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

Suhraward and the philosophy of Light MysticismABSTRACT The distinction between existence and essence within contingent beings is one of the foundational, hegemonic ideas of the discourse of medieval philosophy. grammatical construction upon neo-Platonic precursors, thinkers such as Avicenna, Aquinas and William of Auvergne discussed this issue and debated the personality of the distinction. However, one Islamic philosopher who was to have a lasting impact upon the development of philosophical discourse in Iran, subverted the traditional Peripatetic fantasys of reality and brought into disbelief the very nature of half of the distinction existence. Through a critique of the Peripatetic notion of existence, Suhrawardi (c.1191) shows how the distinction is pissed and irrelevant for metaphysical inquiry. Suhrawardi refuses to accept traditional Peripatetic realism and has little need for the distinctions role in affirming contingency and the existence of a Necessary Existence. by and by Islamic philosophys insistence on an essentialist reading of Suhrawardi could be described as a category mistake confusing his concept of light with their concept of existence. An compend of his major texts will show how this cannot be the case. Finally, an attempt will be made to explain this misreading and suggest that the Platonic hermeneutic of essential vision which Suhrawardi expounds might be the reason for it. Shihb al-Dn Suhraward exe.1191 was an influential mystical philosopher and founder of the school of ishrq (illumination) whose phenomenological view 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 key to understanding the radical synthesis of later Islamic philosophy by Mull adr d.1641. The central issue revolves around an anachronistic reading of a later aporia where does Suhrawar d 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 bossy 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 bulge out in the logic of ikmat al-Ishrq, The wisdom of illumination his mature magnum opus, to deconstruct the distinction through a critique of the Peripatetic theory of definition.