Lettrism as Implicit Philosophy in 10th-century Jewish and Muslim Creation Theories
Intellectual History of the Islamicate World August 9, 2024 Elizabeth Sartell
A comparative reading of two 10th-century Islamicate lettrist works—Ibn Masarra's Kitāb Khawāṣṣ al-ḥurūf and Saʿadia Gaon's commentary on the Sefer Yetsirah—shows that philosophy coexists with other ways of knowing in lettrist theories. Some lettrist authors overtly employ a philosophical structure, while others implicitly reference and reinterpret philosophical concepts such as primordial elements and prime matter. The article argues that a framework of 'implicit philosophy' creates space for lettrism within philosophy and science, while acknowledging its intertwining aspects of mysticism, esoterism, and occultism. This approach opens new ways of understanding lettrist works individually and as part of a broader Islamicate lettrist milieu.