Iranian philosophy ( Persian: فلسفه ایرانی) or Persian philosophy can be traced back as far as to Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient Indo-Iranian roots and were considerably influenced by Zarathustra's teachings. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, the chronology of the subject and science of philosophy starts with the Indo-Iranians, dating this event to 1500 BC. The Oxford dictionary also states, "Zarathustra's philosophy entered to influence Western tradition through

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

, and therefore on Middle Platonism." Throughout Iranian history and due to remarkable political and social changes such as the Arab and

Mongol invasions The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206-1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastation ...

of Persia, a wide spectrum of schools of thoughts showed a variety of views on philosophical questions extending from Old Iranian and mainly

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

-related traditions, to schools appearing in the late pre-Islamic era such as Manicheism and

Mazdakism Mazdakism was an Iranian religion, which was an offshoot of Zoroastrianism. The religion has been called one of the most noteworthy examples of pre-modern communism. The religion was founded in the early Sasanian Empire by Zardusht, a Zoroas ...

as well as various post-Islamic schools. Iranian philosophy after the

Muslim conquest of Persia The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The ...

, is characterized by different interactions with the Old Iranian philosophy, the

Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empi ...

and with the development of

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...

. The Illumination School and the

Transcendent Philosophy Transcendent theosophy or al-hikmat al-muta’āliyah (حكمت متعاليه), the doctrine and philosophy developed by Persian philosopher Mulla Sadra (d.1635 CE), is one of two main disciplines of Islamic philosophy that are currently live ...

are regarded as two of the main philosophical traditions of that era in Persia.

Ancient Iranian Philosophy

Zoroastrianism

The teachings of Zarathustra (Zoroaster) appeared in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

at some point during the period 1700-1800 BCE. His wisdom became the basis of the religion

, and generally influenced the development of the

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

branch of Indo-Iranian philosophy. Zarathustra was the first who treated the problem of evil in philosophical terms. He is also believed to be one of the oldest

monotheists Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...

in the history of religion. He espoused an ethical philosophy based on the primacy of ''good thoughts (andiše-e-nik), good words (goftâr-e-nik), and good deeds (kerdâr-e-nik).'' The works of Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism had a significant influence on

and

Roman philosophy Ancient Roman philosophy was heavily influenced by the ancient Greeks and the schools of Hellenistic philosophy; however, unique developments in philosophical schools of thought occurred during the Roman period as well. Interest in philosophy was ...

. Several

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

writers such as

Eudoxus of Cnidus Eudoxus of Cnidus (; grc, Εὔδοξος ὁ Κνίδιος, ''Eúdoxos ho Knídios''; ) was an ancient Greek astronomer, mathematician, scholar, and student of Archytas and Plato. All of his original works are lost, though some fragments are ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

writers such as

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

praised Zoroastrian philosophy as "the most famous and most useful".

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

learnt of Zoroastrian philosophy through Eudoxus and incorporated much of it into his own

Platonic realism Platonic realism is the philosophical position that universals or abstract objects exist objectively and outside of human minds. It is named after the Greek philosopher Plato who applied realism to such universals, which he considered ideal ...

. In the 3rd century BC, however,

Colotes Colotes of Lampsacus ( el, Κολώτης Λαμψακηνός, ''Kolōtēs Lampsakēnos''; c. 320 – after 268 BC) was a pupil of Epicurus, and one of the most famous of his disciples. He wrote a work to prove "That it is impossible even to live a ...

accused Plato's '' The Republic'' of plagiarizing parts of Zoroaster's On Nature, such as the

Myth of Er The Myth of Er is a legend that concludes Plato's ''Republic'' (10.614–10.621). The story includes an account of the cosmos and the afterlife that greatly influenced religious, philosophical, and scientific thought for many centuries. The story ...

. Zarathustra was known as a sage, magician and miracle-worker in post-Classical Western culture, though almost nothing was known of his ideas until the late eighteenth century. By this time his name was associated with lost ancient wisdom and was appropriated by

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and other groups who claimed access to such knowledge. He appears in Mozart's opera

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

("Die Zauberflöte") under the variant name "Sarastro", who represents moral order in opposition to the "Queen of the Night". Enlightenment writers such as

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

promoted research into Zoroastrianism in the belief that it was a form of rational

Deism Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning " god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation o ...

