"...the Imagination (or love, or sympathy, or any other sentiment) induces knowledge, and knowledge of an 'object' which is proper to it..."
Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was a scholar, philosopher and theologian. He was a champion of the transformative power of the Imagination and of the transcendent reality of the individual in a world threatened by totalitarianisms of all kinds. One of the 20th century’s most prolific scholars of Islamic mysticism, Corbin was Professor of Islam & Islamic Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Teheran. He was a major figure at the Eranos Conferences in Switzerland. He introduced the concept of the mundus imaginalis into contemporary thought. His work has provided a foundation for archetypal psychology as developed by James Hillman and influenced countless poets and artists worldwide. But Corbin’s central project was to provide a framework for understanding the unity of the religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His great work Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi is a classic initiatory text of visionary spirituality that transcends the tragic divisions among the three great monotheisms. Corbin’s life was devoted to the struggle to free the religious imagination from fundamentalisms of every kind. His work marks a watershed in our understanding of the religions of the West and makes a profound contribution to the study of the place of the imagination in human life.

Search The Legacy of Henry Corbin: Over 800 Posts

Sunday, February 7, 2010

About This Blog

This little project has been going on for some time now - longer than I would have thought possible. There are 234 posts as of last count and there is a tremendous amount of information and there are innumerable links available here. I have long since given up trying to do any cross-referencing of posts and topics, useful as that would be. I haven't updated the Bibliography in a long while. This makes it all the more important that readers searching for information on Henry Corbin use the Search feature that appears above the latest post. It's really quite powerful and I use it myself when I can't remember where I've hidden some bit of information. I'm not sure how much longer this will go on, but things to post seem to keep arriving in one way or another. I have quite a backlog at the moment. I'll keep at it in my "spare time" as long as I have any. And I am always anxious to hear from readers who may have something to add. There will soon be 30,000 visits - including of course lots of hits from people looking for something else, or from the googlebot machine... Still, it is gratifying and I'm happy to have spent my time gathering so much together for others to use.

2 comments:

  1. This site is absolutely fantastic / essential.
    Seems to be the only extensive source for information on Monsieur Corbin and his work.
    Blesses.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Alexander - I appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete