GÜNÜMÜZ İRAN’INDA FELSEFÎ HAYATA GENEL BİR BAKIŞ

An Overview of the Philosophical Life in Contemporary Iran Iran has been a fertile soil for philosophy to thrive and flourish in the pre-Islamic and Islamic ages. Philosophy is an essential part of the intellectual and cultural life in Iran in the present time, too. The Western historians of philosophy tend to view Ibn Rushd as the end of the story of philosophy in the Muslim world. However, philosophy has ever had a safe haven in the soil of Iran. The political and social developments that took place in the last thirty years boosted the popular interest in philosophy and increased the philosophical publications. The fact that the political and intellectual leaders of the Islamic Revolution (1979) like Imām Khomeinī, ‘Allāmah Tabātabāī and Mortazā Motahharī had a deep interest in philosophy played a decisive role in this process. This article is intended to describe the position of philosophy in Iran in the past thirty years with a special emphasis on the classic Islamic Philosophy. First, we will speak of the studies in philosophy and the teaching of philosophy at universities and madrasas known as “howazāt-e ilmiyyah”. Then, we will introduce some leading Iranian researchers of philosophy. Afterwards, we will talk about the institutes and research centers of philosophy as well as their philosophical publications. Lastly, we will touch on the anti-philosophical trends and discourses.