, preferable to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. In 2005, the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy ranked Zarathustra as first in the chronology of philosophers. Zarathustra's impact lingers today due in part to the system of rational ethics he founded called Mazda-Yasna. The word Mazda-Yasna is

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

and is translated as "Worship of Wisdom" in English. The encyclopedia

Natural History (Pliny) The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors ...

claims that Zoroastrians later educated the Greeks who, starting with

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His poli ...

, used a similar term, philosophy, or “love of wisdom” to describe the search for ultimate truth.

Greco-Persian Era

Little is known of the situation of philosophy during the time of the ancient Greek philosophers. We know that the Persian culture had an influence on the creation of

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy * STOIC, a programming language * ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll * ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain * ...

school of thought, but nothing has been left in Persian writings.

Manichaeism

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...

, founded by

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshina ...

, was influential from

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

in the West, to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

in the East. Its influence subtly continues in Western Christian thought via Saint

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, who converted to Christianity from Manichaeism, which he passionately denounced in his writings, and whose writings continue to be influential among Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox

theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

. An important principle of Manichaeism was its

dualistic cosmology Dualism in cosmology or dualistic cosmology is the moral or spiritual belief that two fundamental concepts exist, which often oppose each other. It is an umbrella term that covers a diversity of views from various religions, including both traditi ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, which is shared with

Mazdak Mazdak ( fa, مزدک, Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭦𐭣𐭪, also Mazdak the Younger; died c. 524 or 528) was a Zoroastrian ''mobad'' (priest), Iranian reformer, prophet and religious reformer who gained influence during the reign of the Sasanian empe ...

ism, a philosophy founded by Mazdak. Under this dualism, there were two original principles of the universe: Light, the good one; and Darkness, the evil one. These two had been mixed by a cosmic accident, and man's role in this life was through good conduct to release the parts of himself that belonged to Light. Mani saw the mixture of good and bad as a cosmic tragedy, while Mazdak viewed this in a more neutral, even optimistic way.

Mazdakism

The Iranian prophet Mazdak being executed

(d. 524/528 CE) was a proto-

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

Persian reformer who gained influence under the reign of the

Sassanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

king Kavadh I. He claimed to be a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...

of God and instituted communal possessions and social welfare programs. In many ways Mazdak's teaching can be understood as a call for social

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, and has been referred to as early "

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

"Wherry, Rev. E. M. "A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran and Preliminary Discourse", 1896. pp 66. or proto-socialism.

Zurvanism

Zurvanism Zurvanism is a fatalistic religious movement of Zoroastrianism in which the divinity Zurvan is a first principle (primordial creator deity) who engendered equal-but-opposite twins, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Zurvanism is also known as "Zu ...

is characterized by the element of its First Principle which is Time, "Zurvan", as a primordial creator. According to Zaehner, Zurvanism appears to have three schools of thought all of which have classical Zurvanism as their foundation:

Aesthetic Zurvanism

Aesthetic Zurvanism which was apparently not as popular as the ''materialistic'' kind, viewed Zurvan as undifferentiated Time, which, under the influence of desire, divided into reason (a male principle) and concupiscence (a female principle).

Materialist Zurvanism

While Zoroaster's

Ormuzd Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna'' ...

created the universe with his thought, materialist Zurvanism challenged the concept that anything could be made out of nothing.

Fatalistic Zurvanism

Fatalistic Zurvanism resulted from the doctrine of limited time with the implication that nothing could change this preordained course of the material universe and that the path of the astral bodies of the 'heavenly sphere' was representative of this preordained course. According to the

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle P ...

work

Menog-i Khrad The ''Mēnōg-ī Khrad'' () or ''Spirit of Wisdom'' is one of the most important secondary texts in Zoroastrianism written in Middle Persian. Also transcribed in Pazend as Minuy-e X(e/a)rad and New Persian ''Minu-ye Xeræd'', the text is a Zoroastr ...

: "

Ohrmazd Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...

allotted happiness to man, but if man did not receive it, it was owing to the extortion of these planets."

