Imaginal realm from the view of Mirdamad

The issue of the Imaginal realm, as a realm between the Immaterial and Material realms, is one of the issues in which the Peripatetic philosophers disagree with philosophers of Illuminationism and Transcendental Philosophy. The Peripatetic philosophers were opposed to the existence of such a realm, but the Iluminationist philosopher and those of and Transcendental Philosophy defended the existence of the Imaginal realm and strived to prove it. Despite the fact that Mīrdāmād considers the existence of such a realm to be intellectually impossible and considers it to be a result of poetic feeling, he endeavors to present an interpretation of the Imaginal realm that would be accepted by the Illuminationist philosophers as well. On one hand he emphasizes the intellectual impossibility of the Imaginal realm and Imaginal existents on a Peripatetic basis and refutes their suspended state and on the other hand – due to Suhravardī's influence and following him – he accepts the existence of the Imaginal realm, within a particular interpretation - not as an independent realm, but rather as a higher and more etherean level of the material world. In this article, while presenting Mīrdāmād's view regarding the possibility of the Imaginal realm and its existents, we will indicate that Mīrdāmād's particular interpretation of the Imaginal realm is inconsistent with the views of the advocates of that realm and ultimately, Mīrdāmād is considered as one of the rejecters of the Imaginal realm.