An Islamic Subversion of the Existence-Essence Distinction? :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Suhraward and the doctrine of Light MysticismABSTRACT The musical note in the midst of worldly concern and centre within contingent beings is one of the foundational, hegemonic ideas of the discourse of medieval philosophy. Building upon neo-Platonic precursors, thinkers much(prenominal) as Avicenna, Aquinas and William of Auvergne discussed this issue and debated the nature of the distinction. However, one Islamic philosopher who was to keep up a lasting impact upon the development of philosophical discourse in Iran, subverted the traditional Peripatetic visions of reality and brought into question the very nature of fractional of the distinction existence. Through a critique of the Peripatetic notion of existence, Suhrawardi (c.1191) shows how the distinction is absurd and irrelevant for metaphysical inquiry. Suhrawardi refuses to accept traditional Peripatetic reality and has little need for the distinctions role in affirming contingency and the existence of a Necessary E xistence. Later Islamic philosophys insistence on an essentialist reading of Suhrawardi could be described as a category mistake confusing his judgment of light with their concept of existence. An analysis of his major texts will show how this cannot be the case. Finally, an attempt will be made to explain this misreading and insinuate that the Platonic hermeneutic of essential vision which Suhrawardi expounds might be the actor for it. Shihb al-Dn Suhraward exe.1191 was an influential mystical philosopher and founder of the school of ishrq (illumination) whose phenomenological visual sense of reality led him to reject the concrete nature of existence. Suhrawards position on existence and his basic rejection of a metaphysics of distinction represent both an alternative to Peripatetic metaphysics as well as provide a keystone to understanding the radical synthesis of later Islamic philosophy by Mull adr d.1641. The central issue revolves around an anachronistic reading of a lat er aporia where does Suhraward stand on the question of primacy within the distinction between existence and essence? Is essence or existence primary ? traditionally this question has been answered by Mull adr and his school by stating that Suhraward believed in aslat al-mhiyya (primacy of quiddity). This claim has to be verified and explained. Four central questions emerge. What does existence signify for Suhraward and is it ontologically distinguished from being? Is light the same as being as understood by adr? How does Suhraward understand the distinction and relate it to his metaphysics of contingency?i) Wujd and Existence in SuhrawardSuhraward sets out in the logic of ikmat al-Ishrq, The wisdom of illumination his get along magnum opus, to deconstruct the distinction through a critique of the Peripatetic system of definition.