From Mysticism to Philosophy: Toshihiko Izutsu and Sufism
Makoto Sawai
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Tasavvuf Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi November 1, 2022 DOI: 10.32739/ustad.2022.2.31 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Izutsu's Oriental philosophy, structured around Ibn 'Arabī's waḥdat al-wujūd, develops from mysticism through mystical philosophy to Islamic philosophy, but remains largely unknown outside Japan. |
Abstract
In Islamic studies, Toshihiko Izutsu is well known as a scholar of the Qur’an and Sufism, thanks to his published works in English. As to his image in Japan, however, he is known as a thinker of Oriental philosophy. After his return from Iran to Japan, he published several publications on Oriental philosophy in Japanese. As such, his final achievement, which was his Oriental philosophy, was veiled from readers who do not know Japanese, while his detailed study on Islamic studies is not known by Japanese readers. In structuring his Oriental philosophy, he refers mainly to Ibn ‘Arabī’s philosophy known as waḥdat al-wujūd. Before publishing his work in English, he had already considered Ibn ‘Arabī and mysticism in his Japanese work in which he emphasizes the essential role of experience in understanding mysticism. Based on the theoretical development from mysticism to mystical philosophy, Izutsu delineates the theoretical development from Sufism to Islamic philosophy. In studying Ibn ‘Arabī’s philosophy, waḥdat al-wujūd or ‘Unity of Existence’, Izutsu uses Islamic philosophy as the framework for his Oriental philosophy.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |