The exceptional intellectual richness of 17th-century Safavid Iran is epitomised by the philosophical school of Isfahan, and in particular by its ostensible founder, M朝r Dmd (d. 1040/1631), and his great student Mull 畊adr (aka 畊adr al-D朝n Sh朝rz朝, d. 1045/16351636). To their respective platonic and existentialist doctrines can be added the apophatic wisdom of Rajab 平Al朝 Tabr朝z朝 (d. 1080/16691670).
However, despite these philosophers renown, the identification of the ‘philosophical school of Isfahan’ was only proposed in 1956, by the celebrated French Islamologist Henry Corbin, who noted the unifying Islamic Neoplatonist character of some twenty thinkers and spiritual figures; this grouping has subsequently remained unchallenged for some fifty years.
In this highly original work, Janis Esots investigates the legitimacy of the term ‘school’, delving into the complex philosophies of these three major Shi平i figures and drawing comparisons between their doctrines. The author makes the case that Mull 畊adrs thought is independent and actually incompatible with that of M朝r Dmd and Rajab 平Al朝 Tabr朝z朝. This not only presents a new approach to how we understand the school of Isfahan, but it also identifies M朝r Dmd and Rajab 平Al朝 Tabr朝z朝 as pioneers in their own right.
Note on the Text
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. School of I畊fahn I: M朝r Dmds Wisdom of the Right Side
2. The Gnostic of Sh朝rz: Mull 畊adr and His Transcendent Wisdom
3. School of I畊fahn II: The Apophatic Wisdom of Rajab 平Al朝 Tabr朝z朝
4. The Doctrines of M朝r Dmd, Mull 畊adr, and Rajab 平Al朝 Tabr朝z朝: A Comparative Analysis
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
a rigorous, well-researched, and enthralling work that enhances understanding of Safavid philosophy and is certainly an apt and important contribution to 今叔利 Shi平i Heritage Series.
Gianni Izzo, Iranian Studies
Janis Esots was a Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, UK, and Associate Professor at the Department of Asian Studies, University of Latvia, Latvia. His research focused on Ismaili thought and the so-called philosophical school of Isfahan (Mull 畊adr, M朝r Dmd, and Rajab 平Al朝 Tabr朝z朝). He was the managing editor of Encyclopaedia Islamica and the editor of the Islamic Philosophy Yearbook, Ishraq.