A Comparative Study of the World of Forms and Exemplars in the Thought of Suhrawardi and the Realm of Language in the Thought of Martin Heidegger

Problem: The World of Forms and Images (ʿālam al-muthul wa al-mithāl) has been a significant topic since the inception of philosophical history. Some argue that neglecting the intermediary world (ʿālam-e mīyāna) has led to a crisis in Western thought. This issue gains heightened importance in comparative philosophy, as such an approach remains impossible without acknowledging a transhistorical realm (sāḥat-e farātārīkh) and the intermediary world.

Method: This research employs a descriptive-analytical method, utilizing library resources and a comparative approach to study Platonic Forms (muthul-e aflātūnī), the World of Images (ʿālam-e mithāl) in Suhrawardī’s thought, and the realm of language (sāḥat-e zabān) in Heidegger’s philosophy.

Findings: In Suhrawardī’s thought, the World of Images is an imaginal (khayālīn), real (ḥaqīqī), and objective (ʿaynī) realm that, unlike Forms, possesses quantity (miqdār) and shape (shakl). Heidegger, while critical of Platonic Forms, speaks of language as an imaginal, real, and objective realm that also has quantity and shape. However, he occasionally refers to a "truer" realm, such as the essence of art (dhāt-e honar), which lacks quantity and shape.

Conclusion: Heidegger, too, acknowledges something akin to the World of Forms and Images but critiques interpretations emphasizing truth as correspondence (muṭābaqa). Heidegger grounds the manifestation (āshkār-gī) of ontological and epistemological hierarchies in unconcealment. Similarly, Suhrawardī emphasizes light (nūr) and defines knowledge as presential knowledge (ʿilm-e ḥuḍūrī), which is not based on correspondence.