• Home
  • philosophy as a way of life
  • OpenAccess
    • List of Articles philosophy as a way of life

      • Open Access Article

        1 - Rereading Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist Philosophy in the Light of Pierre Hadot’s Philosophical Model: Philosophy as a Way of Life
        Amir Abbas  ‘Alizamani Zahra  Rastakhiz Ghasroaldashti
        Pierre Hadot (1922-2010), the contemporary French philosopher showed the dynamism and true life of philosophy in philosophers’ everyday life through presenting a philosophical model, called Philosophy as a Way of Life, which is the product of his several years of resear More
        Pierre Hadot (1922-2010), the contemporary French philosopher showed the dynamism and true life of philosophy in philosophers’ everyday life through presenting a philosophical model, called Philosophy as a Way of Life, which is the product of his several years of research in the field of ancient philosophy. In this paper, the writers have tried to analyze and interpret Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist philosophy based on this model. Accordingly, in the first part, in addition to introducing the mentioned model, they explain its important elements such as the philosophical language of spiritual practice and its place in studying philosophical schools pursuing spiritual guidance. The second part provides an analysis and interpretation of the Illuminationist philosophy in the framework of this model. Therefore, it initially propounds the basic principles of Suhrawardi’s school regarding light, the hierarchy of lights, the soul and its significance, the world of Ideas and its necessity, epistemology, and ontology. Discussing the fundamental principles of Illuminationist philosophy helps to specify the way of life and its elements and features in this school in relation to the philosophical model of “Philosophy as a Way of Life”. Since Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist philosophy bears a tight unity with gnosis and spiritual wayfaring, it is difficult to perceive it philosophically and to demonstrate its structural coherence in explaining various philosophical problems. Through presenting certain strategies, Hadot’s model enables researchers to develop a coherent and comprehensive perception of the problems propounded in this philosophical-gnostic school and the way of life it advocates. Manuscript profile
      • Open Access Article

        2 - Historical Development of the Meaning of Philosophy from Ancient Greece to Mullā Ṣadrā: A Study of the Role of Spiritual Practice in Explaining Mullā Ṣadrā’s Philosophy Based on Hadot’s Approach
        Majeed Pirhoseinloo Tahereh Kamalizadeh Seyyed Mustafa  Shahraeini
        <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roma More
        <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm; line-height: 130%;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Pierre Hadot, the French Philosopher, considers ancient Greek philosophy as &ldquo;a way of life&rdquo;. He has no positive view of Scholastic Christian philosophies and believes that the rise of Christianity was the main reason behind the fall of philosophy from its main place as a way of life. Accordingly, he seriously questions the possibility of explaining and investigating Scholastic philosophies and their most important representatives, particularly Thomas Aquinas, and other religion-based-philosophies, such as Sadrian philosophy. The present paper explores the possibility of explaining Mullā Ṣadrā&rsquo;s philosophy as a way of life based on Pierre Hadot&rsquo;s approach to philosophy. Previously, in his study of Aquinas&rsquo; philosophy, Matthew Kruger stated that Hadot&rsquo;s perception of Aquinas&rsquo; philosophy was incorrect and inaccurate while, if it is understood correctly, it is possible to explain it as a way of life based on Hadot&rsquo;s approach to ancient Greek philosophy. Kruger has challenged Hadot&rsquo;s view by resorting to some arguments such as Hadot&rsquo;s incorrect perception of Aquinas&rsquo; philosophy and his disagreement with Thomasian tradition, Thomas&rsquo; attention to spiritual life, and presence of spiritual practice in his philosophy. In this paper, the authors initially present Kruger&rsquo;s arguments and then, by providing some similar proofs from Mullā Ṣadrā&rsquo;s works, try to elucidate the possibility of explaining Mullā Ṣadrā&rsquo;s philosophy as a way of life based on Hadot&rsquo;s approach. Following Kruger, they conclude that, at least regarding spiritual practices, which Hadot considers as one of the pillars of the theory of philosophy as a way of life, Mullā Ṣadrā&rsquo;s philosophy can also be interpreted as a way of life. The novelty of this paper lies in the fact that it aims to demonstrate the possibility of such a research while being loyal to Hadot&rsquo;s general theory, which was apparently considered to be a presupposition in the past. </span></p> Manuscript profile