A Look at the Life and Philosophical Legacy of Henry Corbin — Continued (3)

Henry Corbin’s understanding of Iran’s historical role in the development of human consciousness and thought was distinctive. It is regrettable that even today, years later, some of his works have still not been translated into Persian. Many Iranians remain unaware of the major role he played in opening the gates of Iranian wisdom to the Western world; perhaps his name is known to them only as the name of a street in central Tehran. Yet I have no doubt that one day he will be recognized anew in Iran’s future. Future generations of Iranians will rediscover him and understand how, through his writings, one can enter the world of Iranian thought—a world whose pleasure of passage, in the source’s formulation, only Platonists can fully understand. Corbin believed that Suhrawardi took him by the hand and led him into a different world of spirituality and wisdom. Undoubtedly, he too can become a guide for thirsty souls around the world toward the mediating world of Iranian thought.

The fact that a student of philosophy trained in the Western tradition at Corbin’s level, after becoming acquainted with the sphere of Iranian thought, could come to believe that all Western philosophy from Descartes to the present was, in comparison with the depth of the wisdom of thinkers of the Iranian lands—from Mazdayasnian thought through the mystical literature of Iran—little more than a preliminary effort to discover the horizons of human existence: does this not awaken a question in us about the unrecognized value of the history of Iranian thought?

The truth is that we greatly need figures such as Corbin in order to rediscover our culture and precious intellectual inheritance. Many of our pre-Islamic historical works were destroyed in successive invasions, while post-Islamic works were written either in Arabic or in a highly difficult Persian. Those who reread Iranian philosophy have often emerged from religious seminaries, and their intratextual readings continue in the same difficult language, now taking on a seminary form. On the other hand, because of this group’s estrangement from the language of Western philosophy, even these traditional seminary-trained scholars often cannot move beyond the closed boundaries of the language within which they are confined.

In the poverty created by the absence of a coherent and contemporary school capable of presenting the authentic foundations of Iranian thought in the present language of world philosophy, young people interested in philosophy find Western philosophy more attractive, easier, clearer, more coherent, possessed of a more explicit history, and equipped with more tangible foundations for the construction of culture and civilization. It is therefore unsurprising that the heritage of Iranian thought and wisdom, and its capacity to generate a dynamic culture and civilization oriented toward the future, should remain neglected.

The history of our past hundred years has been the history of our rising from the heavy sleep of history. But to stand on our own feet we need thinkers who can connect the precious heritage of Iranian thought and wisdom with a global language, and make visible the brilliance of this thought and the distinctive qualities of Iranian wisdom. The path travelled by Corbin is a path seldom taken, but the effect of what he did remains an inspiration to everyone who grasps the essence of his message and looks toward the light to which he points.