Abstract
Abstract This paper presents a phenomenological analysis of the argument in The First Discourse of Part 2 of Suhrawardī’s Philosophy of Illumination. Specifically, this argument is considered with regard to temporal extension of its logos, i.e., the succession of logical steps. Contrary to traditional views of Suhrawardī as a Neoplatonizing proponent of the primacy of essence over existence, the steps of his argument convey a much more nuanced picture in which ligh t emerges as the main metaphysical principle. First, Suhra wardī explicates full evidentiality in visible light (which is the most patent, ’aẓhar, from the Arabic root ẓ-h-r = ‘to appear, be [made] manifest’): this light gives us the world as “this-there”; and second, as self-evidentiality (ẓuhūru-hu, ‘being obvious to itself by itself’) in the first-person consciousness of the knower. Suhrawardī accesses these modes by reduction(s) which liberate the transcendental character of light. The correlation in the evidential mode of light between the knower and the objects serves as a ground for the claims of transcendental unity of the self and the world, and as a condition of possibility for knowledge. A juxtaposition of this approach with phenomenological philosophy suggests that in Suhrawardī’s analysis, the evidentiality of visual light plays a role of a new universal a priori. I show that under the phenomenological reduction, this a priori participates in constitution of ontological validities; and within the transcendental empiricism of the physics of light, this a priori underlies the construction of causality. Thereby, the Philosophy of Illumination suggests a new horizon of entry into transcendental phenomenological philosophy. The paper also contains a justification of a phenomenological reading of Suhrawardī’s work, including explanation of the historical reduction.
Highlights
This paper presents a phenomenological analysis of the argument in The First Discourse of Part 2 of Suhrawardī’s Philosophy of Illumination
The reason for me to choose such an approach is a dissatisfaction with merely rationalistic readings of Suhrawardī. In light of such rationalism, even Husserl’s transcendental idealism, which is not idealism per se but a transcendental philosophy grounded in the analysis of evidence, is often mistaken for idealism but even for the radical Platonic-Thomistic version of the latter.[11]
The distinction between understanding and real objects is in contrast with the situation in which simple sensations such as luminosity and sound have an identity of their actual form and their form “in the mind.”[82]. This example of self-evidence in the pregiven paves a road to the discussion of the ultimate self-evidentiality of light and its sameness in objects and in self-awareness.[83]
Summary
It is generally believed that the main feature of the Philosophy of Illumination is so-called knowledge-by-presence, which is immediate intuition of an object whose mode of existence is mental: i.e., “internal” in the terms of the natural attitude. To explicate these conditions of possibility in PI, I have to apply Husserl’s historical reduction, that is, suspend traditional interpretations provided by the historical narrative This by no means is meant to uncover some ahistorical, universal essence, but removes the claim “valid only for a particular historical time and circumstances,”[38] shifting attention away from ossified historical narrative and the empirical entities of tradition to deep layers of consciousness.[39] to better known phenomenological and transcendental reductions, historical reduction is a suspension of non-essential [not related to the structure in question] components of sense; in each case, the horizon of analysis determines how exactly this or that reduction will be performed. Historical reduction allows me exactly to suspend such concerns and focus on whether and how the genealogy of knowledge in PI contributes to the intentional unity of knowledge that mediates the ongoing self-renewal of philosophy over the course of history (cf. Husserl’s quote above)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