Classical Islamic period

The intellectual tradition in

continued after Islam and was of great influence on the further development of Iranian Philosophy. The main schools for such studies were, and to some extents still are, Shiraz, Khurasan, Maragheh, Isfahan, Tehran.

Avicennism

In the

Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...

, due to

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic ...

's (Ibn Sina's; born near

Bukhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city ...

) successful reconciliation between

Aristotelianism Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the so ...

and

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ...

along with

Kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...

, Avicennism eventually became the leading school of

by the 12th century. Avicenna had become a central authority on philosophy by then, and several scholars in the 12th century commented on his strong influence at the time: Avicennism was also influential in

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, particularly his doctrines on the nature of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

and his

existence Existence is the ability of an entity to interact with reality. In philosophy, it refers to the ontological property of being. Etymology The term ''existence'' comes from Old French ''existence'', from Medieval Latin ''existentia/exsistentia' ...

essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

distinction, along with the debates and censure that they raised in scholastic Europe. This was particularly the case in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, where Avicennism was later

proscribed Proscription ( la, proscriptio) is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' ('' Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originate ...

in 1210. Nevertheless, his

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

and theory of knowledge influenced

William of Auvergne William of Auvergne (1180/90–1249) was a French theologian and philosopher who served as Bishop of Paris from 1228 until his death. He was one of the first western European philosophers to engage with and comment extensively upon Aristotelian ...

and

Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his li ...

, and his

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

influenced the thought of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, Dominican Order, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino, Italy, Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest who was an influential List of Catholic philo ...

Illuminationism

Illuminationist philosophy was a school of Islamic philosophy founded by

Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi "Shihāb ad-Dīn" Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardī ( fa, شهاب‌الدین سهروردی, also known as Sohrevardi) (1154–1191) was a PersianEdward Craig, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "al-Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din Yahya (1154-91)" Ro ...

in the 12th century. This school is a combination of

's philosophy and ancient Iranian philosophy, along with many new innovative ideas of Suhrawardi. It is often described as having been influenced by

Transcendent theosophy

Transcendent theosophy Transcendent theosophy or al-hikmat al-muta’āliyah (حكمت متعاليه), the doctrine and philosophy developed by Persian philosopher Mulla Sadra (d.1635 CE), is one of two main disciplines of Islamic philosophy that are currently live an ...

is the school of Islamic philosophy founded by Mulla Sadra in the 17th century. Mulla Sadra bought "a new philosophical insight in dealing with the nature of

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, re ...

" and created "a major transition from

essentialism Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Plato's idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In ''Categories'', Aristotle sim ...

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and val ...

" in Islamic philosophy, several centuries before this occurred in Western philosophy.

Contemporary Iranian philosophy

Philosophy was and still is a popular subject of study in Iran. Previous to Western-style universities, philosophy was a major field of study in religious seminaries. Comparing the number of philosophy books currently published in Iran with that in other countries, Iran possibly ranks first in this field but it is definitely on top in terms of publishing philosophy books

https://archive.today/20131204114301/http://eepat.net/doku.php?id=interviews:islam_philosophy_and_education]

Main Trends

On the diversity and expansion of philosophy in Iran,

Khosrow Bagheri Khosrow Bagheri Noaparast (in Persian: خسرو باقری نوع پرست) is an Iranian philosopher, educational theorist and the president of Philosophy of Education Society of Iran (PESI). Biography Bagheri was born in 1957 in Tehran. He ...

has stated "One part of philosophical endeavor in Iran today, and perhaps the main one is concerned with the local philosophy which is dominated by the school of Mulla Sadra. He has provided a philosophy in line with the old metaphysical inclination but in the feature of a combination of mysticism, philosophy, and the Islamic religious views. On the other hand, a relatively strong translation movement has been shaped in which the Iranian readers are provided by some of the important sources of contemporary philosophy in Persian including both the analytic and continental traditions. In the former, Wittgenstein, Searle, and Kripke, and in the latter, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Foucault can be mentioned. There have also been concentrations on a local polar contrast between Popper and Heidegger, and, due to the religious atmosphere, on the philosophy of religion." It is also important to note that

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...

has had a great amount of influence on Iranian/Persian philosophy.

Impact on World Philosophy

There are some instances where the effect of Iranian philosophy is traceable in contemporary world philosophers.

