Research and publication    

            Books have published:

        Rumi’s thoughts
            Edited by Seyed G Safavi
            2003, 230 pp, £10

            Jalal al din Rumi (1207-1273) has been described by Professor E. G. Browne as "without doubt the most eminent Sufi poet whom Persia has produced, while his mystical Mathnawi deserves to rank amongst the great poems of all time". Hegel considered him as one of the greatest poets and thinkers in world history, and the French writer Maurice Barres once confessed: "When I experienced Rumi’s poetry, which is vibrant with the tone of ecstasy and with melody, I realized the deficiencies of Shakespeare, Goethe and Hugo". Professor R. A. Nicholson translated the Mathnawi of Rumi into English call Rumi as "the greatest mystical poet of any age". The twentieth century German poet Hans Meinke saw in Rumi "the only hope for the dark times we are living in".
            The present book consists of 15 articles, divided into 4 chapters, concerning Rumi’s thought. The chapters of the book are "The structure and methodology of Mathnawi", "The relationship between Man and God", "Love in Rumi’s works", "The interrelation and influence of Rumi with and upon other scholars".
            The articles are written by scholars from Asian, European and American universities.

        Mulla Sadra & Comparative Philosophy on Causation
            Edited by Seyed G Safavi
            2003, 318 pp, £13

            Causation in Islamic and western philosophy is a complex issue that operates at many levels. This book will introduce an ontological and epistemological approach on cause and causation. And describe some of the divisions of causation. This book discusses the relationship between causation and key philosophical doctrines.
            The present book consists of 17 articles, divided into 6 chapters, concerning comparative studies on causation.
           The chapters of the book are "Causation in Islamic Philosophy", "Causation in thought of Mulla Sadra", "Causation: A Comparative philosophical Approach", "Prophecy and Psychology", "Causation and the World Process", "God and Causation".
            The articles are written by scholars from Asian, European and American universities.

        From a Sadraean Point of View
            Toward an Ontetic Elimination of the Subjectivistic Self
            by Mahmoud Khatami

            The overall aim of this book is to examine whether the Sadraean school of transcendent philosophy can contribute to removing those crucial aspects of modern subjectivism which are problematically hidden in the ontological gap within the modern epistemology of the self. I will first delineate this gap, and then selectively retrace three main intellectual movements with regards to the self in Western thought, through a rapid study of Descartes, Hume, Kant and Husserl (Chapter One). I will then reconstruct the transcendent method to provide an entry to the ontetic field in which the subtle ontetic structure of the self is revealed as it is immersed in and, at the same time, present to Being (Chapter Two). This reconstruction obviously implies a step beyond the traditional boundaries of reading Sadra’s transcendent philosophy.

Reformulated in this way, and seeking to bridge the ontological gap by presenting a new vision of the self as presential cognition, the close relation of “Being” and the “being” of the self is exposed here as a performative, existential experience. This involves the claim that a subjectivism which is based upon the epistemology of the self cannot be legitimately detached from ontology, and consequently there is no subject in the modern subjectivistic sense. The subject is only a self as presential cognition.(Chapter Three) In this context, transcendent philosophy is also directed towards answering some immediate conclusions that arise from modern subjectivism.(Chapter Four)

In this book, I will confine myself to the onto-genesis of the self, and put aside several important and essential issues related to consciousness in general. I will focus on the fundamental aspect of subjectivistic ego-centrism. Only have I hinted, where applicable, to some relevant issues in current analytic philosophy of mind as well as phenomenology of consciousness without any detailed discussion.

        Dialogue among Civilisations
            Edited by Seyed G Safavi, 2003, 398 pp, £15.

"Those who listen to the word then follow the best of it; those are they whom Allah has guided, and those it is who are the men of understanding." (The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 39, Verse 18)

The present book consists of 43 articles, divided into 5 chapters, concerning the dialogue between civilisations. It has analysed the different dimensions of dialogue among civilisations as the only means for global peace, in a scientific and proper manner.

The chapters of this book are "Globalisation", "Islam & Muslims", "Religions & Cultures", "Philosophy & Mysticism" and "International Relations".

The articles are written by scholars from Asian, European and American universities.

        Perception according to Mulla Sadra
            Edited by Seyed G Safavi, 2002, 334pp, £13.

The present book consists of 19 articles, concerning perception according to Mulla Sadra. The articles are written by scholars from Asian, European and American universities.

        A Comparative Study on Islamic and Western Philosophy
            Edited by Seyed G Safavi, 2002, 192pp, £9.

The present book consists of 8 articles, concerning Comparative Study on Islamic and Western Philosophy. The articles are written by scholars from Asian, European and American universities.

        The Situation of Islamic philosophy in Present Time
            A discussion with Professor Seyyed H Nasr. By Dr Seyed G 
            Safavi, 2003, 60pp, £4.(written by farsi & English)

Note: book order; by cheque payable to:
Seyed G Safavi
88 Regents Plaza, 8 Greville Rd, London, NW6 5HU, UK