Muhammad Iqbal, The Development of Metaphysics in Persia

Javed Majeed (King's College London)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.3.2: Pakistani and Bangladeshi Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Pavan Kumar Malreddy (J W Goethe University of Frankfurt), Delphine Munos (Université de Liège), Muneeza Shamsie (Independent Scholar - Asia), Niaz Zaman (Independent University Bangladesh)

Domains

Metaphysics

Dates

First circulation or publication 1908

Places

Pakistan (Country of Origin)
United Kingdom (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Historical representation

Resources

Iqbal’s English work The Development of Metaphysics in Persia (1908) is based on his Munich PhD thesis. It examines the key issues and themes of Persian metaphysics from pre-Islamic times to the nineteenth century. One of the major themes of the book is the role which pre-Islamic Persian belief systems played in metaphysical thought after the advent of Islam in Persia, and in the subsequent Persian “restatement of Islam” (Iqbal 1908, p. 82). Iqbal argues that the organizing theme in the history of Persian metaphysics is the issue of dualistic and monistic views of reality. He suggests that the history of Persian metaphysics needs to be studied in terms of its engagement with two kinds of dualistic thought or as he puts it, �…

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295 words

Citation: Majeed, Javed. "The Development of Metaphysics in Persia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 July 2010 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=30669, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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