The Legacy of Henry Corbin: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran

"...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.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Institut Français de Recherche en Iran

Institut Français de Recherche en Iran

52, rue Adib, Ave. Vahid Nazari, Ave. Felestin
Téhéran, Iran. B.P. 15815-3495
Tél. : + 98.21-66.40.11.92 et + 98.21-66.41.21.53
Fax : + 9821-66.40.55.01

From their webpage: L'IFRI est un établissement culturel rattaché à la Direction Générale de la Coopération Internationale et du Développement, du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères français. Sa mission est la promotion de la recherche en sciences humaines et sociales et en archéologie, sur le «monde iranien» – qui déborde les frontières de l’Iran actuel – depuis l'Antiquité jusqu'à nos jours.

Aux chercheurs de toutes nationalités, l'IFRI offre la participation aux activités scientifiques qu'il organise, l'accès à une riche bibliothèque et des publications thématiques

See this page on Henry Corbin.