotheists, he mentions the urge to seek one God as a human need.