Philosophy Faculty Publications

Poetry as an Essential Tool of Philosophical Inquiry and Writing in Later Islamic Philosophy: The Case of Mullā Ṣadrā

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2020

Publication Source

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Abstract

The function of poetry in Islamic philosophy frequently has been reduced to a tool that simply serves a reader-oriented dual purpose of either simplification or mystification of philosophical ideas. In such accounts, poetry is considered as a venue of expressing philosophical truths either as sugar-coated for the unsophisticated masses, or cloaked in mystery to avoid the hostility of religious fanatics. On the opposite extreme is the account that regards poetry as a portal to a different level of consciousness or existence. In contrast to the first approach, the latter primarily addresses the experience of the philosopher-poet rather than the convenience of the reader. At the technical level, these two approaches also disagree on the question of distinction between allegorical and symbolic writings in the context of Islamic philosophy. The first approach is best represented by Dimitri Gutas. In his analysis and interpretation of Avicenna’s use of symbolism, Gutas argues that Avicenna simply draws on images and symbols to convey the same philosophical content as those of his non-symbolic texts via “a method of presentation that was inferior to the demonstrative” sometimes for the sake of those “who are unable to understand syllogistic argumentation,” and sometimes “to conceal from the common people” the literal meanings of those philosophical principles that they were likely to misunderstand. From this point of view, Gutas also rejects any essential difference between allegory and symbol except for formal differences in the mechanics of poetics.

Inclusive pages

56-73

ISBN/ISSN

0149-1784

Publisher

Villanova University

Volume

43

Issue

4

Peer Reviewed

yes


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