"...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.
Posts
You must also check the other articles of the JAAR Volume 69, Number 2, 2001 because there is other articles about that book. It is also possible to read the review write (french) by Pirre Lory on the Wasserstrom book at http://www.amiscorbin.com/textes/francais/congr%E8s%20religion.htm
ReplyDeleteSYMPOSIUM ON STEVEN M. WASSERSTROM'S RELIGION AFTER RELIGION: GERSHOM SCHOLEM, MIRCEA ELIADE, AND HENRY CORBIN AT ERANOS
J Am Acad Relig 2001 69: 427-428; doi:10.1093/jaarel/69.2.427 [PDF]
Tomoko Masuzawa
Reflections on the Charmed Circle
J Am Acad Relig 2001 69: 429-436; doi:10.1093/jaarel/69.2.429 [PDF]
Hugh B. Urban
Syndrome of the Secret: "Esocentrism" and the Work of Steven M. Wasserstrom
J Am Acad Relig 2001 69: 437-448; doi:10.1093/jaarel/69.2.437 [PDF]
Gustavo Benavides
Afterreligion after Religion
J Am Acad Relig 2001 69: 449-458; doi:10.1093/jaarel/69.2.449 [PDF]
Steven M. Wasserstrom
Response: Final Note to Significance Seekers
J Am Acad Relig 2001 69: 459-464; doi:10.1093/jaarel/69.2.459 [PDF]
Daniel Proulx
Wasserstrom has taken a lot of work to end as a mere conscientious objector. There have been a lot of circumspect larvas in history trying to sadden the joyous cosmologies of the inspired ones. But of course for Wasserstrom also inspiration and joy must be a kind of unacademic esocentrism. Happily, Corbin is an academic genius that will be in the heart of many people their whole lives. Happily, Wasserstrom will be only for some weeks in their livers.
ReplyDeleteEnJoy,...