Self, Other and Nothingness in Western Philosophy and in Islamic Mysticism
Chryssi Sidiropoulou
Sharing Poetic Expressions: 2011 DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-0760-3_9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Ultimate reality Philosophical investigation Existentialist critique Cartesian dualism Existentialist universe |
| Key points | Argues that the Western dichotomy between self and world cancels the possibility of sense and freedom, whereas the tasavvuf conception of nothingness allows for a dynamic realization of being. |
Abstract
This chapter explores Kenan Gürsoy’s attempted comparison between Islamic mysticism (tasavvuf) and twentieth century French existentialism. Kenan Gürsoy is a contemporary Turkish thinker whose recent book entitled Etik ve Tasavvuf (English: Ethics and Tasavvuf ) explores similarities as well as differences between the two perspectives mentioned above. The present chapter is a sympathetic analysis of Gürsoy’s main line of thinking and attempts to strengthen it and elaborate further upon it. For this purpose it introduces İlham Dilman’s notion of “affective solipsism” as well as Ludwig Wittgenstein’s much discussed notion of “an attitude towards a soul.” It argues that the Western dichotomy between the self and the world—seen in both Descartes and Sartre—cancels out the possibility of sense and, so, inevitably of freedom, as well. It also suggests that the understanding of “nothingness” present in the tasavvuf is not infected by such a dichotomy; consequently, that it can enable a person’s realization of being through a dynamic interaction with the world.
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 |