"...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.

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Thursday, December 1, 2011

Femme, Eros et Philosophie


On the evening of the first day note that Daniel Proulx will present: La figure de la Sophia, chez Henry Corbin (see abstract at the bottom of this post)

 Colloque transdisciplinaire et international Femme, Eros et Philosophie CFEP Programme Complet-Version Officielle

La figure de la Sophia, chez Henry Corbin
par Daniel Proulx
6 décembre 2011 à 14h30

Résumé 
Il s’agit de tenter une percée dans la conscience sophianique de Henry Corbin et de se demander pourquoi la figure de la Sophia apparaît dans presque tous ses textes. Ève, Daêna, Fatima, Madonna Intelligenza, la Vierge-Mère, le féminin-créateur, la shekinah, l’Ange tutélaire, les Fravartis ne sont que quelques unes des dénominations de la figure de la Sophia. Mais qui est Sophia? Et quel est son rôle dans l’amour que porte Henry Corbin à la Sagesse? Aborder cette question fera ressortir deux éléments. Le premier est contextuel à la pensée de Henry Corbin. Il mettra en lumière la source de la sophianité dans son œuvre, à savoir l’influence de l’orthodoxie de Berdiaev et de Boulgakov. Une influence qui semble immensément plus importante que celle d’Heidegger par exemple. Le deuxième élément conduira au cœur du problème du Paradoxe du monothéisme. Ce recueil, qui constitue peut-être l’éthos de sa philosophie, propose de renouer avec son ange, avec son partenaire céleste pour résoudre le problème métaphysique du monothéisme. Ce partenaire céleste, ce témoin dans le Ciel, est-ce Sophia? Il y aura au final à se demander si l’amour de la sagesse explorée par Henry Corbin n’implique pas une théosophie plutôt qu’une philosophie. Selon la perspective corbinienne, la juxtaposition des mots formants le thème de notre colloque « femme, eros et philosophie » impliquent-ils l’ajout d’un niveau de réalité théosophique complémentaire à la philosophie?

Abstract 
This is an attempt to break through the sophianic consciousness of Henry Corbin and ask why the figure of Sophia appears in almost every text. Who is Sophia? And what is its role in Henry Corbin's love of wisdom? Addressing this issue will highlight two points. The first one is contextual to the thought of Henry Corbin. It will highlight the source of the sophianicity in his work, namely the influence of Berdyaev and Bulgakov; an influence that seems to be vastly more important than Heidegger's. The second element will lead to the heart of the problem in The paradox of monotheism. This book, which is perhaps the ethos of his philosophy, proposes to reconnect with angelology to solve the metaphysical problem of monotheism. This celestial partner, this witness in heaven, is it Sophia? Finally it must be asked whether the love of wisdom explored by Henry Corbin involves rather theosophy than philosophy. In Corbin's perspective, does the theme of our conference "Women, eros and philosophy" involve an additional theosophical level of reality complementary to the philosophy?

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