Shaykh Ishraq and the Problem of Mental Existence

Shaykh Ishraq is among the proponents of the theory of mental existence and has offered argumentations for it. He acknowledges the distinction between the world of subject and the world of object as well as the existence of intelligible forms in the mind; but the intelligible form, for him, is not the criterion for perception and intellection. understanding realities, for Suhrawardi, is realized through direct and immediate intuition of the soul, which he calls ‘the illuminative knowledge’. For him, then, the criterion for understanding is the illuminative knowledge of the soul; and the intelligible form, which is formed in mind along with illuminative knowledge and is an ideal being, is considered secondary and subordinate. The soul gains knowledge of objects through illuminative knowledge and, based on the argument offered by Suhrawardi, it is at this moment that the form of the object is realized in mind. Therefore, Suhrawardi’s belief in mental existence is not incoherent with illuminative knowledge, and they may be reconciled.