Henry Corbin Henry Corbin (14 April 1903 – 7 October 1978)Shayegan, DaryushHenry Corbin in Encyclopaedia Iranica. was a French philosopher, theologian, and Iranologist, professor of Islamic studies at the École pratique des hautes études. He was in ...

is one such instance whose major work on Central Asian and Iranian

appears in ''The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism''. His

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

is the four volume ''En Islam Iranien: Aspects spirituels et philosophiques''. It has been translated into Persian twice from French.

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New ...

is another example who has expressed the significance of Iranian and Islamic philosophy in the case of

subjectivity Subjectivity in a philosophical context has to do with a lack of objective reality. Subjectivity has been given various and ambiguous definitions by differing sources as it is not often the focal point of philosophical discourse.Bykova, Marina ...

and how Iranian philosophers had already beaten the path which was later completed by modern philosophy. In this regard he has emphasized the role of

Nadia Maftouni Nadia Maftouni ( fa, نادیا مفتونی, born 14 January 1966) is an Iranian academic, philosophical author and artist. She is best known as a leading Researcher on Farabian, Avicennian and Suhrawardian philosophy with her modern reading ...

in shedding the light on early views of Islamic philosophers about Imagination:

Now I come with what the work of
Nadia Maftouni Nadia Maftouni ( fa, نادیا مفتونی, born 14 January 1966) is an Iranian academic, philosophical author and artist. She is best known as a leading Researcher on Farabian, Avicennian and Suhrawardian philosophy with her modern reading ...
means to me. Maybe this is a little bit of a wild reading but I will brutally impose my view. In her dealings of imagination, she demonstrates that already ancient Islamic philosophy went this way; namely she goes beyond
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
. Aristotle has a theory of imagination and if we take away some subversive hints it’s a pretty traditional theory of imagination. My main point is this one: In the
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
we usually reduce imagination to something subjective as opposed to objective reality. Things are out there, they are what they are in their
identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...
, maybe this identity is not fully known to us but it exists out there. And then imagination is subjective. We project something on the objects, we fill in the gaps in our knowledge and so on. But I think what we learn from the tradition which is close to me from
German idealism German idealism was a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutiona ...
,
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
and others in the
20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nucle ...
, up to—if I may engage in this wild speculation—up to philosophical implications of
quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...
, is that objectively also things are not simply what they are. What a thing is imminently implies the space of some kind of
ontological In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exi ...
imagination—imagination in the thing itself—what this thing might have been but didn’t become; what is a secret potential in the thing. So, to understand a thing means not only forget about your mind, focus just on what that thing really is. To understand a thing means to include into its identity, all its potentialities. Maftouni demonstrates that already ancient Islamic philosophy went this way.

Philosophical Journals

Among journals being published in Iran on philosophy, there are ''FALSAFEH-The Iranian Journal of Philosophy

published by the department of philosophy of the University of Tehran since 1972 and ''Hikmat va Falsafeh'' published by Allamah Tabataba'i University in Tehran, ''Ma'rifat-e Falsafeh'' published by the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom, and many others. Also worthy of mention is the journal, ''Naqd o Nazar'' published by Daftar Tablighat in Qom, which often includes articles on philosophical topics and other issues of interest to religious thinkers and intellectuals.

List of schools and philosophers

Ancient Iranian philosophy

** Zarathustra (Zoroaster) **

Hystaspes Vishtaspa ( ae, 𐬬𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬁𐬯𐬞𐬀 ; peo, 𐎻𐏁𐎫𐎠𐎿𐎱, ), hellenized as Hystáspes (, ), may refer to: * Vishtaspa ( fl. between 10th and 6th century BCE, if historical), the first patron of Zoroaster * Hystaspes (fat ...

Jamasp Jamasp (also spelled Zamasp or Djamasp; pal, 𐭩𐭠𐭬𐭠𐭮𐭯; fa, جاماسپ ''Jāmāsp'') was Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 496 to 498/9. He was a son of Peroz I and younger brother of Kavad I. Jamasp was installed on the Sasa ...

