The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī
This paper studies the concept of “ontological pluralism”, developed by Heidegger scholar Iain Thomson, in relation to the <i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> framework of Ibn ʻArabī’s school. Heidegger’s ontological difference between being and entities, and the definition of being <i>in exces...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-07-01
|
| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/7/923 |
| _version_ | 1797587688930410496 |
|---|---|
| author | Bharatwaj Iyer |
| author_facet | Bharatwaj Iyer |
| author_sort | Bharatwaj Iyer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper studies the concept of “ontological pluralism”, developed by Heidegger scholar Iain Thomson, in relation to the <i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> framework of Ibn ʻArabī’s school. Heidegger’s ontological difference between being and entities, and the definition of being <i>in excess</i> of any particular entitative determination, calls for an ethic of pluralism and acceptance of the myriad ways in which being is encountered and understood. In my paper, this pluralism—and its conceptual foundation on the meaning and reality of being—is developed further through Ibn ʻArabī’s complex distinction and interpenetration between the Real’s transcendence (<i>tanzīh</i>) and immanence (<i>tashbīh</i>). The pluralistic and polysemic possibilities of this Akbarian “transimmanence” is compared with Heideggerian ontological pluralism, using Milad Milani’s recent Heideggerian approach to the study of Sufism. This comparison asks if elements of a robust pluralism cannot be found in an avowedly premodern metaphysical framework like that of Ibn ʻArabī, thereby attempting to trouble the uniqueness of the critical breaks in the history of modern Western thought. An attempt to develop a decolonial approach to the study of pluralism sees <i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> and its later development not just as an object of historical analysis but as a theoretical framework that can positively inform our political and ethical concerns. This is why this paper brings together Heideggerian and Akbarian approaches to pluralism in their own terms. This combined conceptual framework is then used to bring to light the Akbarian pluralism in the life, death, and writings of subcontinental Sufis like Dārā Shikōh and Sarmad Kāshānī. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:42:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df408df9db9d4f13954359af97e61e5d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:42:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-df408df9db9d4f13954359af97e61e5d2023-11-18T21:10:35ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-07-0114792310.3390/rel14070923The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabīBharatwaj Iyer0Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, IndiaThis paper studies the concept of “ontological pluralism”, developed by Heidegger scholar Iain Thomson, in relation to the <i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> framework of Ibn ʻArabī’s school. Heidegger’s ontological difference between being and entities, and the definition of being <i>in excess</i> of any particular entitative determination, calls for an ethic of pluralism and acceptance of the myriad ways in which being is encountered and understood. In my paper, this pluralism—and its conceptual foundation on the meaning and reality of being—is developed further through Ibn ʻArabī’s complex distinction and interpenetration between the Real’s transcendence (<i>tanzīh</i>) and immanence (<i>tashbīh</i>). The pluralistic and polysemic possibilities of this Akbarian “transimmanence” is compared with Heideggerian ontological pluralism, using Milad Milani’s recent Heideggerian approach to the study of Sufism. This comparison asks if elements of a robust pluralism cannot be found in an avowedly premodern metaphysical framework like that of Ibn ʻArabī, thereby attempting to trouble the uniqueness of the critical breaks in the history of modern Western thought. An attempt to develop a decolonial approach to the study of pluralism sees <i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> and its later development not just as an object of historical analysis but as a theoretical framework that can positively inform our political and ethical concerns. This is why this paper brings together Heideggerian and Akbarian approaches to pluralism in their own terms. This combined conceptual framework is then used to bring to light the Akbarian pluralism in the life, death, and writings of subcontinental Sufis like Dārā Shikōh and Sarmad Kāshānī.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/7/923ontological pluralismtransimmanencehermeneuticstolerance<i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> |
| spellingShingle | Bharatwaj Iyer The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī Religions ontological pluralism transimmanence hermeneutics tolerance <i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> |
| title | The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī |
| title_full | The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī |
| title_fullStr | The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī |
| title_short | The Transimmanence of the Real: Ontological Pluralism in the School of Ibn ʻArabī |
| title_sort | transimmanence of the real ontological pluralism in the school of ibn arabi |
| topic | ontological pluralism transimmanence hermeneutics tolerance <i>waḥdat al-wujūd</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/7/923 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bharatwajiyer thetransimmanenceoftherealontologicalpluralismintheschoolofibnʻarabi AT bharatwajiyer transimmanenceoftherealontologicalpluralismintheschoolofibnʻarabi |