Philosophical Mysticism & Mystical Philosophy: Western & Islamic Perspectives
- Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-GhazanI
- Duration: 8 Weeks
- Video-recorded seminars
- Audio-recorded seminars
- Guided readings
- Discussion
- Live interactive Whatsapp group with attendees and Course tutor
- Language: English (with Persian texts and translations provided)
- No prior academic background is required.
- All texts will be provided as PDFs.
Course Description. This program provides a clear, structured, and intellectually rich exploration of the relationship between philosophy and mysticism across Western and Islamic traditions. Drawing on prominent works from William James, William Alston, Richard H. Jones, Ibn ʿArabī, Plotinus, Suhrawardī, Henry Corbin, Mullā Ṣadrā, and Rūmī, this course provides both a philosophical analysis of mysticism and a philosophical study rooted in mystical insight:
Part I: Philosophical Mysticism: The philosophical study of mysticism as a phenomenon: analyzing its epistemic claims, linguistic strategies, metaphysical interpretations, and ethical implications.
- How have philosophers understood mystical experience?
- Can mystical states yield knowledge?
- What is the ethical significance of mystical life?
Part II: Mystical Philosophy: Philosophy written from within a mystical horizon: systematic ontologies, epistemologies, and ethical visions grounded in mystical realization.
- How do mystical realizations give rise to philosophical systems?
- How do concepts like the oneness of being, emanation, illumination, or modulation of existence express lived mystical vision?
- How do thinkers such as Ibn ʿArabī, Suhrawardī, Mullā Ṣadrā, and Rūmī articulate metaphysics, psychology, and ethics from within a mystical horizon?