, Old Iranian nobleman, regarded as one of the first Iranian philosophers, see also

book '' Jamasp Namag''. **

Ostanes Ostanes (from Ancient Greek, Greek ), also spelled Hostanes and Osthanes, is a legendary Persians, Persian magus and alchemist. It was the pen-name used by several pseudepigraphy, pseudo-anonymous authors of Greek and Latin works from Hellenistic ...

Tansar Tansar () was a Zoroastrian Herbadan Herbad (Chief judge) in late Parthian Empire And one of the supporters of Ardashir I. Tansar was apparently a Parthian aristocrat, but he turned to Neoplatonic beliefs. Then he joined Ardashir I and became Herba ...

, influential Persian high priest (

mobad A Mobed, Mowbed, or Mobad (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭢𐭥𐭯𐭲) is a Zoroastrian cleric of a particular rank. Unlike an '' herbad'' (''ervad''), a ''mobed'' is qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the Yasna ceremony and other higher liturgic ...

) considered one of the pivotal figures in the development of the political philosophy of the Sassanian state based on the concept of ''vohu kshathra'' or ''huxwadāīh'' ("Good Sovereignty") ** Mardan-Farrux Ohrmazddadan **Denkard#Date and authorship, Adurfarnbag Farroxzadan **Denkard#Date and authorship, Adurbad Emedan **Azar Kayvan **''Avesta'' **''Gathas'' *Anacharsis, a Scythians, Scythian philosopher *Persian Sibyl *

, Iranian proto-socialism in the Sassanid Empire **

**Mazdak#Origins, Mazdak the Elder *

*University of Gundishapur ** Burzoe, Borzouye, Persian philosopher, physician and Chancellor (''vizier'') of the Sassanid Empire, Persian court, inventor of Backgammon. Borzouye wrote several books such as the translation of ''Panchatantra'' into

and ''Burzoe's quotes''. His philosophical ideas were described by Ibn al-Muqaffa. ** Bukhtishu, Bakhtshooa Gondishapuri * Khosrau I, Emperor Khosrau's Khosrau I#Philosopher King, philosophical discourses **Paul the Persian *''Pahlavi literature''

Islamic period

*Al-Farabi *Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi *Miskawayh *

*Al-Ghazali, Imam Mohammad Ghazali Tusi *Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani *Iranshahri *Rhazes, Zakaria Razi *Qutb-al-din Razi *Afdal al-Din Kashani Persian genius Philosopher in 12th century. *Fakhr al-Din Razi known as Imam Fakhr Razi *Nasir al-Din Tusi *Zakariya Qazwini *Farid al-Din Attar (Attar Nishapuri) *Umar Suhrawardi *Umar Khayyam *Ashraf Jahangir Semnani *Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani, Ali Hamedani *Rumi, Mowlana Jalal ad-Din Balkhi (Rumi) *Mahmoud Shabestari *Lahiji, Shams al-Din Lahiji *Shah Nimatullah, Nematollah Vali Kermani *Jami, Abdol-Rahman Jami *

and Illumination School *Mulla Sadra, Sadr al-Din Dashtaki Shiraz School *Mir Damad and Isfahan School * Mulla Sadra and

*Rajab Ali Tabrizi *Qazi Sa’id Qumi *Mulla Hadi Sabzevari and Neyshabor School *Reza Davari Ardakani *Hossein Elahi Ghomshei *Mahmoud Khatami *

*Abdolkarim Soroush *Ahmad Fardid *Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani In the history of Islamic philosophy, there were a few Persian philosophers who had their own schools of philosophy:

, al-Farabi,

and Mulla Sadra. Some philosophers did not offer a new philosophy, rather they had some innovations: Mirdamad, Khajeh Nasir and Qutb al-Din Shirazi belong to this group.

Iranian Baháʼí philosophy

`Abdu'l-Bahá, son and successor of the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, has explained the Baháʼí philosophy in the work ''Some Answered Questions''. This text has been analyzed by Baháʼí scholars Ian Kluge and Ali Murad Davudi.Ali Murad Davudi, Davudi, Ali Murad (2013).
Human Station in the Baháʼí Faith: Selected Sections: Philosophy and Knowledge of the Divine.
' Juxta Publishing Co., Hong Kong.

References

External links

Iranian philosophy
(in Persian)

{{Philosophy topics Iranian philosophy, Philosophy by culture Philosophy in Iran