Islamic Philosophy and Occidental Phenomenology in Dialogue – Serie

Although inquiries in phenomenology have offered us alternative interpretations of the history of philosophy, no research has been thoroughly conducted on the correspondences between Occidental Phenomenology and Islamic Philosophy. This book is the first in the series: Occidental Phenomenology and Islamic Philosophy in Dialogue, the main aim of which is to engage in a philosophical exploration, bringing back to the philosophical arena key philosophical issues presently forgotten; issues that underlie both of these intellectual projects revived and critically enriched with contemporary insights, will return to their proper significance for future philosophy.

The human person – thrown into turmoil by the new approaches to life and needing to acquire new habits of mind, having lost security of all beliefs – desperately seeks a new clarification of the Human Condition within the unity of everything-there-is, of cosmic forces, and of his destiny.

From time immemorial, concern with timing of life has been crucial for the regulation of human praxis as well as for the philosophical quest to understand existence by seeking its meaning. The two used to inform each other, until modernity, when they parted. In spite of the extensive progress in manipulating change and motion, and of the abundance of metaphysical attempts to enlighten human beings about their fate, the puzzling nature of temporality and timing of reality remains controversial.The present collection of studies seeks a new answer by initiating a novel investigation informed by the ancient wisdom of the Greaco-Arabic-Islamic sources and inheritance, on the one side, and the contemporary discernment of Occidental phenomenology of life, on the other, in a common dialogical effort to unravel this great enigma of existence.Papers by: Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, William C. Chittick, Reza Akbarian, Daniela Verducci, Michael F. Andrews, Seyyed Mohammed Khamenei,Nader El-Bizri, Mehdi Aminrazavi, Massimo Durante, Abdul Rahim Afaki, Maria-Chiara Teloni, A.L. Samian, Kathleen Haney, Jad Hatem, Robert J. Dobie, Michel Dion.

This book provides a multi-perspective insight into the understanding of Life in Islamic Philosophies.Philosophers, mystics, and poets from a variety of Islamic countries, schools, and worldviews are introduced and debated.

This book offers a novel philosophical system - Sufi Phenomenology - rooted in the shared pursuit of essence and truth within two major traditions: Sufism and phenomenology. While these traditions have historically been studied separately, their intersection reveals profound insights into consciousness, experience, and the nature of existence. By adopting phenomenological terminology and integrating Sufi metaphysical insights, this text introduces a fresh perspective on reality, bridging rational analysis and spiritual intuition. Sufi Phenomenology emerges as a distinct philosophical approach that reinterprets fundamental phenomenological structures through the lens of Sufi thought and explores key themes such as the nature of Eidos, Aʿyān-i Thābita, Consciousness, Reason, and Logos, illuminating dimensions of existence shaped by spiritual experience. This book is essential for scholars and students of phenomenology, Islamic philosophy, and comparative philosophy, as well as those exploring the intersections of science, spirituality, and human cognition. By offering a new paradigm that harmonizes Eastern and Western thought, Sufi Phenomenology opens new pathways for philosophical inquiry and personal transformation.

With some exceptions, there is not a real interest in Islamic philosophy and t- ology in Western institutions today.

Over the millennia, philosophy has sought the ultimate understanding of the full human horizon of existence as well as of human destiny and the ultimate sense of it All.

The human person – thrown into turmoil by the new approaches to life and needing to acquire new habits of mind, having lost security of all beliefs – desperately seeks a new clarification of the Human Condition within the unity of everything-there-is, of cosmic forces, and of his destiny.

From time immemorial, concern with timing of life has been crucial for the regulation of human praxis as well as for the philosophical quest to understand existence by seeking its meaning.

Rationality in its various expressions and innumerable applications sustains understanding and our sense of reality. This project is enhanced by the wave of recent phenomenology/ontopoiesis of life, which reveals the workings of the logos at the root of beingness and all rationality, whereby we gaze upon the prospect of a New Enlightenment.

With some exceptions, there is not a real interest in Islamic philosophy and t- ology in Western institutions today.

A world ever more extensively interlinked is calling out for serving human interests broader and more compelling than those inspiring our technological welfare. The interface between cultures – at the moment especially between the Occident and Islam – presents challenges to mutual understandings and calls for restoring the resources of our human beings forgotten in the struggle of competition and rivalry at the vital spheres of existence. In the evolutionary progress of the living beings the strictly vital concerns, emotions, attributes become sublimed and elevated to the spiritual sphere at which human beings encounter each other and share. Studies presented here bring forth sublimity, generosity, forgiveness, beauty, and are exalting the quest after ciphers and symbols which lead to our sharing the common deepest stream of fraternal reality.

Rationality in its various expressions and innumerable applications sustains understanding and our sense of reality. This project is enhanced by the wave of recent phenomenology/ontopoiesis of life, which reveals the workings of the logos at the root of beingness and all rationality, whereby we gaze upon the prospect of a New Enlightenment.

In the evolutionary progress of the living beings the strictly vital concerns, emotions, attributes become sublimed and elevated to the spiritual sphere at which human beings encounter each other and share.

The contributions, composed in this volume, are inspired not only by the necessity but also by the potentialities of a process which continues and deepens cross-cultural understanding, especially between Islamic and Western philosophy.