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The seal of philosophy

Tymieniecka's phenomenology of life versus islamic metaphysics

Olga Louchakova-Schwartz(University of California Davis)

pp. 71-101

Abstract

Tymieniecka's philosophy developed amidst the same twentieth-century cultural changes that have precipitated broad interest of non-Muslim philosophers in Islam. This paper argues that Islamic metaphysical vision finds its Western philosophical counterpart in the Phenomenology of Life. Tymieniecka revivifies the notion of the sacred in Western philosophy by introducing the concept of sentience, intelligence (logos) and unity of life. However, comparative analysis of the main categories and methods of knowledge in both systems demonstrates that despite the obvious similarities, there are significant distinctions between these two systems. Tymieniecka's philosophy begins with epoché on the preceding philosophical knowledge, while Islamic philosophy begins with revelation; Tymieniecka uses presuppositionless phenomenological direct intuition combined with reflective analysis, while Sufi metaphysics combines logic, intuition and reliance on the experience attained in the states of mystical perception. Unification of Reality and realization of truth in the Phenomenology of Life is attained via the intuition of life at large, and in Islam—via certainty attained in religious experiences of mystical unveiling. Due to refocusing from the static and objectification-based ontological categories of traditional metaphysics on the process of life's development (ontopoiesis), Tymieniecka's ontology serves as a possible solution to the problems of static metaphysical vision of Reality in Sufism.

Publication details

Published in:

Muhtaroglu Nazif, Quintern Detlev (2014) Islamic philosophy and occidental phenomenology in dialogue: the logos of life and cultural interlacing. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 71-101

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7902-0_7

Full citation:

Louchakova-Schwartz Olga (2014) „The seal of philosophy: Tymieniecka's phenomenology of life versus islamic metaphysics“, In: N. Muhtaroglu & D. Quintern (eds.), Islamic philosophy and occidental phenomenology in dialogue, Dordrecht, Springer, 71–101.