Philosophy as a way of life in the world of Islam

Applying Hadot to the study of Mullā Ṣadrā Shīrāzī (d. 1635)

Bibliographic Data

ID2814798
AuthorsSajjad H Rizvi, Sajjad Rizvi (0000-0002-5443-3237, University of Exeter, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume75
Issue1
Pages33-45
Publication date2012-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0041-977X • E-ISSN: 1474-0699
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0041977x11000851
OpenAlexW2149571710
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited15

The work of the late Pierre Hadot has transformed our understanding of the practice of philosophy, especially in the pre-modern world. This article interrogates how we approach the study of later Islamic philosophy, especially the thought of the Safavid sage Mullā Ṣadrā Shīrāzī (d. 1635), and considers whether the method proposed by Hadot is applicable to this intellectual tradition. While there is much to be gained from the application of a cognate hermeneutics of the text, I also suggest that we still do not know enough about the actual practice of philosophy, of philosophical communities in the Safavid period, to consider whether it constitutes a real intellectual and structural continuity with the late antique Neoplatonic past. Nevertheless, the paradigm of approaching philosophy as a way of life propounded by Hadot does seem to be the best way of making sense of philosophy in Safavid Iran

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Antique · Contemporary philosophy · Eastern philosophy · Epistemology · Hermeneutics · Islam · Period (music) · Philosophy of life · Philosophy of religion · Sociology · Theology · Families in Therapy and Culture · History · Islamic Studies and History · Medieval and Classical Philosophy · Philosophy · Religious studies

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