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Philosophical Symbolism and the Use of the Myth Among Arab Philosophers
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2024
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Philosophical symbolism is first of all a concrete interpretation of abstract truths. It permits one to become aware of the complex realities of intellectual and moral life by borrowing the cloak of symbols and myths whose external meaning disguises their esoteric significance. Plato's use of the myth is a characteristic example. The Platonic myth is, in reality, merely the concealment of a thought which, according to the philosopher, seemed too daring and too advanced for its period. If one wishes to explain the ideas that affect the suprasensible world, one cannot avoid using concrete symbols or alluding to them by the use of figurative meanings. Concrete symbols and myths make it possible to examine doctrines in allegorical form, wherein the imagination is given full rein, combining its freest fantasies with underlying truths. Symbolic thought proceeds in this way, by imagery and analogy, in contrast to logical thought.
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- Copyright © 1955 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)
References
1. Cf. L. Weber, "Quelques caractères de la pensée symbolique," Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale, Vol. XXXVI, No. 2, 1929.
2. Cf. M. L. Massignon, La Philosophie orientale d'Ibn Sina et son alphabet philosophique, Cairo, 1952.
3. Salaman is the name of a tree, the name of a place and the name of a man, according to Nasir-ed-din Thouci. Cf. Commentaires des Isharat (Cairo, 1325 A.H.), p. 102.
4. On the motives inscribed on the seven tablets placed in the pyramids, cf. Bidez and Cumont, Mages hellénisés, II (Paris, Société d'Editions "Les Belles Lettres," 1938), pp. 338, 319, n. 8; 324, n. 12.
5. Cf. Tis'Rasa'il, Cairo, 1325 S.H.; Nasir-ed-din Thouci, op. cit.; Henri Corbin, Avicenne et le récit visionnaire, pp. 241-259; Carra de Vaux, Avicenne (Paris, Alcan, 1900), pp. 290-298.
6. Ibn Sina (Avicenne), Livre des Directives et Remarques, translated by A.-M. Goichon (Paris, Vrin, 1951), p. 484.
7. The Avicennian tale attempts to demonstrate the triumph of man's intelligence over sensual passions, which is plausible. According to Gauthier, Salaman symbolizes the soul's reason, and Absal, speculative intelligence. Cf. Gauthier, Ibn Thofail (Paris, Leroux, 1909), pp. 68-85.
8. Djami wrote the story of Salaman and Absal in Persian and it was translated by Bricteux (Paris, 1951). On the life and work of Djami, cf. Ali Asghar Hikmat, Djami (Teheran, 1320 A.H.).
9. M. H. Masse's translation published in Revue du Caire, June 1951.
10. Cf. Ibn Arabi, Mohadarat-el-Abrar, p. 107.
11. Cf. Carra de Vaux, Les penseurs de l'Islam, Vol. IV (Paris, Guethner, 1923), p. 165.
12. The characters Hay-ben-Yagzan, Absal, Salaman got their names from the master Abou Ali. On the Avicennian tale of Hay-ben-Yagzan, cf. Corbin, op. cit., p. 161.
13. Cf. Léon Gauthier, Hay ben Yagdhan, a philosophical novel by Ibn Thofail. The Arab text and French translation (Alger, 1900).
14. Gazali, Le préservatif de l'erreur (Damascus, 1939), p. 102 of the Arabic text.
15. Les Isharat, translation by A.-M. Goichon (Livres des directives et Remarques) (Paris, 1951), p. 525. "If you divulge this science and waste it, God will decide between you and me. And God suffices as a judge" (p. 526).
16. Ibn Sina, whose exegesis is philosophical in form, strongly advises against making available to the people a literal interpretation. Cf. Risala adhawiyya, pp. 46 and 49. L. Gardet, La Pensée religieuse d'Avicenne (Paris, Vrin, 1951), p. 139.
17. Avicenna said, "wine is forbidden because it stimulates unfriendliness and quarrels; but since I am protected from excesses by my wisdom, I drink it to sharpen my wits." Cf. Gazali, Le préservatif de l'erreur (Damascus, 1939), pp. 149-150.
18. "Often," says Gazali, "one sees one of the philosophers reading the Koran, attending religious ceremonies and prayers, and extolling religion. When one asks him why do you pray since prophecy is false, he answers: It is exercise for the body, the custom of the country, a means of protecting one's life. And yet he does not refrain from drinking wine and from per forming all kinds of abominations and ungodly acts." Gazali, op. cit., p. 149.
19. The Koran, II, 25; III, 15, 136, 195; IV, 12, 56, etc.
20. Cf. H. Corbin, op. cit., p. 301.
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