A Collaboration of Mystic Trends: The Concept of Soul and Love in Platonism and Sufism

Abstract

The concepts of soul and love have extended roots that date back to the history of mankind. This paper is an endeavor to collaborate two parallel concepts that approached the subject of love and soul from different worldviews: philosophical rationalism verses theological mysticism. In Plato, we find a rational study of metaphysics; while in Islamic mysticism (Sufism), we find an intuitive insight to metaphysics. Yet these parallels reached the same conclusion that love beholds a sacred power that can transform and purify self to seek knowledge or union with the Divine. The purpose of this paper is neither to depict errors or truth nor produce critique about these altering views; but to maintain a foundational belief for the existence of soul and love which were often rendered as meaningless, pseudo and irrational in contemporary thought. Although the nature of these concepts is complex, yet there is a high probability of their existence whether we name it as soul, essence, élan vital, etc. Through comparative analysis of both worldviews, we can prove that soul and love exists even from a rational perspective. The study will start with discussing the historical evidence of mystic trends across religions and cultures; and the origin of the concept of soul. In later sections, our study’s prime focus would be on the concept of soul and love in Platonism and Sufism respectively.